On September 30th, AwE hosted a virtual networking event at the Annual Society for Literature, Science and the Arts (SLSA) conference , hosted by the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts welcomes colleagues in the sciences, engineering, technology, computer science, medicine, the social sciences, the humanities, the arts, and independent scholars and artists. SLSA members share an interest in problems of science and representation, and in the cultural and social dimensions of science, technology, and medicine. AwE Board members Scott Johnson, Dr. Adam Law, Dr. Hannah Star Rogers and the library manager Tamar Law facilitated a conversation on launching new organizations with science and art goals and opened-up a discussion on facilitating public engagement through Art-Science.
To kick off the event, Dr. Law described the origins of AwE from scientists and policymakers seeking to make Science more accountable, publicly transparent and socially responsible amidst growing anti-science and anti-evidence sentiments. Scott Johnson then introduced AwE’s robust gallery and shared an excerpt from AwE’s most recent performance piece produced by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, entitled Treaty Between Self and Earth which was a site-specific performance piece performed in September 2021 in New York City.
Dr. Rogers introduced AwE’s new Art-Science library, outlining the library’s framing, commitments, and theoretical underpinnings. Cornell University graduate student and Library curator Tamar Law continued the library discussion by describing how the library solicits citational donations and inviting participants to attend the official Library Launch. The event culminated in a lively conversation and networking opportunity amongst panelists and the audience, with fruitful connections made between other art-science practitioners and scholars and AwE. Awe, particularly its Art-Science Libary, are continuing to work to build scholarly connections across Art, Science, and Technology Studies to further conversations about art and climate change.