PRAx Presents: Opening Celebration of Currents:
Experiments in Art-Science Collaboration
One of the most astonishing things about being human is our instinct to reach beyond what we know. Our minds are wired to question, to observe, to wonder, and to keep trying to understand the world around us. Artists and scientists are both driven by these currents of curiosity, but they have developed different ways of looking at the world. When their approaches meet — like the confluence of two rivers — something new is created that can illuminate both the meaning and the mechanics of our world, revealing new insights and questions.
Join us at PRAx for a building-wide celebration of art-science collaborations. This special evening will offer the opportunity to see selected works from international art-science programs including the PRAx Collaborative Faculty Fellowship from Oregon State University, fluxART artists-in-residence from the global FLUXNET network, Climate Whirl and Periferia Forest Art Lab from Finland, and the In a Time of Change program from Alaska. The event will also feature talks from each program and a fluxART musical performance in Detrick Hall.
6 p.m. — Happy hour begins in Toomey Lobby
Grab a glass of wine as you meander through all four exhibitions that will be open for the evening. Student musicians Fiona Daley and Evan Mount will be performing live music during happy hour.
- Stirek Gallery: Currents: Experiments in Art-Science Collaboration
- Featuring artists from the PRAx Collaborative Faculty Fellowship, fluxART, and Periferia Forest Art Lab
- Ray Theater: September: Orange
- Featuring artist Julia Oldham from PRAx Collaborative Faculty Fellowship and fluxART
- Arts Corridor: Threshold 32°
- Featuring artist Klara Maisch, writer Debbie Clarke Moderow, and ecologist Rebecca Hewitt
- Lightboxes: Wandering Trees, Siikaneva Peatland
- Featuring artist Agnes Meyer-Brandis from Climate Whirl and Periferia Forest Art Lab
7 p.m. — Event in Detrick Hall that will include:
- Comments from several of the artist-scientist pairings featured in PRAx's winter exhibitions. Scientists will introduce their artist collaborators, and then artists will introduce you to their pieces.
- An original fluxART electroacoustic composition for 12-voice choir and percussion by Sara Bouchard and performed by OSU Vocal Ensemble. En Masse tells the story of the carbon cycle and navigates the threads of interconnection among individuals, communities and ecosystems.
8 p.m. — Meet-the-artist reception
- Warm drinks and cookies available in Toomey Lobby
- All exhibitions will remain open for browsing and discussion, and many featured artists will be available to chat and answer questions
This event is co-sponsored by the Spring Creek Project.
fluxART is made possible through the FLUXNET Community Coordination Project supported by the National Science Foundation’s Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations program (NSF AccelNet Award 2113978) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (NIFA Award 2023-67012-40086). Flux tower research sites featured in fluxART collaborations are supported by the AmeriFlux Management Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and its Biological and Environmental Research program. Data was also provided by the PhenoCam Network, supported by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey, Northeastern States Research Cooperative, and USA National Phenology Network. The Office for Tree Migration art project has been created in cooperation with The Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, Hyytiälä Forest Station, University of Eastern Finland, and Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center, with support from the Finnish Cultural Foundation's Pirkanmaa Regional Fund, The Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, and Serlachius Museums.
When
6 p.m.
Where