Science Gallery launches IN THESE STRANGE TIMES: a response to the global pandemic
Posted on: 12 March 2021
Exactly one year after COVID closed its doors for the first time, Science Gallery Dublin at Trinity College has launched IN THESE STRANGE TIMES: a pioneering programme including podcasts with cutting-edge scientists and artists hosted by RTE 2FM DJ Tara Stewart, a collaboration with conceptual illustrator Stasele Jakunskaite and a newly commissioned artwork by Spanish collective Multiplay, installed in the Science Gallery Dublin windows, facing out onto Pearse St for public view through glass.
The transdisciplinary exhibit A.I.R., viewable from 12 March, is a time capsule of life worldwide during the first six months of 2020: through its physical expansion and contraction, A.I.R. brings digital data to life.
It marks the culmination of an international joint artist residency at Science Gallery Dublin and Accenture’s global R&D and innovation centre, The Dock. Artist-designer collective Multiplay were selected through an international open call for artists interested in systems thinking and transdisciplinary approaches to addressing complex societal issues.
IN THESE STRANGE TIMES features a new series of podcasts, hosted by Tara Stewart and with appearances by researchers and artists working at the cutting edge of biomedical, environmental, behavioural and robotics science.
New episodes will be released every two weeks, with the first two already available on all podcast platforms – highlights include award-winning computer scientist Niamh Donnelly discussing AI and the future of healthcare, and interaction design specialist Joanna Montgomery and neuroscientist Francis McGlone exploring intimacy and touch deprivation (‘skin hunger’) during a pandemic. Each episode also features a FutureCast speculation by artist Lucas Garvey.
To accompany the programme, visual artist Stasele Jakunskaite has created a series of mind-bending illustrations that capture the feeling of a nation in lockdown.
Since its launch in 2008, Science Gallery Dublin has firmly established itself as an international leader in the field of art science and public engagement with science. With IN THESE STRANGE TIMES, they aim to pioneer a brand-new way for their audience to explore and discuss cutting-edge science, design and art, specifically built for a post-COVID world.
You can find more information on the series here.