r e s e a r c h - c r e a t i o n Roberta Buiani

a t o m a r b o r e a . n e t

r b u i a n i @ g m a i l . c o m

Artist’s statement I am an interdisciplinary artist, media researcher and curator based in Toronto. My work lies at the intersection of science, technology and creative resistance. I am interested in how social, scientific and technological mechanisms encode, transform and homogenize the natural and human world, often inhibiting, or hiding its complex relations and its hidden differences. My goal is to explore ways in which these mechanisms can be exposed by relocating the activities and phenomena they translate or by reproducing them using different media. For instance, I consider ways to move science outside the laboratory, in order to encourage the general public to think past the prejudices circu-lating about labs as sanitized and dehumanized spaces; or I engage in counter-mapping exercises that emphasize how hegemonic narratives manifesting through mapping, architecture or commonly accepted stories and prejudices have made many of the protagonists living in the city or the neighborhood voiceless, and have flattened the com-plexities of lived life and space. My goal is to encourage audiences to look beyond given and/or comfortable boundaries, demarcations and taxonomies, assumptions and official narratives, eventually opening up new or more nuanced ways of interacting with the objects and the individuals surrounding us.

I produce mixed media artifacts and performative actions ranging from mobile engines and portable laboratories to site-specific performances and distributed exhibitions. Their function is to bring attention to the city, the university or the laboratory as complicated and rich ecologies and as constantly transforming spaces. In order to destabilize and re-dress the scientific and technological mechanisms that we take for granted, I turn digital technologies into analog artifacts and vice-versa; I often work with archival and historic material and with found objects, often donated by the participants of my actions. In order to expose the many encounters between the human and the non-hu-man and to reveal the hidden dynamics animating and complicating different realities, I use a bottom-up approach (an in vivo approach) that enables objects, animals, plants, and individuals to freely interact and produce often-unexpected narratives. In fact, I believe that it is only by “getting closer”, by experiencing things in their physicality, by interacting with these heterogeneous protagonists that one can grasp complex phenomena and can restore an appreciation for their “messiness” and non-measurable signifi-cance.

Images from Transitions in Progress for the AR portion of the project. Don Valley bridge on Queen Street. 1905, 1985, 2015. First 2 from left are Courtesy of Toronto Archive,

Education2009 PhD - Joint Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture (York and Ryerson Universities, Toronto, Canada) 2002 MA - Art History, Diploma in Curatorial Practice in Visual Culture (York University)1999 BA - Modern Literature (University of Bologna)

Selected Grants and Awards2016 Curatorial Fellowship. The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences 2015 Ontario Arts Council Multi-and Interarts Project Grant (for Transitions in Progress). Ontario Arts Council Media Project Grant (for ArtSci Salon)2014 Canada Council for the Arts Artist Travel Grant (for Performigrations). European Union: EACEA, Culture Programme “Performigrations: People are the Territory”. 2013 York University. Research -Creation Grant “Art and Science collabora tions”2012 Canada Council for the Arts. Community Arts Grant for “Activism Beyond the Interface” at the Queens Museum of Arts, Queens NY. 2010 British Academy Visiting Fellowship - Cambridge, UK

Selected Exhibitions and PerformancesThe Cabinet Project2017 Distributed exhibition (various locations in the U of T campus)2016 Research (in collaboration with Fields, UTSIC, Material Culture Program, and ischool, University of Toronto

Transitions in Progress: Making Space for Place – http://space-for-place.ca2016 March 4-11. Glendon Gallery. Glendon Campus. York University2015 October 19-26. Multimedia Installation and performance. Paul H. Cocker

Architecture Gallery, Ryerson Architecture Building Performances: September 12 Riverside. September 3 Queen/Church September 2 Trinity Bellwoods September 1 Parkdale and West Neighborhood HouseArtSci Salon – http://artscisalon.com2012-16 Curatorial Project at the intersection of Art Science and Technology, The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences

Biolab-on-Wheels 2014 July. Discovery Tours. High Park and Humber River, Toronto.2013 September 21-22: Launch at the Maker Faire.TO October 5: featured art project at ECO Nuit Blanche

Activism Beyond the Interface/the Sandbox Project http://cargocollective.com/sandboxproject2013 Jan 14, Encuentro at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, Sao Paolo2012 Sept 14-15 Queens Museum of Art, NY. Curated by Arlan Londoño. Jun 27-29 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York State Apr 7 Skol, Montreal. With Alessandra Renzi, in collaboration with Artivistic, arts and activism, Jan 31-Feb 5 Transmediale 2012, Berlin. With Alessandra Renzi. 2011 Oct 1 Toronto Free Gallery, Toronto. Digital Event ‘11- Subversive Technolo gies (www.e-fagia.org). Curated by Arlan Londoño. With Alessandra Renzi.

