SymbioticA’s BioTech Art Workshop is an introduction to biological techniques and issues surrounding the manipulation of living systems, run over an intensive five-day period.

Overview

SymbioticA’s BioTech Workshop is an introduction to biological techniques and issues surrounding the manipulation of living systems. Artists, designers and researchers from various disciplines engage in the biological science lab to utilise language and techniques into their practice and research.

The workshop is a practical and theoretical introduction to the basics of biological techniques and the creation of biological art and design. Through applied ‘hands-on’ methods, the broader philosophical and ethical implications of human intervention with other living things will be explored.

Led by SymbioticA’s Director Oron Catts and a key scientific collaborator from the School of Anatomy and Human Biology, the workshop is a theoretical and practical introduction to the basics of biological techniques. The SymbioticA BioTech Art Workshop was originally commissioned by the Experimental Art Foundation as a part of the Art of the Biotech Era Exhibition during the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts 2004.

Previous workshops

The workshop has been run at:

• Experimental Art Foundation (2004), Australia
• The Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth BEAP2004, Perth, Australia. (20-24 September 2004)
• Kings College in London with Arts Catalyst, London, UK (28 March2 April 2005)
• Wollongong University, Australia (June 20-24 2005)
• The University of California Irvine, USA (10-14 October 2005)
• Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology and the National Centre for Biological Sciences, in Bangalore, India, with Arts Catalyst. (10-14 March, 2008)
• ARTICLE 08 - Biennale for electronic and unstable arts, Stavanger, Norway (18 - 21 November 2008)
• Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), as part of HATCHED 09 (18 April 2009)
• RMIT, Melbourne, Australia (16-20 November 2009)

Contact SymbioticA to discuss running this workshop at your organisation.