Solving a problem requires a variety of puzzle pieces that are carefully crafted to fit together into a solution. Using art to solve technical, organizational, and more logical problems is often an overlooked solution to solving the problems of tomorrow. While people often have functional fixedness when it comes to problem solving, often it is useful to flip narratives, use input from interdisciplinary fields, and generally draw on ideas from all fields - be they artistic or scientific - to come to the best solution and fit together all the puzzle pieces. Dr. Claudia Schnugg, a researcher and curator with an interdisciplinary background in social sciences, business administration, cultural sciences, and the artist, is adept at juxtaposing art and science to create novel ideas, solutions, and questions for the future. We sat down with her on our 3rd episode of our series, “The A in STEAM: Art and Design in Biotech” to learn more about how she crafts these puzzles.
Dr. Claudia Schnugg is a researcher and curator with an interdisciplinary background in social sciences, business administration, cultural sciences, and the arts. She is a curator in the fields of art & science collaboration, organizational aesthetics, embodied knowledge, and artistic interventions. Partners and clients include interdisciplinary collectives like COS – Challenging Organizations and Society, international research institutions and universities, galleries, art organizations and NGOs operating in the field of art-science-technology, and partners from the field of industry and business like the Human Insights Lab at Accenture. Previously, she held the position of the Creative Director at the Science Gallery Venice. She worked with institutions like the Science Gallery International, providing support in developing research proposals and artscience research opportunities. She was head of the Arts Electronica Residency Network at the Ars Electronica Futurelab, where she developed the residency program and curated, mentored, and produced artistic residency projects at numerous scientific institutions. Those included EU projects (Sparks, Connecting Cities Network, European Digital Art and Science Network) and programs in cooperation with world-class institutions like CERN, ESO (European Southern Observatories), Queensland University of Technology, voestalpine, and CTIA (Chungnam Technology Industry Agency).
To learn more about our guest, you can check out this website: https://www.claudiaschnugg.com