Cultured Interactions: Art, Science and Broad
Temporary art installation and public talk by Broad artist-in-residence alumna Guhapriya Ranganathan will be held on November 16 at the Broad Institute.
Can art and science mutually contribute to each other? Broad Institute artist-in-residence alumna Guhapriya Ranganathan, known as Gupi, has been exploring answers to similar questions since her first interactions with scientists at the Broad.
Gupi, who was the Broad artist in residence from 2009 to 2011, will describe how her interactions with the Broad community have influenced her work in a talk titled, "Cultured Interactions: Art, Science and Broad." The event, which is open to the public, will occur at the Broad on Friday, November 16.
A temporary exhibition accompanying the talk, also titled “Cultured Interactions,” will explore Gupi's evolution as an artist in the scientific space, spanning her pre- and post-Broad residency work. The exhibit will include “Cultured Interactions: Continuum," a series of mixed media drawings on paper, canvas, and wood inspired by Broad scientists' efforts to answer complex genomic and neurobiological questions by analyzing and finding patterns in huge volumes of data.
Back in 2006, after spending a summer with her grandmother who was suffering from memory loss, Gupi had started creating mixed media drawings, mapping her own memories. The structures and patterns in these drawings kept evolving over time and were deeply influenced by her ongoing collaborations and discussions with artists, Broad scientists, friends, and family.
“This exhibit explores the process of physical and spiritual change and growth through continuous interactions, movement and synthesis,” said Gupi.
Recently, Gupi has collaborated with researchers in the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, exploring their search to understand the genetics and biology of severe mental illness. Since 2016, she has designed and completed two site-specific installations, one for the Stanley Center ten-year anniversary and a commissioned piece entitled “Cultured Interactions: Evolving Landscape.”
Guhapriya Ranganathan, detail from Cultured Interactions: Evolving Landscape, 2018, site-specific commissioned permanent installation of digital decals of mixed-media artworks including woodblock prints on rice paper and Arches paper, acrylic, gouache and markers, 9’ X 23’9 3/4” and 9’ X 22’9 1/16.” Photo: Will Howcroft
The Broad's artist-in-residence program allows scientists and artists to collaborate, learn, and innovate together. The program recognizes that both artists and scientists strive to make sense of our world and explore unanswered questions.
"Cultured Interactions: Art, Science and Broad," will take place at 12:00 pm in the Broad's Yellowstone conference room. Attendees are invited to view the accompanying “Cultured Interactions” exhibition outside the conference room before and after the talk.
