BioARTCAMP: A Rocky Mountain Adventure in Art and Biology
Jennifer Willet
July 2011
BioARTCAMP is a two-week residency program at The Banff Centre directed by Dr. Jennifer Willet from The University of Windsor, Canada. BioARTCAMP is a hybrid workshop / conference / performance event where 20 national and international artists, scientists, filmmakers, and university students will work for two weeks to build a portable biology laboratory in Banff National Park. BioARTCAMP will serve as a “field research station” housing a functional biological sciences lab and a variety of art/science projects. BioARTCAMP will open its doors to the general public for a one day “art/science fair” with food, music, and activities for all ages. BioARTCAMP will conclude at The Banff Centre with a two-day conference.
BioARTCAMP is designed to emphasize ecological metaphors for describing biotechnology in public discourse, and to complicate the ‘Great Divide’ between lab and field based research methodologies in the hard sciences. BioARTCAMP will deploy humour and DIY techniques for reimagining biotechnology against the backdrop of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and motifs of back country exploration, mountain ecologies, and the wild west. BioARTCAMP serves the demystification and democratization of biotechnology – within the context of larger ecological considerations with full attention to health and Safety considerations and respect for the delicate ecology of Banff National Park.
This expedition will allow for the artist to share with the general public a different view of the place of biotechnology in our society – or rather the place of biotechnology in the evolution of life on this planet – and our role as a single instigator organism in this complex process.
Participants: Iain Baxter&, Angus Leech, Tagny Duff, Paul Vanouse, Marta De Menezes, Marie Pier Boucher, Kurt Illerbrun, Bulent Mutus, Jeanette Groenendaal, Zoot Derks, Jennifer Willet, Jamie Ferguson, Britt Wray, Kacie Auffret, David Dowhaniuk and Project Coordinator Tokio Webster
Public Events:
Wednesday July 27, 2011 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
BioARTCAMP Art/Science Fair
Free and open to the public
Location: Castle Mountain Wilderness Hostel
Saturday and Sunday July 30 and 31, 2011 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
BioARTCAMP Artist Speakers
SeriesLocation: The Banff Centre
A special thank you to: Tokio Webster, Grant Yocom, Louise Baxter&, Joan Linder, Dylan Leech, Jean Macpherson, Karin Stubenvoll, Cindy Schatkoski, Mark Resch, Cassandra Piroutz, Susan Kennard, Jamie Fennell, Lori Rissling-Wynn, Ann Morrow, Amanda White, Jodi Vanderbeke, Moira Robertson, Nasseme Albonaimi, Otto Ritosa, Billie McLaughlin, Victor Romao, Josh Babcock, Meghan Krauss, Jennifer Barone, Gam Macasaet, Stephen Fields, Sherri Lynne Menard, Leigh Harold, Wissam Aoun, Rachel Manno, Anthony Brook, Nick Caulford, Tony Chatham, Robert Zwijnenberg, Judy Buchanan-Mappin, Praveen K. Saxena, Melentie Pandilovski.
INCUBATOR is grateful for support from the following partners: The Banff Centre, The University of Windsor, SSHRC the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The Ontario Arts Council, Hostelling International, Parks Canada, Banff National Park, Glenbow Museum, The Art and Genomics Centre, at The University of Leiden, Fonds BKVB.
Image credits:
Jennifer Willet
BioARTCAMP Documentation
The Banff Centre, and Castle Mountain Hostel
Banff National Park
2011
