Ariane Koek will be the first director of the Science Gallery Venice, a dynamic place where art and science collide in San Basilio, Tesa 4 of the Northern Adriatic Sea Port Authority.
She has years of experience in establishing crossroads between arts, science and technology: She created and directed for five years 'Arts at Cern', multidisciplinary programme promoting the dialogue between artists and particle physics, associated with the foremost particle physics research center based in Geneva. Prior to this position, she was awarded a Clore Fellowship, international recognition for her multidisciplinary approach and her professional accomplishments in the cultural field as a successful radio and television producer at the BBC.
She loves writing about interdisciplinarity, artists and their works, as papers on the installations of Pipilotti Rist, Goshka Macuga or Bill Fontana, and is a member of the artistic advisory board of the Haus der elektronischen Künste (HeK) in Basel, of Arts @CERN and of the SciArt programme of the Joint Research Center, service of the European Commission.
Michele Bugliesi, Rector of Ca' Foscari University of Venice, said: "We welcome Ariane Koek as the Director of the Science Gallery Venice, the Italian venue of the Global Science Gallery Network. Doubtlessly Ariane, thanks to her rich experience in projects of interaction between art and science at the BBC, the Arvon Foundation and the CERN will encourage excellency in the initiative. Ca' Foscari and the participating institutions in the Venetian District for Research and Innovation are deeply committed to the promotion of science as a fundamental principle for growth and social and cultural progress, a goal we will be able to fully reach thanks to Ariane's unique contribution".
Ariane Koek comments the nomination with enthusiasm: "I am absolutely delighted to be working with Ca Foscari University to lead on the establishment of the Science Gallery Venice - the first of its kind in Italy. As one of the most culturally important cities in the world, Venice has played both a major role in the history of science and the arts and is an ideal location for the latest initiative in the Science Gallery International network. By harnessing Venice and Italy’s rich cultural past and the present to focus on the future, the vision of Science Gallery Venice will be to showcase new ideas on sustainability for the environment, cultural heritage and what it is to be human. At the heart of our work will be engaging the pioneers of our future - 15-25 year olds – by colliding arts and science in unexpected ways to explore, discover and demonstrate ideas and solutions for the most challenging questions of our time.”
Andrea Bandelli, executive director of Science Gallery International, comments: “We are very excited to welcome Ariane Koek as founding director of Science Gallery Venice. A recognized world leader in the field of science and art, Ariane brings to Science Gallery an outstanding international experience developed at CERN and BBC. On behalf of the whole Science Gallery Network, I extend my congratulations to her and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice on her appointment.”
Ariane Koek will guide the Science Gallery development at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italian stage of the Global Science Gallery Network. The announcement was made by the Rector Michele Bugliesi, opening an interactive show of arts and science and a 3D video projection on the external walls of the old factory in the port of San Basilio where the Science Gallery Venice will be in 2019 after the restoration of the building. Science Gallery Venice will be located in the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority Area, opened to innovative, strategic initiatives involving universities and research centers. Meanwhile activities will be organized to raise awareness and develop the project of Ca' Foscari. The monumental video mapping produced by DrawLight, specialized agency in immersive storytelling, celebrated the deep and meaningful link between art and science.
Science Gallery Venice will involve young people and the Venetian community in a stimulating and ever-changing environment, creating and hosting installations and events with a free admission that will revolve around the three pillars of the Science Gallery: connect, participate, surprise.
Science Gallery is an internationally recognized and awarded institution established by Trinity College in Dublin, that promotes a new dynamic model aimed at engaging the next generation of 15-25 years old with arts and science, and inspiring young STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) innovators.
Other venues of the Science Gallery International network are currently being developed and promoted by partner universities at London, Bangalore, Melbourne and Detroit. The Network has engaged over 3 million young people since 2008 in its transdisciplinary programmes exploring the collisions between science and art.
