Dr. Jennifer Willet

Dr. Jennifer Willet is the Director of INCUBATOR art lab and a Canada Research Chair in Art, Science and Ecology at the University of Windsor. In 2017, Willet was inducted into the College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada.

Willet is an internationally recognized artist and curator in the emerging field of BioArt. Her research resides at the intersection of art and science, and explores notions of representation, the body, ecologies, and interspecies interrelations in the biotechnological field. She engages in performance, installation, photography and sculpture based artistic practices, community arts and social practice, and philosophy of science, media studies, science and technology studies, combined with protocols and life forms from the biological sciences.

From 2000-2007 Willet and Shawn Bailey collaborated on a biological/computational art collective called BIOTEKNICA. Since 2008, Willet has also collaborated with Irish artist Kira O’Reilly resulting in numerous artworks, performances, presentations and exhibitions across Europe.

In 2009 she completed her PhD in the Interdisciplinary Humanities Program at Concordia University. She taught in Studio Arts at Concordia University (2000-2007) and at the Art and Genomics Centre at the University of Leiden (2008) in the Netherlands, and now works as an Associate Professor in the School of Creative Arts, at The University of Windsor. In 2009 she opened the first biological art lab in Canada, called INCUBATOR: Hybrid Laboratory at the Intersection of Art, Science, and Ecology. In January 2018 INCUBATOR art lab launched a new custom-built BSL2 facility that is both a functional biotech laboratory and a multi-media theatre and exhibition venue. In 2020 Willet will launch a parallel space INCUBATOR Studio, an artist studio, community engagement hub and BSL1 bioart facility.

Willet has presented her projects art various venues including: RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (2018), WAAG Society, Amsterdam (2017), Open Space, Victoria (2016), Artcite Inc. (2014), Plug In Institute for Contemporary Art, Winnipeg (2013), the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, (2013) and Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Toronto (2013), The Banff Centre, Alberta (2011), Arnolfini Museum, Bristol UK (2010), Exit Art Gallery, New York, NY (2009), Ars Electronica festival, Linz (2008), ISEA San Jose, USA (2006), Biennial Electronic Arts Perth, Perth, Australia (2004), The European Media Arts Festival, Osnabrück, Germany (2003), amongst others. She has conducted many residencies including: The Arctic Circle Norway (2014); The Banff Centre, Canada (2002,2007, 2010, 2011); and SymbioticA, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia (2004,2006).

Willet’s artwork is managed by IOTA Institute. For art and exhibition inquiries please contact: info@iotainstitute.com
www.iotainstitute.com

INCUBATOR art lab Team

INCUBATOR art lab has grown over the last 10 years from an artist lead studio/lab to a vibrant research community. Our team includes several student researchers and staff members from the arts and sciences as well as 50 cross-disciplinary undergraduate students annually. Without the contributions of these individuals, and the enlivened community we have built together, INCUBATOR art lab would not experience the volume and diversity of outputs we enjoy today.

We would also like to acknowledge the non-human contributors to INCUBATOR art lab research/creation including; the large colony of spirulina algae growing and oxygenating the lab in preparation for exhibition; the LB Agar sculptures growing microorganisms adding an olfactory funkiness that lingers around the incubator, amongst others.

Kadila Adili

Research Assistant

Kadila Adili is an undergraduate Biological Sciences student at the University of Windsor. She is a lab monitor and research assistant at the Incubator Lab. She currently volunteers at Dr. Porter’s cancer research lab and is a special projects officer for Let’s Talk Science. Kadila is also a co-president for the campus chapter of MusicBox, where she can share her passion for music.

Megan Andrews

BFA student Research and Studio Assistant

Megan Andrews is a 4th year BFA-Visual Arts student at the University of Windsor. She is a mixed media artist who is inspired by the works of Vincent Van Gogh. Consistent themes in her own art include the use of bright colour and precise construction, which she supports with her background in carpentry. Megan aspires to incorporate her love of cinema with a future working behind the scenes in set and prop design, special effects makeup, or costume design in the theatre, television, or movie industries.
To learn more about Megan follow her on instagram
@mandrewsart
@Hibiscushats

Angela Awada

Research Assistant

Angela Awada is a biochemist that works on fluorescent sensors for the detection of micronutrients. She has attained her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Biochemistry and Master of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Windsor. During her studies she worked on the method developments for the detection of inorganic phosphate and phosphoproteins using fluorescence. Currently, she is the Bioart Technician at the Incubator Lab.
@angelaawada

Nathalie Dubois Calero

Graduate Research Assistant

Nathalie Dubois Calero is a Bioartist and scientist, with a Ph.D. in plant science, and is affiliated with the Speculative Life Lab Cluster at the Milieux Institute of Arts, Cluster and Technology at Concordia University. She works with colonies of microorganisms from airborne spores or human dermal microbiota. Nathalie explores our intimate communication with untamed microorganisms and the non-human (or too much human?) part of ourselves.
https://www.nathalieduboiscalero.com/

