Lunch talk:
When art meets science
When art meets science
How artistic practice—from anatomical drawing to sustainable colors—reshapes research communication
Art and science might seem like opposites, but they are actually deeply connected, and many scientists and artists face similar questions and challenges.
In this lunch talk, we explore how artistic practice and scientific research can enrich one another, especially in the context of science communication, by bringing together artists and researchers who are building bridges between disciplines.
In this lunch talk, you'll discover how artistic visuals, anatomical art and AI can help explain complex diagnoses and improve education and how sustainable colors can be created by observing and imitating nature.
In this lunch talk, we explore how artistic practice and scientific research can enrich one another, especially in the context of science communication, by bringing together artists and researchers who are building bridges between disciplines.
In this lunch talk, you'll discover how artistic visuals, anatomical art and AI can help explain complex diagnoses and improve education and how sustainable colors can be created by observing and imitating nature.
Nicolas Baeyens
Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp
Nicolas Baeyens is a visual artist, researcher, and coordinator of the sculpture department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. In his work, he creates large-scale installations and sculptures in steel that are intentionally not permanent. Once completed, they are destroyed, challenging the traditional preservation of art in its physical form. In his current PhD project, he explores how memory functions as a medium, while the artwork itself becomes a temporary carrier of a concept.As a member of the Young Academy of Belgium, he questions how art can challenge and enrich scientific thinking.
María Boto Ordóñez
BIOMAB
Dr. María Boto Ordóñez is a researcher at KASK / School of Arts (HOGENT), where she leads Laboratorium, an experimental lab for art, design, and biotechnology. With a background in food technology and a PhD in life sciences, her research explores sustainable color production through biology and artistic collaboration. Her current project, Ecology of Colour, investigates the aesthetics and materials of structural color in close partnership with designers and artists. Maria is also a member of the Young Academy of Belgium.
Ann Van de Velde
BIOMAB
Dr. Ann Van de Velde is both a medical doctor and an artist. She combines her background in hematology with a degree in graphic arts to explore how creativity can enhance medical education and communication. She is Medical Director of the Stem Cell Collection Unit at Antwerp University Hospital and guest lecturer at the University of Antwerp. As co-lead of the BIOMAB project, she advocates for integrating artistic approaches into healthcare and science education.
Pascale Polliers
BIOMAB
Pascale Polliers is a visual artist whose work explores the intersection of art, science, and philosophy. She trained at Sint-Lucas School of Arts in Ghent and the Medical Artists’ Association of Great Britain. As co-founder of the BIOMAB project at the University of Antwerp and president of ARSIC, she promotes interdisciplinary collaboration between artists and scientists. Her sculptural work often focuses on medical and anatomical themes and is based in Liverpool and London under the name Artem Medicalis.
More about
Jonge Academie
Jonge Academie (or: 'The Young Academy') is an independent inter-university and interdisciplinary forum for young top researchers and artists with a vision of science, art, policy, and society. It consists of about fifty young scientists and artists who collaborate on socially relevant themes outside their working field in the strict sense of the word. Through viewpoints, opinion pieces, and events on current topics, they aim to contribute to the public perception of science and to the debate on science policy—specifically from the perspective of young academics and artists.
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