Art-Science in the ARcTic Lab.

To imagine the future landscape of the Arctic is not just to anticipate atmospheric, ice-sheet, or microbial change; it is to look towards how institutions themselves may develop in the coming decades and what this means for the region. In the past 30 years, centres of Art-Science interaction have emerged in the prominent institutions of CERN, MIT Media Lab, and the Institute of Art and Technology at LJMU. Here, through extended creative research labs, a fostering of radical conversations between art, science, and technology is under way. By connecting seemingly disparate disciplines, ones that range from visualising particle physics, the social role of robotics, 3D printed textiles, and Bio-Art, an innovative inter/multi/trans-disciplinary approach is currently being cultivated. It is with these labs in mind that the project ‘Art-Science in the Arctic’ initially stemmed, and through connected conversations and exploratory practices, that ARcTic Lab has emerged.

The ARcTic Lab aims for historical, theoretical and practice-led research in the creative arts and sciences that is unconstrained by orthodox disciplines. It is focused on exploring tangible solutions to issues of polar health, flooding, global warming, housing, and living standards via radical co-design, experimental practice, and exchange. It is hoped that by threading multiple fields of academic inquiry, it can create new modes of critical thinking that work towards Arctic policy and cultural enrichment.