The Value in Science-Art Partnerships for Science Education and Science Communication

Abstract

Just a fraction of the scientific knowledge produced in laboratories reaches a lay audience. Most of our communication with the public gets lost in translation because of the difficulties that science communication poses to scientists. Among other obstacles, differential exposure to scientific and critical thinking, discrepancies with social narratives, and communication training based in the deficit model add on top of a practice established on avoiding emotionality. In this context, effective communication requires the use of emotions, which are crucial to establishing trust. This commentary provides a rationale for collaboration with graphic design and fine arts to use emotions in science communication and education. It starts by proposing the twoway engagement model as a replacement for the deficit model. Next, it offers a neuroscientific basis for the use of emotions in establishing trust. Finally, it finishes profiling the Convergence Initiative's efforts to establish bridges across disciplines and communicating science with the public through art.

Keep the Flow: Citizen Science as Agonistic Learning

“…In order to strengthen our agonistic learning spaces and the potential of the meshwork metaphor, we turned to art. According to Zaelzer (2020), the democratisation of knowledge and the transformative aspects of citizen science through visual art-based designs enhances the social narratives with science as a dynamic, knowledgebuilding process. Zaelzer argues that because of the direct relationship between art and emotion, using art and design in science communication assists the public to situate themselves in the complexities of scientific inquiry.…”

Why create SciArt? An investigation into science artists' goals and professional journeys

“…While a review of global SciArt education is beyond the scope of this paper, several relevant programs exist within our home countries. For example, Canada's Convergence Initiative offers year-long collaborations between artists and neuroscience graduate students, offering a window into SciArt careers [Zaelzer, 2020]. Other Canadian examples include Queen's University's Cultural Studies 2 and Environmental Studies 3 programs, which allow students to work with supervisors from different departments.…”

“…For example, scholars have explored the use of comics to promote public health , engage minority communities [Kearns, Baggott et al, 2021], or spark students' interest in science [Spiegel, McQuillan, Halpin, Matuk & Diamond, 2013]. Others have studied SciArt courses and workshops within higher education settings, finding that science artists in these contexts are often motivated by public education goals [Parks & White, 2021] or a desire to communicate facts effectively [Zaelzer, 2020]. Still others have examined the goals of specific initiatives, such as the Waiting for Water exhibition in Australia, which had an explicit ecological focus and a goal of inviting "a collective discourse around our environmental future of waiting for water" [Pirrie et al, 2018, p. 10].…”

“…External communication goals can also focus more on promoting dialogue and conversation as opposed to simply imparting information. Getting citizens engaged in science through dialogue or actively involving citizens in discovery are goals that a growing number of science communicators and artists have in mind [Marizzi & Bartar, 2021;Zaelzer, 2020]. However, scholars have argued that this explicit goal of engaging publics in dialogue and mutual listening is sometimes used to pursue an unstated, underlying goal of maintaining science's authority position in society [Wynne, 2006].…”

Transformation of Buddhist Mandalas into a Virtual Reality Installation

“…The science may inform values and attitudes that drive personal or social decisionmaking and acceptance of potential medical or behavioral interventions. There are clear examples of this two-way engagement model [8] in recent collaborations between artists and scientists. A-Me adapted AR neurosurgical tools to communicate the relevance of localization in the brain in the context of memory [9].…”