Never in a million years would I have thought that my genetic propensity for art would be valued in science. Over my career, my art background has been essential for my own science communication, enabled my science to be funded, changed the way I teach, excited the public, and do my science. In my talk, I will give you a glimpse of the several science art projects that I have mentored in my lab in collaboration with UW-Madison Art Graduate and science undergraduate students called “Genetic Reflections”. These collaborations led to a 40ft sandblasted glass and mirror piece that is used for outreach and teaching in our Biotech center and also a coloring book, funded by the National Science Foundation. “Genetic reflections” communicates the importance of genetics, genomics, and evolution in our lives. These projects were mentored by myself through my role in Life Sciences Communication and the Division of the Arts, of which I am an affiliate faculty. These affiliations provide students credit for their collaborative work, and access to funding and supplies. In the past, I have also mentored performance artists who have made fabric from the cuticle of the C. elegans nematode. More recently, I am working on a new science art project in collaboration with a sculpture graduate student, Kate Forer. My passion is to make mitosis accessible to the blind and low-vision communities. Here, we are creating fabric and beaded models of the phases of the cell cycle, including the midbody stage (my life’s passion). We are collaborating with local bind and low-vision students in the Madison, Wisconsin community to help us create these 3D tactile models. Art has definitively made science more accessible to many more communities than I ever imagined, and allowed people to recognize the necessity and sense of wonder that art brings to science. Just as important, art has allowed me to bring my whole self to science, and impact the pubic’s understanding of science in fun and innovative ways.

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Following the workshop, email Toacca Roberts (.2384) to confirm your attendance for the full event time. If you were not able to attend the full event, email Toacca Roberts to discuss the possibility of 5001 course points.