Mariama Henry

Lab Technician

Mariama is a Scientist and Artist. She holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Honours Biochemistry with Thesis/Minor in Applied Information Technology from the University of Windsor and Clinical Lab Science, Magna Cum Laude from Wayne State University. She also has a Master of Science in Medical Biophysics/Collaborative Graduate Program in Molecular Imaging from Western University. She has a multidisciplinary science background, and her research interests include genomics/genetics, data analysis/bioinformatics/imaging, ancient history, and ancient civilizations. She is also interested in mentorship and is a self-taught artist!
@marih_artlife4ever

Inès Mastellotto-Lensy

BFA student Research and Studio Assistant

Inès is a Media Art Histories and Visual Culture undergraduate student at the University of Windsor. In her third year, she studied in Tours, France. This experience synthesized her scholarly pursuits with aesthetics and wanderlust. Inès has interned at the Art Gallery of Windsor with the Education and Public Programs team and hopes to pursue a career in a curatorial role.
@i.mastellotto_lesny

Lyndsay Mckay

Graduate student Research Assistant

Lyndsay currently lives in Victoria, British Columbia. Drawing from her experiences as a former nurse, Lyndsay's work explores ways of transforming materials into a gestalt of viscerality, evocative of anatomical activity, pathogenic invasion, and cellularity. Graduating in 2020 with a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Lyndsay’s academic interests began to merge the disciplines of art and science early in her path as a visual artist. Her work investigates biological embodiment through sculpture-based practices, highlighting concepts such as the connection between human and other-than-human species, bio-mapping, human-environmental relationships, ontology, epistemic expansion, and the structure of knowledge. Her recent works closely study organic materiality, which have opened doors to ever-evolving areas of navigation, from the relinquishment of control and sharing space, to the politics of symbolism and recognizing the powers of modern materials.
@540seconds
www.lyndsaymckay.com/

Domenica Medaiti

Research Assistant and Coordinator

Domenica Mediati is a Windsor based mixed media artist with a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Wayne State University. Domenica’s art practice involves traditional and non-traditional mediums such as microscopy software, printmaking, drawing, and animation software. Domenica uses drawings, soundscapes, digital videos, and microscopy images to create Installations. These Video Installations represent her interest in the subconscious mind and the dream experience. Currently Domenica teaches Contemporary Study of Aesthetic Expressions at Clair College in Windsor, Ontario and is a Sessional Instructor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor and is the founder of The Oops Box - art class in a box.
www.domenicamediati.com
@dombuka
@oopsbox

Hadia Nadeem

Research Assistant

Hadia Nadeem is a 3rd year Behavior, Cognition and Neuroscience undergraduate student at the University of Windsor. She is currently a research assistant at the Incubator Art Lab. She has previously worked as a research assistant at Dr. Erdodi’s Adult Neuropsychology Laboratory. Additionally, Hadia is currently maintaining a scientific blog (English and French) regarding the issue of microplastics in the environment that is endorsed by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). In 2019, she completed the International Baccalaureate (IB). Hadia is also working at the Healthy Headwaters Lab (HHL) as a volunteer in Science Communication. She also works at the Medical Laboratories of Windsor as a Medical Lab Assistant. Hadia recently joined the Students Offering Support (SOS) team as an outreach member.
@hadia.nad

Tina Suntres

Scientific Advisor

Tina Suntres has been involved with the Incubator lab since 2012 when she took the Bioart class during her biology undergrad studies. She then completed a Masters in Biological Sciences in 2016, while still helping out in the Incubator lab as a research assistant and giving guest lectures to bioart classes. Now, she is working at the University of Windsor in the Research and Innovation Office and also completing her MBA (2021). Tina is part of the University of Windsor Research Safety Committee, and the Animal Care Committee and is currently acting as the Scientific Advisor to the Incubator lab.

Nate Talbot

Graduate Researcher

Nate is a 2nd year MFA candidate specializing in 3D rendering, 3D scanning, VR model design, machine learning, and holography. With a background in philosophy focusing on aesthetics and post-structuralism Nate seeks to examine the confluence between technologically-produced simulations and real biological structures. Through the use of new technologies he seeks to deconstruct the artist's role as a medium between nature and the simulacrum.
@nate__talbot

Cameron Tomek

BFA student Research and Studio Assistant

Cameron Tomek is a third-year Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Visual Arts and Communication, Media, and Film student at the University of Windsor. Cameron is currently interning with Mainstream Marketing here in Windsor, where she works as a communications intern. This experience has helped her expand her future career goals and aspirations within communications and media. Cameron has a passion for art and design and high-end fashion. Cameron hopes to pursue a career in fashion and design to become a creative director for luxury high-end fashion brands.
@camerontomek

Link to our INCUBATOR Art Lab Alumni page to learn more about our past team members