Qolony Association (Art and Science Colony) launches on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, the fourth edition of Fusion:AIR, a residency project designed to offer artists interested in art and science (art and science), the framework and access to the technical and informational infrastructure of five research institutes in Romania, to create works of art in the area of interference between art, science and technology.
About Fusion:AIR (Artist Residencies in Research Institutes)
In the dynamic context of cultural and technological evolution in Romania, the Fusion:AIR project aims to bring to the forefront a series of events and innovative collaborations between artists and researchers, exploring the intersections between art, science and technology.
The aim of the residency program is to offer artists interested in the concepts and methods of science, the opportunity to create works of art being guided by researchers and having access to the infrastructures of the scientific laboratories of the following research institutes: the National Institute for the Physics of Lasers, Plasma and Radiation, The National Research and Development Institute for Materials Physics, the Institute of Space Sciences, the Research and Development Institute for Textiles and Leather, and the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine.
Fusion:AIR 2024, 4th edition has the theme of Biophilia - Technohilia
This year's edition brings together 6 artists, of which 4 Romanians and 2 foreigners; the Romanian artists were selected following the hackathon IN:Fusion 2023 (co-financed by AFCN): Denis Flueraru, Alexandra Costea, Zoița Delia Calinescu and Mihai Popescu.
The selection of the two invited international artists, Ole Blank (GE) and Maria Nalbantova (BG), was made based on their creative endeavors and experience with this type of collaborative residencies, as well as due to the fit with the curatorial theme of this year's edition.
Maria Nalbantova is currently one of the artists in residence in the WaterLANDS program under a Horizon 2020 project.
Ole Blank is the winner of the Prize of the Kunstverein Hannover 2022.
The curated theme for the 2024 edition of Fusion:AIR is Biophilia-Technophilia with transposition into Eco-Art and will investigate the apparent contrast between biophilia and technophilia, exploring the possibilities of reconciliation between technological advances and our intrinsic need to be connected with nature and protect the Earth's fragile ecosystems.
"Fusion:AIR 2024 is placed at the interference of two trajectories, only apparently contradictory, bio-philia and techno-philia, brought together by the practice of Eco Art in a territory of hybridization, of interpenetrations between human and non-human, between the "flesh" of man and that of the world, between matter and idea. Here, in order to overcome anthropocentrism and man-world dualism, eco-artists propose a double becoming of man: becoming-nature and becoming-machine, and recharging new technologies with the valence of old techne to bring man closer to nature." (Raluca Oancea, curator of the 2024 edition of Fusion:AIR)
On May 28, at 19:00, at Goethe Institute, the public curatorial presentation held by Raluca Oancea will take place, followed by a round table with the stage presentations of the creation process of the artist/researcher teams. The meeting is addressed to the general public.
"We are in the 4th edition of artistic residencies in research institutes, it is a new challenge for collaborative researchers and we are proud to witness a creative process that transcends conventional barriers and to see how artists and researchers join forces to make contributions significant in contemporary debates." (Mihaela Ghiță – artistic director)
The artists will develop artistic works that will be presented in an exhibition scheduled to take place at /SAC Berthelot between September 17 and October 12, 2024.
The duration of the cultural project: April 1 – October 31, 2024
- 05 – 05.06: research and creation residency: presentation of portfolios, visits to institutes, collaboration between artists and researchers, establishment of work concepts that will be put to work in the next stage.
- 05 – Public presentation: Eco Art, from Biophilia to Technophilia, Raluca Oancea, curator.
- June / July / August: development of artistic productions.
- 09 – 12.10.2024: exhibition at the Berthelot Gallery / SAC.
Fusion: AIR is one of the most important Qolony projects, an endeavor that aims to help promote the inclusion of artists in innovation and research activities, giving science the language of art.
Fusion: AIR is co-financed by Administration of the National Cultural Fund with support Goethe Institute from Bucharest. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.
About Qolony: Founded in 2019, Qolony – Colony for Art and Science is an association that carries out research and production programs, helping to promote art at the intersection of science: artistic residencies, presentations, debates, workshops, exhibitions that open dialogues between artists and scientists from research institutes, nationally and internationally.
Facebook and Instagram: @qolony.eu YouTube: Qolony
Institutional partners:
Goethe Institute
/SAC – Contemporary Art Space, Obsolete Studio.
Partner research institutes: National Research and Development Institute for Materials Physics, National Research and Development Institute for Physics of Plasma Lasers and Radiation, Institute of Space Sciences, National Research and Development Institute for Textiles and Leather, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine – Research Center for the Quality of Agro-Food Products.
Media partners: AGERPRES, IQads, Modernism Punct Ro, Propagarta, Savantagarde, Science and Communication, Radio Romania Cultural, Atelierul Magazine.
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