Hac Te, together with Ars Electronica, the Institut Ramon Llull and the NewArtFoundation, launch the Randa Art|Science to promote artistic research in dialogue with scientific expertise. The program invites an artist from Catalonia to develop a new work in collaboration with BIST, the Institute of Science and Technology of Barcelona, through a stay at the Institute of High Energy Physics (IFAE).
The artist selected by the jury was Andy Gracie, resident in Catalonia, with the project Massive Binaries , which is based on the notion of extracting information and knowledge from fusion and collision processes, focusing specifically on gravitational waves and particle accelerators and their applications in cosmology. “The Randa residency is a great example of symmetrical collaboration between the arts and science, and demonstrates the interest of transversal projects shared by different communities. This program reaffirms the role of HacTe. Bridges are being built between individuals and institutions from different fields with the common goal of generating new forms of expression and knowledge,” says HacTe’s executive manager, Astrid Rousse.
After a thorough evaluation process, the project was a unanimous winner and the jury highlighted its innovative approach to addressing climate challenges through art and science. As part of the residency, Andy Gracie will receive a fee of €20,000 and a production budget to develop and produce the work.
Zoila Babot, Head of Communications at BIST says: “We are very excited to welcome Andy Gracie to one of BIST’s community research centres, IFAE, which is dedicated to theoretical and experimental research in high-energy physics. We believe that both the dialogues during the creation process and the final piece of art will be very enriching for our scientific community and for the public.”
As director of the NewArtFoundation and partner of the program, Vicente Matallana highlights the role of his institution in the development of the Randa Residence as “in charge of preserving the work of art in its facilities and making it accessible to curators and researchers, promoting its dissemination through exhibition programs, creating a legacy for future generations“.
About Randa Art|Science
“The generative ideas ‘Ars Combinatoria’ of the medieval writer and philosopher Ramon Llull have been recognized as key precursors of computer science thought and as a source of inspiration for the interconnections between Art and Science. The name of Randa Art|Science Residency pays tribute to the mountain cave on the island of Mallorca where Llull had the lighting that pushed him to develop his remarkable and distinctive method of thinking and experimenting based on interdisciplinary and intercultural dialogue“, describes Pau Alsina, professor at the Open University of Catalonia and co-director of Hac Te.
Promoted by Hac Te, Ars Electronica, the Institut Ramon Llull, the NewArtFoundation and BIST, the Randa Art|Science was born at the beginning of 2023 with the aim of inviting an artist or group of artists from Catalonia to develop a new work in collaboration with a scientific center. A posteriori, this program aims to exhibit the resulting work of art, dedicated to reflection on the digital transformation of our society and its impact, at the Ars Electronica Festival in September 2023.
The call for the Randa Art|Science was a closed process and four renowned advisors with an expert in digital arts were asked to nominate artists from Catalonia. From the pool of nominees, the consortium of partners carefully selected ten artists and invited them to submit a project proposal. After an exhaustive evaluation process, the winning project was selected at a jury meeting.