In April 2025 I travelled to Germany for my MRes project, research I am undertaking as part of the UWE Science Communication Unit. There I explored both interdisciplinary practice as a whole and more specifically, scientist’s personal experiences of Science-Art collaborations, which will in turn, inform my research project.
I’ve had an interest in Science Communication since I studied my Biomedical Science degree, and after 10 years of working in molecular biology laboratories I decided it was time to start a new career path to get my mind thinking in new and interesting ways. In June last year, having just returned from a trip to Berlin, one of my favourite European cites, I saw my MRes project advertised on the UWE SCU LinkedIn page; it involved art (which I love), science (which I also love!), talking to people (I’m a sociable gal) and potentially, a trip to Berlin… it felt like this opportunity was tailored for me. So, I took the leap, I applied for the MRes project, got the spot and gleefully re-entered higher education last September.
I was over-the-moon to be researching Science-Art, with the project itself exploring the experiences and impacts upon scientists who take part in Science-Art (or Sci-Art as its often described) collaborations. After our first couple of meetings my supervisors and I decided it would be best to carry out qualitative data collection via semi-structured interviews, asking questions about how these scientists felt during such collaborations, if it has affected their thinking at work and what their relationship with artists were like. I planned on using these interviews to step into the scientists’ shoes and understand their perspective of these unique phenomena, using this to potentially inform future Science-Art collaborations.
Some of the interviews were carried out online but some happened in-person in Berlin, with my co-supervisors at the Schering Stiftung, a Science-Art foundation in Berlin, kindly funding this part of the endeavour. They also organised for me to go to a weekend of workshops in Stuttgart, at the beautiful Schloss Solitude site, an organisation that hosts academics from many disciplines, (including arts and sciences) to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects.
The workshops were discussing the concept of ‘Metabolic Futures’; how society, economy and ecology is driven by the transformation of materials, with talks, walks, discussions and artworks covering industrial farming, waste generation and circulation and changes in our foods systems. It was very much an interdisciplinary venture, and I found it immensely interesting and inspiring; meeting people from many fields and even managing to grab a cocktail out with a group of them after a wonderful, pickled food dinner on the final evening.
After the workshops in Stuttgart, I took the train to Berlin to conduct my interviews and attend the opening of Emilia Tikka’s Science-Art exhibition, ‘Johtingeaidnu – The Path Within’, at the Schering Stiftung foundation. I was based at the Schering Stiftung gallery, but interviews took place in locations across the city including the Botanical Gardens, a laboratory by a huge lake and a cute café in the Winsviertel district. It was a delight to hear how much joy these scientists gained from working with artists and I’m excited to dig deep into the analysis of the data collected.
The opening night of ‘Johtingeaidnu – The Path Within’ was a buzz of activity, with speeches, fizz, pretzels and of course, the main attraction, the artwork itself. There were several pieces including two short films, an illustration and a projection in a Lavvu, a type of tent used by the Sámi people, all beautifully made and thought provoking. The pieces speculate about shared memories of ancestral migratory paths between Reindeer and humans via epigenetics. As a former geneticist I loved exploring this area more conceptually than I was used to in the laboratory, I shared a similar sense of wonder and joy those scientists felt when they were working with artists, their work appreciated from a new angle.
I finish my MRes in October, and although my workload is high, with my science communication research covering art history, sociology and philosophy, the support of my supervisors Dr David Judge (UWE), Professor Emma Weitkamp (UWE) and Dr. Katja Naie (Schering Stiftung) means I’ve very much relished the experience and hope to continue in this direction on my new career path.
By Stephanie Wakeman, MRes Science Communication student