Through Studiotopia, artists and scientists from diverse backgrounds collaborate on projects that illuminate the complexities of the Symbiocene. The Digital Hub and Beta Festival will host a residency in 2025 that pairs two emerging artists with an established scientist — Professor Barry O'Sullivan, a professor at the School of Computer Science & IT at University College Cork.
In an era marked by unprecedented challenges, the Studiotopia initiative seeks to harness the creative synergy between artists and scientists to address one overarching theme: the Symbiocene. This concept, coined by eco-philosopher Glenn Albrecht, envisions a future where humanity lives in harmony with the Earth and all its inhabitants, fostering mutual flourishing and interconnectedness.
Through Studiotopia, artists and scientists collaborate on projects that illuminate the complexities of the Symbiocene. From exploring biodiversity hotspots to investigating sustainable technologies, each endeavor offers a unique perspective on our relationship with the natural world.
The selected emerging artists, Hung Lu Chan and Cezar Mocan will collaborate with Irish partners as part of the Studiotopia project on the ‘Living Surfaces’ challenge, which examines how data- driven models and simulations reshape our understanding of climate collapse. It questions how environmental changes and computational realities intersect and challenges the adaptation of AI and machine learning to coexist with nature, urging a reimagining of these technologies to harmonize with the natural world.
Read more about this challenge and the selected artists here.
The residency will involve workshops, activities, and field research and the artists will produce a prototype or artwork for the Studiotopia programme, to be presented at Beta Festival in November 2025.