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 a lab that their work becomes automated. Over time this can lead to a narrow focus, and they may lose sight of the human aspect of their work. Pairing artists with researchers begins to instill the human aspect back into the researchers’ work. Over the course of their residencies, these collaborators developed innovative approaches to health care and research, and integrated the humanities into graduate medical education.

View each of the four projects below, and learn more about the program’s culminating exhibition, Walk Back to Your Body, by clicking here >>

 

2018 – 2019 Collaborations
As Seen | Alison Hiltner and Dr. Paul Iaizzo and Dr. Brenda Ogle

Begin with Pieces | Yuko Taniguchi and Dr. Kathryn Cullen

Lifelong Choreographies | Anna Marie Shogren and Kristine Talley

Archive of Sleeplessness | Peng Wu and Dr. Michael Howell

 

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Image: Alison Hiltner demonstrates how her device works at the May 2019 Target Studio Collaboration Culmination and Performance. Photograph by Kate Drakulic.