The "Sci-art your life!" programme, now in its second edition, is an innovative initiative that brings art, science and community together in a unique and creative way. Sci-art your life! has become one of the most important projects of Timisoara 2023 - European Capital of Culture, being awarded this year with the AFCN PRIZE for Interdisciplinary Activation.
Through the connections it creates at local, national and international levels, the "Sci-art your life!" program brings together artists, scientists and the community at large to explore and celebrate the interaction between art and science. Through a variety of events and activities, the program encourages collaboration and dialogue between two seemingly different but highly complementary fields. The first edition articulated a set of activities: 15 exhibitions; artistic interventions; research; 30 presentations/art talks; 25 workshops and training sessions, etc., which explored and facilitated collaboration between visual arts and applied sciences, between students and trainers, between the arts, academia and the public space, involving around 5000 participants.
This year we have decided to continue our artistic and educational approach, focusing on the creation of a comprehensive mentoring and education program, based on interdisciplinarity, for children from disadvantaged categories at the "Maria Brândea" Secondary School in the Timis commune of Pesac. We will create an alternative learning platform, consisting of artistic creation workshops coordinated by professional artists and laboratory visits to the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, with the aim of supporting and valorizing amateur artists, but also cultural activation in areas with limited access to culture.
META FORUM will continue the approach of the first edition and will organize five conferences on contemporary art and the need for transdisciplinary collaborations, contributing to the strengthening of the cultural sector and redefining the position of the artist in the community. Gabriela Mateescu, Mihaela Ghiță, Dragoș Dogioiu, Mirela Stoeac-Vlăduți and Mihai Toth will be the guest speakers invited to talk about the role of artist-run spaces, the need for inter-institutional collaborations, artistic research, innovations in digital art, etc., thus creating fertile ground for the exchange of ideas, and contributing to the strengthening of collaborative networks between artists, researchers and institutions.
European and international connections are an essential aspect of the "Sci-art your life!" program. Through partnerships with other cities and prestigious institutions in Europe, Timisoara becomes a center of cultural and scientific exchange. We aim to energize the local art scene through an international exhibition organized by Schleifmühlgasse 12-14 Gallery - an independent gallery in Vienna, in which artists from different countries will participate. This international collaborative network brings together professional artists and cultural operators, promoting cultural diversity and the exchange of ideas.