The scientific knowledge of life expands at an enormous rate, and with it the public discussion of its implications. Stem cell research, bionics, genetic modifications—these topics transcend science and leave laboratories, enter culture and politics, and challenge our fundamental understanding of what it means to live and be human. The influence is mutual: politics and culture influence the science, whether directly via legislation and funding, or indirectly via public discourse and education. How can artists meaningfully engage in this enormously…

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Artists by nature are exploring the human condition and experience. Researchers conduct studies to improve human health. They seem unrelated at first glance. However, the parallel between scientific curiosity and artistic inquiry is meaningful. In the fall of 2018, artists and researchers embarked on a year-long residence program through a partnership between Boris Oicherman, Target Studio Curator for Creative Collaboration, and Dr. Timothy Schacker, the Vice Dean for Research at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Researchers often work so intensely in…

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The Target Studio for Creative Collaboration at WAM is a unique museum space dedicated to collaborations between artists and scholars. It is a workplace, a convening space, a laboratory, a gallery, and a classroom. It hosts workshops, discussions, exhibitions, performances, and symposia. It is dynamic, evolving, and unpredictable, as all true collaborations are. The program of the Target Studio does not stop at the museum walls. Its relationships spread across departments at the University of Minnesota and throughout the Twin…

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