Artists and scientists gathered to work together and learn from each other

On Monday 24th May 2010 at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts an audience gathered to discover how artists and scientists had been working together and learning from each other. The Culture of the Countryside project and the innovative InCrops Enterprise Hub had managed a fascinating creative research opportunity, in which five artists had experienced site visits and worked alongside local innovative businesses to develop greater understanding and inspire potential usage of products. The artists, Sam Abelman, Jacqui Jones, Marcela Trsova, Mark Haywood and Kaavous Clayton explored the potential for these new materials, both in terms of the possible impact on their own work also developed some ideas for how these materials and technologies might present possibilities for other artists in general. The presentations were informative, enthusiastic and promoted a great deal of discussion and links to future projects and work. The event was introduced By Dr John French (InCrops) and Dr Veronica Sekules (The Sainsbury Centre) and the afternoon also included a fascinating talk by Dr Victoria Mitchell relating to the forthcoming exhibition ‘Beyond the basket’ , local business ‘Woad’ describing their work and a photo story of the work being researched at Easton College by Dr Carlos Gonzalez (InCrops). 

One of the artists, Jaqui Jones said this about the opportunity: ‘ As an artist it was wonderful to be given a product to work with that had such a range of creative possibilities. For me this project has instigated a multitude of ideas which I will definitely integrate into my own art practice.’