CALL FOR ARTIST IN RESIDENCE AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE

The Beall Center for Art + Technology, The Center for Complex Biological Systems (CCBS), and The Newkirk Center for Science and Society, all located at University of California, Irvine (UCI) are co-sponsoring an artist in residence. The selected artist will be given the opportunity to develop a Synthetic Biology (SynBio) work of art and to actively engage with science professionals on campus. The work can employ biological materials and/or computational processes; it will be included in an exhibition at the Beall Center in February 2016.

The two-part residency includes a two-week period anytime from October – November 2015, with a second visit to produce/install work for the Beall exhibition opening, February 6, 2016. A stipend of up to $10,000 will be provided by the Beall Center, CCBS, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to cover travel and living expenses and to support for the production of a finished work.

This inaugural residency program is aimed at exploring the potential of the arts or alternative cultural practices related to the extensive and interdisciplinary field of Synthetic Biology. While in residence, the artist will investigate the challenges and philosophical, aesthetic and ethical aspects connected to the field and its societal ramifications.

THE RESIDENCY STAY

The successful applicant will spend the first period getting hands-on experience in the dry or wet laboratory, as appropriate, sharing observations and plans in order to refine the artist’s project focus. Some of the issues that could be of interest include but are not restricted to:

• Orthogonal biosystems as a platform for manipulating the core information transfer processes of life (i.e. DNA replication, transcription and translation)
• Biopolymers and semisynthetic organisms that use synthetic building blocks (e.g. XNA and unnatural amino acids)
• Mathematical and computational modeling of spatial dynamics, especially as related to development and morphogenesis
• Visions, challenges and societal impact of synthetic biology and the convergence of biology and engineering

The first part of the residence can begin October 2015. For the application please submit:

• A biography (100-300 words) and your CV
• A short project draft (max. 500 words)
• A list of materials, techniques, and equipment required to develop and set up the artwork (if known already)
• Possible dates of the two-week period you are available for residency
• A website and/or a PDF portfolio

The applications will be reviewed by an international jury composed of Jens Hauser (curator), David Familian (curator/artist), Simon Cole (social scientist), Chang Liu (scientist), Felix Gunn (scientist), and Victoria Vesna (artist).

For more information, check out the full PDF.

The deadline is August 24, 2015. All applicants will be notified by September 8, 2015.