York is Us – http://yorkisus.opinionware.net/2008 Nov 25: Striking is good for you, launch of website and project, A Space Gallery, Toronto2008-09 X-File publications (Satirical spreads inspired from the official York Uni versity Y-File Bulletin)

Curriculum Vitae

Selected Publications2016 “Beyond the map: an experiment in affective geographies” Noemalab, Ideas, June 5

2015 “The rise of the Insect Industry. Sustainable potential or wasteful accumula tion?” Tecnoscienza, Italian Journal of Science and Technology Studies 6.1 (11) “Metodologie Virali: Oltre il Culto dell’Oggetto?” Studi Culturali 2. 2015 “BioLab-on-Wheels: finding a space for DIYbio in Toronto”, WI: Journal of Mo- bile Media. Special issue on bio-mobilities edited by Jennifer Willet and Kim Sawchuck

2014 “Innovation and Compliance in Making and Perceiving the Scientific Visualiza tion of Viruses”, Canadian Journal of Communication. Special Issue: Bridging Communication and Science and Technology Studies (STS) 39.4 “Between sustainable thinking and ecological execution in science and the arts”, in Smite, R., A. Medosch and R. Smits, eds., Acoustic Space 12 – Techno-Ecolo gies 2 with Gary Genosko. “Putting Penises under the Microscope. Maria Fernanda Cardoso’s Museum of Reproductive Morphology” in Invisible Culture (IVC) 20 – Ecologies “Vital encounters: negotiating human interactions and online aesthetics”, in Journal of Aesthetics and Culture 6.1

2013 “Representing the microscopic: new ecological thinking in art and science” in Artnodes, Journal on Art, Science and Technology 13.1

2012 with Gary Genosko. “Little Brother Breaks the Fifth Commandment: Antonio Negri’s Introduction to Jerry Rubin’s Growing (Up) at Thirty Seven” Cultural Stud ies 26.6, 934-955

2010 “Creative Tactics and Union Politics. Learning from the York University Strike” in Benton, M., A., Clinton, W. Houp and D. Mayer, eds. Reconstruction 10.3 - Inventions of Activism (http://reconstruction.eserver.org/103/Buiani_01.shtml)

Biolab-on-Wheels. Details of DIY instruments. Testtube holder. Bamboo, elastic thread. Size 10”X6

The Cabinet Project Mar. 2017

Despite being in full sight, many cabinets and showcases at universities and sci-entific institutions lie empty or underutilized. Located at the entrance of science departments, in proximity of laboratories, or in busy areas of transition, they contain outdated posters, or dusty scientific objects that have been forgotten there for years: the ceaseless flow of bodies walking past these spaces –some running to meetings, some checking their schedule, some immersed in their thoughts – rarely pay attention to them. The neglect of these cabinets seems to confirm well-estab-lished ideas about science institutions and their laboratories as recluse and sterile spaces where secrecy reigns, and communication with the outside world is either underappreciated or prohibited. But at a closer look, this is definitely not the case: laboratories burst of excitement and boredom, frustration and euphoria, their ma-chineries being constantly fabricated, rethought, dismantled or replaced; in these laboratories, individuals, objects and instruments come to life in complicated ways, forming complex ecologies that are very much alive. Can we make these ecologies visible, by turning the semi-abandoned cabinets into mini-installations, connecting

science and its instruments with the outside world and the city, and redressing the current public assumptions of science’s inaccessibility?

I will populate five cabinets and showcases at various locations around the St. George Campus at the University of Toronto with artwork that engages with the objects, the instruments and the people located, or working in their proximity. I wish to encourage the general public to think beyond the lab as a sanitized and de-humanized space. By familiarizing the audiences with instruments they have never seen (except, maybe, in movies), I seek to demystify the aura of secrecy that im-bues science. By relocating scientific items in public view outside of the laboratory, I wish to draw attention to the complex human, material and social ecologies mak-ing the work of scientific units and departments possible. The distributed structure of this exhibition will make these ecologies especially evident, as the audience will travel to the contexts where the instruments are produced and utilized, rather than to a gallery.

ArtSci Salon is a long term ciratorial project consisting in a series of events to facili-tate the discussion and cross-pollination between science, technology and the arts, curated by Roberta Buiani and Stephen Morris. ArtSci Salon responds to the recent expansion in the GTA of a community of scientists and interdisciplinary/media art-ists, increasingly seeking collaborations across fields to successfully accomplish their research projects and inquiries.

