What does science look like to you? The answer might be different if you’re a computational neuroscientist vs a plant biologist vs a potter vs a textiles specialist. In the second year of my PhD, I organized an art/science collaboration called “Pipettes and Paintbrushes” through my connections with That’s Life [Science]. I paired volunteers with artistic and scientific expertise to create representations of the research conducted at UMass Amherst. This exhibit challenged the artists with inspiration outside of their usual experience and expanded the researchers’ ability to communicate their work to individuals outside their field. Artists, like all of us, benefit from scientific discoveries, so the practice in explaining our findings to them was valuable. On top of that, the artists were able to create new media that explains our work in a way that might be more accessible to those outside of the lab. Ultimately, it’s impossible to keep apprised of all the research conducted on college campuses, so this was another way to bring it into the community and shine a spotlight on the incredible work we do every day.
Read more and see images from the exhibit in my article published on That’s Life [Science].
