The Bio Art Research Coalition of Syracuse (BARCS) is a collaborative public outreach program between art and biology. It brings together scientists and artists from different universities nationally and internationally, to share their research and initiate a conversation across their fields to create future professional collaborations.
The base of this program is the Bio-Art Mixer – a lecture and socializing event that exist since 2017. The Bio-Art Mixer features presentations and discussions of one scientist and one artist with both academic and non-academic audiences. In 2019 we also started artist-in-the-lab residency program, that hosts both professional artists and students from the arts in biology labs. They produce their artistic work in collaboration with scientists and graduate students in biology. In 2022, our exhibition program “Chimera” began, which features works by established bio-artists and students displayed in public spaces across the university. Some of the work presented at these shows was produced during our first Bio-Art class that we offered in the spring semester of 2022.
BARCS has been initiated and directed by Professor Heidi Hehnly Ph.D. (Biology) and Professor Boryana Rossa Ph.D. (Film and Media Arts) in 2018 in collaboration with Canary Lab. It has been supported by the department of Film and Media Arts, the department of Biology, and CUSE Lecture and CUSE Seed grants.