[spectre] Call for participants: Making_Life – a research platform for art and synthetic biology by the Finnish Society of Bioart

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Call for participation - please share!

Making_Life 
– a research platform for art and synthetic biology with three working
periods

Making_Life is a project by the Finnish Society of Bioart in
collaboration with Biofilia - Base for Biological Arts - Aalto
University Finland and Bio:Fiction Vienna Austria within the SYNENERGENE
EU Project.

Working period I: 
22nd – 27th of May at Biofilia - Base for Biological Arts - Aalto
University Helsinki/ Finland.

Instructors for working period I: 
Oron Catts/SymbioticA, The University of Western Australia with the
support of Marika Hellman, Biofilia, Aalto University and selected
guests.

Please download the application form from: 
http://bioartsociety.fi/Making_Life_AF.pdf 

Application deadline: 
send your application form with attachments until 15.3.2014 to
erich.berger at bioartsociety.fi 

Synthetic biology 
is a new area of biological research that combines science and
engineering. Synthetic biology encompasses a variety of different
approaches, methodologies and disciplines, with the aim to design and
construct new biological functions and systems not found in nature. Most
approaches of synthetic biology are based on genetic engineering but
goes much further. In genetic engineering the goal is to manipulate an
organism’s genes, usually by transferring one gene from a donor to a
host organism. Synthetic biology, on the other hand, aims at creating
whole new biological functions, systems and eventually organisms
(Schmidt 2012). Other SB approaches are dealing with making novel
life-forms from “scratch” (for example protocells). Synthetic Biology is
still in its beginnings but if it reaches its potential promises it will
become a highly transformative technology in terms of economy, ecology
and ethics. 

Making_Life 
is a series of three consecutive work periods over the course of 12
months. The first period will take place between 22nd – 27th of May 2014
in Helsinki, the second is planned for November 2014 in Vienna, and the
third, in May 2015, will take place again in Helsinki. The goal of
Making_Life is to enable practitioners to critically and in an informed
manner, engage with the socio-cultural, political and ethical
ramifications of synthetic biology through art. We will select a group
of international multidisciplinary participants composed of artists,
designers, engineers, scientists and students who will cooperate within
this bottom-up devised program. The methods will shift from workshops,
laboratory sessions and field trips, to forums, seminars and lectures.
It will comprise theoretical as well as hands on approaches. The first
and second work period will cover the introduction to synthetic biology,
its sciences and technologies, the work on associated questions in art,
ecology, ethics and politics and practical experience in the laboratory
and with experiments. The third work period will be an intense session
to create prototypes for artworks. The time in between the periods is
for developing and deepening the participants’ focus of investigation.
Participants are expected to join work periods I+II after which the
participants for the period III are selected.

Support:
we are able to give support for travel and accommodation if required.

About:
The Finnish Society of Bioart http://bioartsociety.fi 
Biofilia - Base for Biological Arts -Aalto University Helsinki
http://biofilia.aalto.fi/en/ 
Oron Catts http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/residents/catts 
Bio:Fiction http://bio-fiction.com 
SYNENERGENE http://www.synenergene.eu/ 

Funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union

-- 
Erich Berger
Toiminnanjohtaja / Director
The Finnish Society of Bioart
http://bioartsociety.fi