Based on the demographic, the requisites, and the interests of our members, ArtSci Salon provides outreach opportunities for local and international innovative research projects in the Sciences and in the Arts; fosters critical dialogue on topics and con-cerns shared by the sciences and the arts; and facilitates respectful dialogue among individuals working in areas perceived as incompatible.

Our meetings are attended by members of the scientific and the arts community and are two hours long (6:00 pm to 8:00 pm). The format is flexible, ranging from short presentations to creative demonstrations. Our ultimate goal is to evenly mix art-science debates and site-specific performances and exhibitions at The Fields Institute and at other venues in its proximity, an ambition that we will turn into reality in the Fall 2016 when we will be collaborating with the departments of Drama (for a site specific performance/procession to be taking place at Fields and Drama) and the Music department (in collaboration with Jackman Humanities).

ArtSci Salon is gradually expanding its activities. In 2015, we joined the Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (Leonardo/ISAST), an organization that serves the global network of scholars, artists, scientists, researchers and thinkers through programs focused on interdisciplinary work, creative output and innovation. Thanks to this membership, we have been able to disseminate our events internationally under the title of ArtSci Salon/LASER Toronto.

A poster of one of our events. Posters feature work contrbuted by the featured artists. High Res copies can be downloaded from our website and are collectible

ArtSci Salon Apr. 2012-2017

The Map is the Territory Jan 17-30, 2016, redhead gallery

Between January 17 and January 30, the Redhead gallery hosted “The Map and the Territory” an exhibition featuring works by Ron Wild and Stephen Morris. While this exhibition does not constitute a material collaboration between a scien-tist (Morris) and an artist (Wild), it is an important dialogue that considers issues of scale, measurement and approximation seen from radically different perspectives. Hence, the title.

These works capture the world as a complicated, yet elegant series of natural, human and technological patterns and networks. The approaches are very differ-ent, almost opposite: Ron Wild’s geometrically laid assemblages deal with human, technological and social connections converging into medical practices, cultural phenomena, and scientific disciplines. Stephen Morris’ photographs explore na-ture’s patterned arrangements resulting from its steady and constant transforma-tions, as well as events generated by human experiments and manipulations.

The association between these works and the terms named in the title of the

exhibition, “map” and “territory” seems obvious. Wild’s regular lines and shapes make one think of maps and Morris’ meandering formations with their seemingly abstract appearance remind us of a pristine territory to be mapped. However, how can you squeeze these interpretations into established categories, especially when we contemplate them in the space of a gallery? What kind of interpretations, sym-bols and extrapolations do they evoke? In the end, aren’t they all mapping different territories? What happens when scientific subjects are relocated in an artistic con-text? And how can art generate or reveal scientific content? When is science art?

Being the first exhibition curated and run under the label of ArtSci Salon, The Map and the Territory featured an in-gallery discussion by physicist Kari Dalnoki-Veress.

ArtsciSalon Presents:

a conversation with Kari Dalnoki-Veress and the ArtSci Salon-istas

Friday, January 29, 7:00-9:00 RedHead Gallery

Transitions in Progress (TiP) is a multipart project engaging with the themes of migration and mobility. It consists of a bike-powered mobile lab, an online archive, and an ephemeral collection of artifacts, engaging with the city’s multiple protagonists through an in vivo, bottom-up approach. Drawing on Toronto’s socio-historical, natural and ur-ban transformations, the TiPlab explored the different forms of mobility existing within the city, different stories of migration and displacement, by collecting real time testimo-nies from its residents based on found and archival material .

Transitions in Progress: Making Space for Place 2014-2015 The TiP lab series

During the month of September 2015, TiP visited four locations along the Queen Street corridor, collecting a variety of natural specimens, local artefacts, testimonies and unique stories about migration and mobility, settlement and displacement, vivid recollection and forgotten memory. With their social and naturecultural differences and idio-syncrasies, Parkdale, Trinity Bellwoods, Queen and Church, and Riverside revealed multilayered universes that are simultaneously unique and viscerally connected to the city

Performance #2 Parkdale, Sept. 1, 2015. Mobile lab (birch wood 34’’x30’’x24’’) + audio/video documentation Cityscapes. Toronto Island, Figment Festival, July 2015. Acrylic transfers + archival material

