Cre-Sci (Creative Science) originates from the desire to open a space for dialogue between artists and scientists. Although they operate within very different cultural and institutional systems, these two groups share the same fundamental drive: to question the world and produce new forms of knowledge.

In common imagination, the two disciplines are often represented as radically distinct: science as the domain of logic, rigorous methods, and “objective” demonstration; art as the realm of intuition, sensitivity, and individual expression.
Yet both artists and scientists observe the world, select information, formulate hypotheses, and shape new ideas in a process where creativity is not incidental, but essential.

If we shift our attention from methods to outcomes, the proximity becomes even more evident: both art and science produce models of the world and present them to a community. Even in science, where formalization and verifiability are required, the value of a contribution and its recognition depend on a process of collective review, shared languages, traditions of thought, hierarchies, and forms of authority.

Ideas gain value only when they are shared, discussed, and recognized both in art and in science. Value emerges from collective processes of interpretation, legitimization, and exchange.

In terms of communication, artists primarily share their work through exhibitions and displays, where research takes shape as objects, images, performances, and installations. Scientists, on the other hand, communicate their results and goals through conferences, publications, and presentations aimed mainly at their peers. However, the way an idea is presented—whether as an article, a lecture, or an exhibition—is not neutral: it structures the possibilities of its understanding and influences how it is received.

A radical experiment emerges from this observation. Twelve artists and twelve scientists were invited to work together in groups composed of two artists and two scientists, undertaking a gesture that is as simple as it is radical: temporarily exchanging the formats through which they present their work.

On one side, scientists present their research within the exhibition space, translating their work (papers, studies, or texts) into the modalities of artistic display. Scientific research is thus removed from its usual context and placed within the conventions of art exhibitions, where modes of engagement differ.

This shift also highlights a structural difference between the two fields: the economic one. In the art system, works enter a market: artists must produce, promote, and make their work visible and sellable. In scientific research, scientists operate within institutional structures and do not directly sell their results, but must convince the community of their value in order to access funding, positions, and recognition.

In both cases, the ability to gain visibility, validation, and build networks is central; what differs is the reference system—direct and market-driven on one side, mediated and institutional on the other. The exchange of roles brings this difference into tension: scientists are asked to attribute a value—even a symbolic one—to their research, while artists engage with systems of peer validation.

At the same time, artists adopt the format of the scientific conference. Through a series of public talks, they present their artistic research as an academic conference: articulating questions, processes, theoretical references, and contexts. The work no longer appears as an object, but as a discourse among peers.

A radical experiment is an attempt to observe what happens when two practices that have, for centuries, produced knowledge through different languages temporarily exchange the methods through which their ideas are shown, discussed, and recognized. 

Language: English/Italian

10:30: Morning discussion: Individuality and collectivity in the arts and sciences (Selected participants only)

12:30: Lunch break

Evening public event at mudaC - Museo delle Arti Carrara

17:00: Institutional greetings

17:30: Paper art exhibition (authrored by scientists)

18:30: Public "science-like" talks (given by artists)

19:00: Refreshment and open discussions

Scientists

Carlo Cepollaro

Niccolò Covoni

Patricia Palacios

Johannes Fankhauser

Flavio Del Santo

Gianmichele Blasi

Veronika Baumann

Alberto Rolandi

Guilherme Franzmann

Nicola Pinzani

Matilde Nerattini

Francesca Nerattini

Artists

Selene Bertagnini 

Fabio Quattrocolo

Elia Bottoloni

Michela Pelusio

Pierre Auzias

Gloria Rustighi

Marianna Blier

FAC-Fronteacciaiocromato

Jennifer Taufer

Maria Chiara Dimartino 

Loredana Taufer

Gianmaria Brizzi

The workshop is organized by Veronika Baumann (TU Vienna), Carlo Cepollaro (IQOQI and University of Vienna), Flavio Del Santo (Constructor Knowledge and University of Geneva), Jennifer Taufer (Studio Istinto, Carrara)