A team from The University of New Mexico is among the scientists and artists who will participate in an exhibition at ¡Explora! that launches with events for the whole family. 

Explora_Color

The exhibition, Shared.Futures, kicks off with Meet a Scientist/Artist Saturday, August 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at ¡Explora! with an event that allows children and their families from the community to meet local STEAM professionals, view amazing sci-art, and participate in a scavenger hunt. 

Shared.Futures is a sci-art collaborative event where local scientists and artists come together, Lin said. The month’s events include workshops and an exhibition that is supported by the UNM-led Intermountain West Transformation Network through a National Science Foundation award. The artwork will remain installed at Explora for the month of August. 

Shared.Futures Exhibit Opening
¡Explora! Science Center and Children's Museum of Albuquerque
1701 Mountain Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
August 6 | Meet the Scientists and Artists from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
The event is included with ¡Explora! 
admission.

Activities for the Meet a Scientist/Artist event include:

  • Scavenger hunt with prizes 
  • Loom weaving that will put participants’ STEAM skills to the test     
  • View the five Shared.Futures art pieces installed throughout ¡Explora! and meet the art-sci teams behind the art:
    • Connective Flow, a mixed media collage by Arelis Haskamp-Buchanan and Melinda Morgan 
    • a talk with the Land: an elevator speech about place attachment and the power of care, a video projection by artist Mandolin Rain Song and researcher Ria Mukerji     
    • Food, Energy, and Water Resources in New Mexico: Past, Present, and Future, by artist Lisa Hurst and researcher Anjali Mulchandani
    • Beneath our Feet, a screenprint by artist Malcom King and researcher Abby Granath
    • Saunter, an oil painting by artist Sonia Luévano and researcher Naomi DeLay
Yolanda Lin
Professor Yolanda Lin

The Meet a Scientist and Artist event is aimed at children, families, and people of all ages who want to know more about STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) and meet people who have experience in the sci-art space, explained Shared.Future organizer Yolanda Lin. Lin, assistant professor in Geography and Environmental Studies, coordinated the event as part of the UNM Transformation Network, a transdisciplinary research effort aimed at improving resilience for headwater dependent communities, including the Rio Grande watershed.

“I have always been interested in science communication, and in the past few years, I have started incorporating more artistic expression within my research presentations and papers,” explained Lin. “Especially for a general audience, incorporating artistic elements can really help your research connect with your audience. When I saw the opportunity to build a partnership with ¡Explora! and engage with local artists and UNM researchers, I couldn't resist. I love that we have created a workshop and event that is not only about connecting a broad audience to art and science, but also about building individual relationships among artists and local scientists... I promise this event will be a lot of fun, no matter your age!”

The rest of the UNM organizing team includes Mark Stone, lead PI of the NSF grant and professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (CCEE); Asa Stone, affiliate faculty at UNM Resilience Institute and at UNM Geography and Environmental Science; CCEE graduate student Tybur Casuse Driovínto; and incoming UNM graduate student in Community and Regional Planning Marisol Meyer Driovínto. Additionally, the exhibit will feature UNM research from Anjali Mulchandani, assistant professor at CCEE; Melinda Morgan, director of the UNM Sustainability Studies Program and W.K. Kellogg Chair in Sustainable Environmental & Food Systems; Geography and Environmental Studies grad student Ria Mukerji; Earth and Planetary Sciences graduate student Naomi DeLay; and Abby Granath, a recently graduated biology major.

“I hope the event inspires future generations of leaders who are excited to collaborate across traditional disciplinary boundaries,” Lin remarked. “We need creative and technical approaches to tackle grand challenges such as climate change and unlocking the power of STEAM will get us moving in the right direction. There's a tendency to talk about the future in a catastrophizing way. What's special about Shared.Futures is that these researchers and artists are really acknowledging the existing and potential challenges but are also offering ideas and visions for a hopeful future.”

Image: Artwork by Arelis Haskamp