News: Collaboration with Artists – I

Jons team
Monday the 24th of November marked the beginning of a collaborative process, during which WISE CDT students interact with various local artists. The collaboration allows both groups to learn from each other and benefit from each other’s strengths, and hopefully result in several strong art pieces that deal with the flooding issue in the Somerset Levels. This project is part of the ongoing Land of the Summer People project headed by artist Seila Fernández Arconada and Professor Thorsten Wagener of the Water and Environmental Engineering Research group at the University of Bristol, UK.

In this first workshop both groups have the opportunity to get acquainted with the other’s work. The students displayed information about the Levels as traditional scientific posters. The information covers long-term history, recent history, the present and expectations for the future. The artists presented examples from their work, introducing several techniques, materials and insights into creative processes.

Both points of view where put together during a brainstorm session, in which concepts of future pieces of work were created. Artists and students will work together on these, with an exhibition event as conclusion. This process gives students the opportunity to get familiar with different ways of communicating scientific findings to a broad audience.