El proyecto Science of the city: Territorio de encuentro entre arte, ciencia y ciudad

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the collaborative experience between the project Science of the City and the research group “Metamétodo. Metodologías compartidas y procesos artísticos en la sociedad del conocimiento” of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the university of Barcelona and La Mandarina de Newton, an emerging company in the field of popular science, interested in new strategies and ways of thinking the science that reverse in the transmission of knowledge. The questions What is science? and What is city? or Where do we find science in the city? were the starting point of the project Science of the City, designed by La Mandarina de Newton. The organizers launched a call through the network, in an international format video contest that should deal with these issues. The aim was to bring closer science to the everyday experiences of the inhabitants of the city and, in turn, get an answer in video format to be a starting point for the artists members of our research group to develop our own works. Through art they came into contact with the scientific thought that was reflected in the videos and we could talk about atoms, DNA, light and color, fossils, lichens, patterns, sustainability, scientific method or city. The resulting works showed great plurality of supports and means. The winning videos and the resulting works from this experience gave shape to the exhibition Science of the City, a project funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology. The exhibition could be seen at the space Arts Santa Monica in Barcelona in May 2012. The work processes and reflections were collected in a multilingual publication.