Artists, scientists and makers

Artists:

Špela Petrič

She won on 6 September 2019 the Award of Distinction at Ars Electronica 2019, in Linz, Austria. In 2017 she showed her work in Zone2Source at “Trust me, I’m an Artist”, a exhibition we co-produced with Waag Society. Under the title Confronting Vegetal Otherness Špela Petrič presented three works at Ars Electronica (6 – 9 September 2019), besides Phytoteratology, also Skotopoiesis and Strange Encounters.Špela is a Slovenian new media artist and former scientific researcher currently based between Ljubljana, SIovenia, in Amsterdam, NL. She received a PhD in Biomedicine at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and an Advanced Master in Arts from LUCA, Brussels, Belgium

Christiaan Zwanikken

Dutch artist Christiaan Zwanikken (1967) has received international recognition through his kinetic and mechanical sculptures, sound works, performative and responsive installations. Using a variety of sculptural media, robotics, biology, micro-controllers, and sound— his work is both an artistic and technological experiment in which innovation and invention play an important role.

Annemie Maes

Annemarie is fascinated by nature in all her forms. Her work involves bees and bacteria

Michael Sedbon

Michael Sedbon is an interaction designer and artist exploring the relationships between technology and natural forms. Michael won the BioArt Design Awad with Raoul Frese in 2019

Ivan Henriques

Ivan Henriques is a transdisciplinary artist and researcher working in multimedia installations examining living systems. He explores in his works hybrids of nature and (technological) culture creating new forms of communication between humans and other living organisms. He considers nature as inspiration and a necessary factor in the development of the technological world. Henriques coordinates the interdisciplinary group and mobile residency program EME (Estúdio Móvel Experimental, since 2008). His works are exhibited internationally, participating in festivals, residencies and talks.

Samira Boon

Principal of Studio Samira Boon, a textile architecture studio based in Amsterdam and Tokyo with a strong focus on creating flexible and dynamic environments. As an expert on the material properties of textiles, Studio Samira Boon advises and collaborates with architects to formulate site-specific solutions. The studio was founded in Japan and combines the adaptive and sensory qualities of materials with research into state-of-the-art computerized production techniques. Recent works include the 3D woven SUPERFOLDS and ARCHI FOLDS: two innovative series of textile structures, which bring together technique, science and art. For ARCHI FOLDS she collaborated with Tokyo University and the Dutch TextielLab to combine traditional origami techniques with computerized textile folding possibilities.

With ARCHI FOLDS Samira won the Creative Heroes Award

Anna Sitnikova, interior architect

Simone Hoang

Simone collaborated with HF and exhibited at VU Amsterdam

Emma van der Leest

“Ultimately the role of the future designer is to explore how nature’s biodesigned materials could become tomorrow’s consumer products”

Scientists:

Manuel Alfonso Soler

Passionate by science, electronics and programming, Manu helped Michael Sedbon to develop the electronic parts of his photo-bioreactors.

Manuel has also expertise in video and photography

Arthur Kroon

Agata Maria Kołodziejczyk

Project coordination manager at Analog Astronaut Training Center, Lunares, Poland

MAKERS

Andjela Tomic

Angela is an electronic engineer. “I was born with a screwdriver in my left hand and incredible vigorous curiosity. Those two elements are following me until today, walking on the wire in between art and science, my heart is always beeting in the rhythm to dream, to imagine, to repair and to create.”

Students:

EDUCATION: Our program involves students in collaborative work and internships

Iza Awad

Our Bacteria cellulose expert, Master student at VU

Granit Domgjoni

Our expert in Photosynthetic Microbial Fuel Cell. Granit is skilled in Biotechnology, Biophysics, Renewable Fuels, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Machine Control, and Manufacturing, VU Master student.