29 June 2023: 15.00 – 16.00 CEST. On Zoom

(Image: Fabian Hefner. Image via theverge.com)

This year the YAE is organising a programme of seminars culminating in the AGM, titled: ‘Arts and Science: Mutual Creativity and Inspiration’. This  is the first seminar of this programme.

At first sight the sciences and the arts may seem worlds apart.

The arts encompassing various disciplines, from visual arts to literature, music, theatre, and dance, offer us a window into the human experience.  Artists harness creativity to convey ideas, evoke emotions, provoke thought, challenge societal norms, and inspire change.

The sciences are largely a pursuit driven by curiosity for unraveling the mysteries of the natural and social world, relying on systematic observation, experimentation, and rigorous analysis to advance understanding, fuel technology, and support informed decisions about our world.

With this event we highlight that the arts and sciences are interconnected spheres of human exploration and expression. They complement and inspire each other, which opens doors to new perspectives, uncharted territories, and endless possibilities for human creativity and intellectual growth.

This one hour virtual seminar on Zoom starts with two talks from artist-scholars working across the arts and sciences, and blurring the distinction, followed by discussion between the speakers and the audience, where attendees are encouraged to share their own experiences. Sign up here:

Anastomosal Science

Marjolein Pijnappels – Wondermash, The Netherlands

Science doesn’t take place in isolation. It is a never-ending process of truth-finding, of saying something substantial about the world around us, and is influenced by that very world, and by us. Marjolein Pijnappels, MSc will talk about her co-emerging practice as a futures ecologist who entangles science with art and myth.

The Anteater’s Culinary Guide

Ofer Feinerman – Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

One of the most spectacular of any of this world’s animals is closer than you think, in fact, right below your feet. Ants are not only fascinating but also highly approachable. Our comic book tells the tale of a young girl and her visitor – the hungry anteater.  These two draw the reader from her familiar neighborhood environment into the tiny world of the ants. As the characters become curious about the ants we encourage the reader to go out and experience the same through their own eyes. The graphic novel is interspersed with tens of ideas for open-ended experiments. These are aimed at introducing the reader to the local  species and their behavior and more generally, to the scientific process and independent thought.