The last Sustainability Science Forum took a deep dive into the future of research for sustainable development. Various researchers from the natural sciences and the social sciences attended the event, which was organized by the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT) and supported by the SAGW.
Among other activities, the participants could engage in an interdisciplinary workshop that was dedicated to the question “How can science and art reach people?” The workshop was organized by the two researchers Bianca Vienni Baptista (ETH Zurich) and Karin Zindel (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK). We met them after the workshop and asked them a few questions.
What was the purpose of this workshop for you?
Bianca Vienni Baptista: We discussed in a couple of meetings the way we wanted to approach this question. In the end, we identified two main questions. One was, how can the arts touch people and be an inspiration for the sciences in addressing societal challenges? But we also wanted to explore how the sciences can touch people and be an inspiration for the arts in rethinking sustainable futures. We aim at building a dialogue between these two perspectives.
Karin Zindel: The main goal for me was to show that the potential of art and design projects, in collaboration with other disciplines, goes beyond attractive communication posters and beautiful objects. Art and design can do much more. They can raise awareness, translate and activate emotions. Projects that activate our imagination bring us closer to things we feel far away from and contribute to the translation of feelings and experiences. What seems invisible becomes visible, comprehensible and tangible. Just like the two projects presented in this workshop. They are projects by students that have great potential to enable collaboration and move it forward.
Can you briefly introduce the two projects that you have curated for this workshop?
Image: Anja Zurbrügg
Zindel: The first one is a project by Barbara Schuler. She is a designer and graduated this year. Her project offers the opportunity to experience the life of a spider. Through a combination of storytelling and VR experience, participants can change their perspectives and immerse themselves in the world of a spider. At the end, the participants are invited to share their thoughts. The purpose is to awaken more empathy for other living beings through a sensitive experience – even for spiders, of which some people are scared. At the same time, the importance of biodiversity is being taken into consideration.
Her project gives the opportunity to experience the life of a spider.
Image: Anja Zurbrügg
The second project is a collaboration between Alisha Dutt Islam, a student in the MA Fine Arts, and the Chilian ecologist Eric Pinto, who is the co-founder of Terrabiom and a postdoc at Uni Berne. Their project is named “Soil experimental lab_collective”. The objective is to raise awareness of the role of the soil – not as a material or resource, but as a place of life and imagination. Faced with a pile of earth, the discussion focused on the emotional connection with the soil. The installation facilitates a process of discussion and reflection that raises awareness of this connection. Art acts as a mediator and enabler here.
The objective is to raise awareness of the role of the soil [...] as a place of life and imagination
How do you think the arts can contribute to the transition to more sustainable consumption and lifestyles?
Zindel: The arts can make an important contribution to the mediation and awareness of the human condition in its living environment. They have the ability to connect, challenge and inspire people on different levels. In combination with the sciences, there are many ways to make knowledge accessible within different social contexts. Various approaches can be explored. Without collaboration, without trying to find a transdisciplinary ground, we will not be able to engage with the larger society. Effective collaboration between the sciences, the arts and design can contribute much more to this transition than acting alone.
Vienni Baptista: The sciences are faced with urgent demands from society at large about rethinking the pathways to transformation. I believe that participatory research formats, such as transdisciplinary research, are the key to sustainable pathways. Transdisciplinary research — as a means to cope with such demands — raises awareness of co-creation processes and promotes a more inclusive collaboration between societal actors. It offers new means of understanding complex problems and helps delineate solutions that address different perspectives.
What does the scientific community lack to reach the public on a large scale? What are the obstacles to a true transdisciplinarity between Sciences and Arts?
Vienni Baptista: I think the scientific community is more aware now that research needs to be inclusive. The challenge of crossing boundaries between the sciences and the arts in a more meaningful way in research and funding initiatives is not new, yet it has undoubtedly acquired greater significance in these crisis-ridden times. Some great initiatives are already there that could be leveraged and applied to other contexts. Maybe it is just a matter of listening to the researchers who have the expertise to put in place collaborative and transdisciplinary approaches to societal challenges.
Zindel: In addition to what has already been said, I believe that to work effectively in this context and to genuinely reach people, there needs to be a great openness and willingness to explore new ways of sharing and producing knowledge. Some good examples of how this can be done already exist.
©Bianca Vienni, USYS TdLab.
©Karin Zindel, ZHDK.
- Bianca Vienni Baptista, is group leader of “Cultural Studies of Science” and lecturer at TdLab, the transdisciplinarity laboratory of the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zurich.
- Karin Zindel is designer, researcher and co-director of re-source | Sustainability in the Arts at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK).