Project Loose Cells: installation of scientific and artistic objects in Izola

Project Loose Cells: installation of scientific and artistic objects in Izola

On Thursday, 8 July 2021, the first unveiling of objects created by students together with researchers and artists as part of the LOOSE CELLS – Innovating at the Crossfield of Art and Science project took place in the park Pietro Copo in Izola. The project was designed by a consortium of four partners – University of Primorska, InnoRenew CoE, University of Nova Gorica’s School of Arts and the association PiNA.

The main idea of the project is to connect science, art, technology and education in order to establish situations where they meet. It is about developing a new direction of research that encourages radical innovation and introduces artistic thinking into innovation. University of Primorska and the University of Nova Gorica’s School of Arts students created the basis of connecting these areas, which significantly inspires the development of social and economic innovations on an international scale.

The main activity of the LOOSE CELLS included workshops, online courses, production work and the co-creation of a multilayer “art-science object” designed by students of diverse levels and backgrounds and based on important social starting points, like climate change, sustainability, and human-nature-technology relationships. The object, which was presented in Pietro Copo Park with a special one-off performance, consists of a central sculpture made of recycled wood and living organisms, an interactive installation, an augmented reality (AR) environment and expresses a new, more open understanding of wood as a concept allowing sustainability, as it is a natural material that also has a positive effect on people’s well-being and improves the quality of life.

»I’m glad to be able to see today what students have created by combining the natural sciences and arts,” said Dr Andreja Kutnar, InnoRenew CoE’s director. “Connecting different areas is certainly the right direction if we want to encourage creativity and find innovative solutions to the common challenges of today.”

The special contribution of the connection between science and art is shown in the way of process work, where no discipline prevails. Both science and art offer fundamental discoveries about the contribution of newly acquired knowledge and artistic contributions that envision and give meaning to common thinking within the modern perception of living and the improvement of communication methods. In this sense, science and art are socially engaged in the local environment and at the same time operate more widely, both with the help of modern technologies and new media, while maintaining traditional approaches to feeling, compassion and orientation to protect and develop nature and the environment. as for the community.

Students created the installations under the guidance of mentors, experts, artists, producers and curators. Further, they had access to the InnoRenew CoE and UP FAMNIT’s Department of Information Science and Technologies labs. You will have the opportunity to see the multi-layered object also in the coming months, as in August the installation will move to KAMFEST in Kamnik, in September to the Koper IZIS Festival and in October to XCENTER, the hub of creative practices in Nova Gorica.

The LOOSE CELLS project partners are InnoRenew CoE, University of Primorska, University of Nova Gorica’s School of Arts and the association PiNA. The project was supported by Municipality of Izola and Center for culture, sport and events of Izola.