The Arts Catalyst bridges art and science

Arts Catalyst, a UK-based organization, commissions artists to “experimentally and critically engage with science.”

By commissioning projects that explore big topics such as air and space, biotechnology and ecology it seeks to promote understanding and cooperation between the arts and sciences.

“MALAMP: UK Amphibians Study 2007 – 2008,” an Arts Catalyst-sponsored project was recently featured by the BBC. 

Stanley Sessions, an amphibian specialist and professor of biology at Hartwick College, in Oneonta, New York, and Brandon Ballengee of the University of Plymouth, UK, have collaborated on documenting the deformities taking place in amphibians and present images that show how amphibians' bodies are malformed from the inside.

“Polar: The Art & Science of Climate Change” focused on climate change in the polar regions. Two artists' commissions, an interdisciplinary symposium, a series of public talks and a publication evolved out of the project.

Chris Oakley, Simon Hollington, Kypros Kyprianou were commissioned to produce “Nuclear: Art & Radioactivity”  an exhibition based on Hollington and Kypros’s  residency at The British Atomic Nuclear Group.

On June 19-20 Arts Catalyst gathered an eclectic group of speakers for its “Eye of the Storm conference.” Participants included artist Eduardo Kac who generated controversy after persuading French geneticists to produce a rabbit that glows in the dark; Oron Catts, a pioneer in the use of bioscience as a medium for artistic expression; and astronomer Roger Malina who discussed astronomy and dark energy. A live blog from the conference is archived at The Arts Catalyst. 

Artists' proposals are accepted at anytime. Arts Catalyst receives funding from private foundations and the Arts Council of England and the European Space Agency.

Nicola Triscott, self-described “cultural producer, writer and coach” founded the Arts Catalyst in 1993 and serves as its director.