Art/Science Collaboration as a Critical Technical Practice in Disaster Research
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Robert Soden
University of Toronto Canada
soden@cs.toronto.edu
Author(s):
ICTs are a central component of how society understands and responds to the threats posed by disasters. However, the design and predominant approaches to deploying systems have come under increasing criticism in recent years for prioritizing knowledge produced by technical disciplines over other ways of knowing and failing to adequately incorporate the priorities of vulnerable or affected communities. Prior work in fields such as science and technology studies (STS) and human-computer interaction (HCI) has pointed to art/science collaboration as one approach for helping to explore such questions. As an attempt to draw on this potential, we have conducted three studies of settings in which art and science are brought together. First, we designed and facilitated two events - a 2-day "artathon" and a weeklong art/science worskhop. Each brought together artists and scientists to create new works of art based on disaster and climate data. Second, we studied artist-in-residency programs at several science or technology organizations where climate or disasters were an object of focus. Drawing on these studies, we contribute two sets of findings. First, we articulate opportunities, based on a review of the various artworks produced, for expanding research and design in climate and disaster informatics. Second, we offer suggestions for researchers seeking to stage successful art/science collaborations or similar interdisciplinary events.
The interplay of crisis and art