AKI BIO MATTERs is an artistic research program that focuses on working with new biomaterials where art and design meet life science, philosophy, politics, ecology, bioethics, and DIY biology.
Can we imagine and pursuit other forms of living, different practices, habits, desires which rather than allowing us to live as we do, will change us instead?
This artistic research laboratory program focuses on researching new biomaterials and developing new material, theoretical and practical understanding of how to live in the precarity of the future that has always been now. By engaging artists and designers with DIY biology, biohacking, life science and speculative ways and methods of working with living bodies, the program focuses on developing ecologically and critically engaged art and design practice.
Within this program what matters are difficult questions and experimentations but not in order to achieve more control, but rather to allow for speculation and attentiveness to bodies’ variety, change and mutations. Within the speculative and hands on approach the questions are raised such as: what are the implications of life manipulation? How can we create with care? How to think and practice with life otherwise? How to live with contamination and its risks?
Within lectures and workshops, the students investigate questions, methods, and ideas that are usually present within life science and bioethical concerns. Students learn thus how to think and create when their medium is alive. They face with the art and science relations and practices of living matter manipulations in a manner that hands-on practice is never separated from instant processes of thinking. Participants of the program face with difficult implications of life manipulation while experimenting with and innovating their own biomaterials. The aim of the program is to create methodologies and ways of thinking while doing, and doing while thinking with the living matters. Through bringing new methodologies and materials into artistic realm, students of art and design learn what might be their role in the discussion on life manipulations and how they can critically and creatively take part in shaping the new reality of ecological precarity that is now.
Who can apply?
The program is open to all students starting their 2nd year and onwards from all departments at ArtEZ.
Contact:
Dr. Agnieszka Anna Wołodźko a.wolodzko@artez.nl
Topics of focus:
- Art and Design in Anthropocene
- Biohacking Human
- Growing your Art (working with bacteria, mushrooms, and plants)
- Biodesign for Plastocene: making your own bioplastic
- Living Images – alchemy of vision.
Previous guest Artists and Designers:
Raphael Kim, Aniela Hoitink, Sonja Bäumel, Zeger Reyers, Špela Petrič, Adam Zaretsky, Pei-Ying Lin, Christine van der Heide
Past public events:
Living Matters online exhibition – Storytelling by AKI Bio Matters research on the precarity that has always been now, June 2020: Living Matters online exhibition
How on Earth presents Living Images – Series of movie screening on ecologies of vision in collaboration with Artez Studium Generale 2019: How on Earth presents Living Images
Biodesign of Plastocene – Exhibition and symposium at Tetem 27 March – 7 April 2019
The present exhibition is a result of artistic research program at AKI BIO MATTERs in 2018/2019 that discusses the problems of Anthropocene and materially speculates on possible scenarios of change through biodesign practice: Biodesign of Plastocene
Science-Friction workshop and symposium at the Design Lab UT Twente 22 November 2017
Symposium on the contemporary discussions around the practices of biotechnologies that asked how do new biotech bodies create disruptions that change our way of living. It was the joint production by AKI and DesignLab University of Twente curated by Agnieszka Anna Wołodźko and Frank Kresin: Science-Friction workshop and symposium
Social Media: Facebook AKI Bio Matters
