Science and art on street level

There are works of art that fascinate some, and frighten others. There are some that go unnoticed, and there are others that provoke anger, or on the contrary, bring about good sensations or even excitement. The same goes for spaces. There are places where it’s nice to be, and there are places we feel we’re being kicked out.

The organisation of space undoubtedly affects us, and our home, our neighbourhood and our cities in some way determine the person we are today. But how does our perception respond when it comes to these spaces? What determines whether we like a work of art or a space?

The cycle of conferences – “Science and art on street level” will address this and other related issues with six experts from six different areas of expertise. Art and science will be intertwined in this cycle of conferences on 19 and 27 June, which will take place at the Bidebarrieta Library in Bilbao.

This event is part of the “Scientific Bidebarrieta” series, a monthly initiative organised by the Chair of Scientific Culture of the UPV/EHU and Bidebarrieta Library with the aim of promoting and disseminating scientific knowledge.

The cycle of conferences “Science and art on street level” will be inaugurated on 19 June at 7pm with a first multidisciplinary day that will analyse the relationship between art, neurobiology and psychology, with the participation of the neurobiologist Conchi Lillo, the psychologist Patri Tezanos and the art critic Elena Vozmediano.

The second and final day of the cycle will be held on 27 June at 7pm, with the participation of the architect Santiago de Molina, the artist Christian García Bello and the structural concrete professor, Manuel F. Herrador. The three speakers will discuss how engineering and architecture influence our perception of our everyday spaces.

All the talks that will be held in the cycle will be free of charge, subject to seating capacity. However, in order to enter, invitations must be obtained from the Bidebarrieta Library between 14 and 19 June for the first conference, and between 21 and 27 June for the last one. Collection time is from 10am to 2pm and from 4pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday.

For those who are unable to attend the event, the talks will be streamed live here.

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The Speakers

Elena Vozmediano: Graduate in Art History from the Complutense University of Madrid and Art Critic who collaborates weekly in the El Cultural supplement.

She is a member of the Institute of Contemporary Art and has been awarded the 2012 GAC Prize for Art Criticism by the Catalan art galleries associations. She also received the Recognition of Contemporary Art from the IAC in 2014.

Conchi Lillo is a biologist and doctor in neurosciences by the USAL and professor at the Faculty of Biology of Salamanca since 2011. Her research focusses on the neurobiology of vision at INCYL (Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León), under the IBSAL (Institute for Biomedical Research of Salamanca). She runs the Electronic Microscopy Service of the University of Salamanca. She has published more than 60 scientific articles and collaborates with the scientific dissemination platforms Naukas and Desgranando Ciencia.

Patri Tezanos is a psychologist who specialises in neuroscience and is a scientific influencer on the “Antroporama” YouTube channel. She combines this dissemination activity with research in the field of neuroscience at the Cajal Institute of the CSIC (Spanish Research Council) in Madrid.

Christian García Bello is an artist with a degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s degree in Contemporary Art from the University of Vigo. He has made individual and joint exhibitions in fairs such as ARCOMadrid and ARTBO. He has developed projects in artistic residencies in Belgium, the Netherlands and Russia. He has also been selected and awarded prizes in competitions such as those organised by the Auditorio de Galicia and the Fundación María José Jove, among others.

Manuel F. Herrador is a civil engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and holds a doctorate from the University of A Coruña (UDC), where he works as a professor and researcher in the area of Construction Engineering at the Higher Technical School of Civil Engineering. He is a member of the Construction Group of the UDC (gCons), the Skeptic Circle and the Galician Association of Scientific and Technological Culture Communicators (DivulgACCIÓN).

Santiago de Molina is an architect and professor of projects at the San Pablo CEU University and the University of Alcalá de Henares. He has published several books (“Hambre de arquitectura”, “Arquitectos al margen”, “Múltiples. Estrategias de la arquitectura” and “Collage y Arquitectura”), and he is editor in chief of the “Múltiples estrategias de arquitectura” blog which aims to offer a different and accessible view of architecture.