Exciting New Series Comes to Chicago Cultural Center

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs presents the exciting new Ars
Scientia series as part of Science Chicago. Full press release is
attached. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you need
anything else. Thanks!

Meredith Whitney
Media Relations Specialist
Department of Cultural Affairs
78 E. Washington St., 4th Floor
312-744-1430


ARS SCIENTIA DEBUTS AT THE CHICAGO CULTURAL
CENTER JAN. 12

Exciting new series, part of Science Chicago,
combines art & science

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs presents Ars Scientia, a
series of conversations and salons which explores the fascinating
intersection of art and science, and professional collaborations that
have sprung from it. The public is invited to learn about the work of
pioneering artists, dancers, musicians and culinary artists, and the
biologists, neuroscientists, mathematicians and engineers who have
partnered with them. The series is held bimonthly on Monday evenings
from 6:00 - 7:30 pm, beginning on January 12, 2009.

Ars Scientia is part of the year long Science Chicago festival, and
will be held at The Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St.
Admission is free. The series title, Ars Scientia, is based on a Latin
phrase, ars sine scientia nihil est, loosely translated as Art without
Knowledge is Nothing, which the late artist Leon Golub had painted on
his studio wall. Science Chicago is a ambitious, collaborative,
year-long initiative, that brings together more than 80 of the area's
institutions to host thousands of cutting-edge science programs.

The series features two components: conversations and salons.
Conversations feature more formal presentations between actual
collaborators, followed by discussion and Q+A, while salons offer
opportunities for more informal presentations by artists and scientists
interested in the idea of collaboration around specific topics. "The
conversations and salons will reveal the depth of creativity found in
science, and the surprising amount of technical expertise that informs
our most creative cultural practices," says series curator Barbara
Koenen.

The schedule through March is attached, and future events may be found
at www.ars-scientia.org. Other dates for Conversations include: April
13, May 11, Jun 8, Jul 13, Aug 10. Dates for Salons: April 27, May 25,
Jun 22, Jul 27, Aug 24.

Conversations - Claudia Cassidy Theater
Formal presentations, Q&As and discussions between collaborators.

The Chemistry of Cooking
January 12

Chef Homaro Cantu is well known for making food that snaps, crackles,
freezes and evaporates into thin air. Science, nature and technology
have inspired Chef Cantu's culinary creations at Moto Restaurant and
the unique inventions at his company, Cantu Designs. Learn how Chef
Cantu and his partner at Cantu Designs, scientist Dr. Linda Kawano,
collaborate, share ideas and meld science, art and business.

Structuring Change
February 9

Artist Inigo Manglano-Ovalle's technically sophisticated and formally
elegant investigations employ forms and systems found in nature -- like
clouds, icebergs and DNA -- to address issues ranging from immigration
to cloning to gun violence and climate change He will converse with
computational scientist Mark Hereld, Senior Fellow in the Computation
Institute (Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago) and
artist Siebren Versteeg.

The Magic of Perception
March 9

Magician Apollo Robbins and neuroscientist Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde of
Martinez-Conde Laboratory of Neural Science in Arizona collaborated on a
study of perception -- how do we know what is really happening?
Robbins, a "professional thief," once pick-pocketed President Carter's
Secret Service escort -- keys, IDs and wallets -- in a demonstration of
the vulnerability of our perception.


Salons-First Floor Garland Room
An op
portunity for artists and scientists to meet, discuss and interact
around specific topics.

Exploring Environmentalism
January 26

Artists Tiffany Holmes and Frances Whitehead and choreographer Carrie
Hanson tackle major environmental issues with surprising and concrete
results. Whitehead is working with plant scientists, meterologists, and
urban planners to use city parks as climate change laboratories.
Hanson's company, The Seldoms, recently premiered an entire performance
based on consumption, waste and landfills. Holmes coined the term
"eco-visualisation" to describe an emerging art movement that is devoted
to using information visualization techniques to get the general public
interested in ecological issues. The artists will be joined by
environmental scientist Liam Heneghan, co director of the Institute for
Arts and Culture at DePaul University.

Pushing the Boundaries of Biology
February 23

Artist Eduardo Kac captured the world's imagination with a glowing
fluorescent bunny and introduced the concept of "bio-art", while Alison
Ruttan's drawings and films of bonabo monkeys led to surprising
recognition that the creation of "hairstyles" may be as much a marker of
intelligence as are signs of tool-making. The artists will be joined by
behavioural biologist Dr. Dario Maestripieri (University of Chicago) and
plant biologist Dr. Neil Olsziewski (University of Minnesota).

March 23
Artists + scientists tbd.


For more information on film programs presented by the Chicago
Department of Cultural Affairs, call 312-744-6630 or visit
www.chicagoculturalcenter.org. For more information on Science Chicago
visit www.sciencechicago.com


# # #

Programs presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs are
partially supported by grants from the Chicago Cultural Center
Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Science Chicago is a collaboration led by the Museum of Science and
Industry and the MacArthur Foundation to showcase the local talent and
resources that make our region a uniquely "science-focused" center.
Leading scientists, educators and civic leaders are supporting this
effort by creating programs that show how science works and why it is so
important. Their goal is to inspire awe, foster civic pride and
encourage broad interest in science. Our goal is to add art to the
equation.










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