Kathy High, Professor of Video and New Media at Rensselaer, has created an online series to explore the intersection of bioArt and biotechnology. In collaboration with the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, the Arts department and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and NATURE Lab, a project of The Sanctuary for Independent Media, the one-hour lunchtime presentations, BioArt Talks @CBIS, will begin on March 25. The talks will be given by internationally recognized bioartists, and include presentations from Orkan Telhan, Aisen Caro Chacin, Mary Maggic, as well as Rensselaer alumnae Heidi Boisvert and Anna Lindemann.

“Bioart is an established contemporary art practice today,” said Professor High. “The renowned bioartists in this series are curious about the world around them, and investigate the living systems and abilities of our bodies, how we relate to our more-than-human neighbors, and how we humans affect our environment and how it affects us. Today we need new ways to understand our world and its crises, and these artists are asking inventive questions that push old boundaries.”

Bioartists work with biological materials, consider bioethics, and look at the materiality of biosystems and the technologies used in biotechnology and scientific research. These artists will cover a broad range of topics including research into lost environmental microbial systems, cognitive states of mind and behavior, biomechanical prototyping of assisted device design, colony-building with non-humans, and queering hormone disruption.

This series is also supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts. View a list of events and register here.