Transitions in Progress: Making Space for Place The Exhibition - P.H.Cocker Architecture Gallery, Ryerson University, Toronto Oct 18-23 2015The objects, visual impressions, written anecdotes and recorded voices surrounding the TiP lab were donated by engaged residents, casual passers-by and curious by-standers. Their stories breathe life into the city, speaking to the criss-crossing of roads, unexpected encounters, forced confrontations, displacements and unacknowledged memories of its dwellers. Found and donated objects became part of the final exhibition along with four video interviews to city activists (titled Changed, Missed, Forgotten, Displaced), an interactive map (hand-carved homasote board, 4’X2’ + strings, post-its, pins and other office material), eight large scale photographs of street corners accom-panied by acrylic panels carrying archival photographs of the same corner and the TiP lab videos can be viewed here h t t p : // w w w. s p a c e - f o r - p l a c e . c a / ? c at =7 1

Diylab-on-Wheels is a citizen science portable lab. A collaboration with Lisa Carrie Goldberg

Using simple home-made and DIY equipment, this mobile lab was designed to access two major green areas, The Don River Valley and High Park. The goal was twofold. First, it sought to take science outside of the lab in order to dispel current assumptions about its lack of accesibility and its secrecy. using homemade and DIY devices such as web cameras or cell phones turned into microscopes, people could enjoy completing simple natural science experiments while visiting the park. Second, the Biolab-on-Wheels aimed to draw attention to aspects of nature, that people either take for granted or have forgotten, suche as traditional knowledge regarding herbal remedies, animals’ diver-sity, and other phenomena occurring in nature. The project was also prompted by the lack of viable space and the difficulties related to building a DIY biology community in Toronto. Thus, it is a polemic piece that criticizes the current culture that puts liability and fear ahead of safety.

Biolab-on-Wheels #1- the lab in the park/the park in the lab - 2013

Biolab-on-Wheels #1. The mobile unit setup and content. Box: HDPE size 30’’x28’’x20’’ covered in red

vynil. Instruments used: bamboo test tube holder, mini microscope/webcam, professional light micro-

scope 40X , aprons, 2 tables

Biolab-on-Wheels #1. The tour of the mobile lab. Bikes’ symbols indicate locations of performances and various interactions

Biolab-on-Wheels #2 Eco Nuit Parade - Nuit Blanche, Oct 5, 2013Second prototype of the Biolab-on-Wheels presented at Eco Nuit Blanche. the mobile installation was part of a night parade focusing on the theme of Light and bioluminescence. Among GF bacteria and magic lanterns, the Biolab used fruits and veg-etables to create electric circuits and light up L.E.D. Featuring a very simple elementary school experiment, the intervention succeeded in demonstrating how everyday objects can both produce light and enlighten.

Video documentation of the event can be found here: h t t p s : // v i m e o . c o m / 8 0 0 8 2 4 0 1

Biolab-on-Wheels. Details of the content: 2 kg of lemons connected in parallel circuit through copper coins and cables, lighting 12 L.E.D.s

Biolab-on-Wheels. General view. Modified IKEA plywood box size 28’’x28’’x18”

Activism beyond the Interface: the Sandbox Project is a community art project stemming from a collaboration with Alessandra Renzi . It consists of a series of production labs and collaborative interventions in different cities (Toronto, Berlin, Montreal, Sao Paolo, New York). The project invites activists, artists and techies to reflect upon the coexis-tence of diverse tactics, strategies and performative actions gathered under the umbrella term “activism”. The labs filter this inquiry through the production of multimedia interventions – community radio and television shows, multimedia performance, etc.– to foster an environment that prioritises collaboration, sharing and thinking to-gether. We believe that this format can be instrumental in shaping new conversations about coexisting and intersecting communities, while allowing all groups involved to become more familiar with each others’ practices. Importantly, by working together at times when there is less pressure and the stakes (and stress factors) are lower, sandbox labs can be conducive of forms of interaction that help us deal with incompat-ibility during more pressing situations.

Sandbox labs took place in: Toronto (Digital Event ’11, Toronto Free Gallery, October 2011); Berlin (Transmediale Festival, February 2012), Montreal (Artivistic, April 2012), Troy (June 2012), New York (Queens Museum of Art, September 2012), Sao Paolo (Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics’ Encuen-tro, January 2013).

http://cargocollective.com/sandboxproject/

Activism Beyond the Interface: The Sandbox project - 2011-2013

Sandbox Event #2, Festival Transmediale 2012, Berlin, Germany, February 2, 2012, April 7, 2012. Mixed media per-formance

Activism Beyond the Interface: The Sandbox project - 2011-2013

Sandbox Event #6, The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, 8th Encuentro: Cities | Bodies | Action: The Politics of Passion in the Americas, Universidade de São Paulo, SESC Vila Mariana, January 12‐19, 2013, São Paulo, Brazil. Multimedia and multilanguage performance: ipad + headphones

Sandbox Event #3, Artivistic 2012: Promiscuous Infrastructures, SKOL Gallery, Montreal, Canada. Final discussion + performance