On 27 February, from 7 to 8:30 pm, Hangar will host a presentation by Oron Catts in conversation with Andy Gracie and Laura Benítez Valero, as part of the European Biofriction project.
Oron Catts will give a presentation of his artistic projects, including an introduction to SymbioticA, a pioneering research laboratory that allows artists to carry out wet biology practices in a university department of biological sciences. After the presentation, a round table will be proposed on some topics discussed, with the participation of the artist and researcher Andie Gracie and Laura Benítez Valero, director of Biofriction.
The activity is free and will take place in Hangar’s Ricson hall.
From October 28 to 30 Hangar hosted the first meeting of the European Biofriction project with partners Zavod Kersnikova, Bioart Society and Cultivamos Cultura.
The generation of these hybrid contexts that favor the collaboration of artists and scientists has provided a new conceptual and practical framework for artistic research, has allowed paradigm changes that affect other areas of knowledge / cultural areas, but has also highlighted barriers recurring and sectoral silos that jeopardize effective collaboration between these two communities.
Aware of the potential and needs of this new area of knowledge, the Biofriction project, from October 1, 2019 until September 30, 2021, will focus on the intersection between art, science and technology with the objective of:
– Address the need for common tools and approaches at the intersection between bioart, biohacking and biotechnologies, in order to generate hybrid spaces for artists, curators and social agents.
– Stimulate transnational cooperation between artists and scientists, building communication bridges between the different areas of technical, scientific, social, artistic and cross-cultural knowledge, in a hybrid framework of cultural production through an international program that includes workshops, residences, laboratory Summer and exhibitions.
– Explore the transhackfeminist approach and perspective as an innovative methodology to simulate artistic research, cultural transformations and transnational production in the field of bioart and biohacking.
– Promote the transnational mobility of artists, experts and the international circulation of works that make bioart and biohacking accessible to all through residency programs, exhibitions, talks and workshops.
– Collect lessons to develop codes of good practice in the field of trans-disciplinary practices, in order to replicate them beyond this collaboration.
A talk about care and health by Power Make us Sick

On January 10, Hangar hosted a talk of the Power Makes us Sick collective.
Have you ever had every intention to care for someone close to you and failed inexplicably? Do you want your communities to be more resilient and strong, but always seem to be focusing on the urgent tasks in front of you? The accountability model is a tool being developed by PMS to facilitate communities in taking care of one another’s mental, physical, and social health without requiring a clinic or specialized knowledge. Inspired by methods from the Icarus Project, the Group for Other Medicine at the social solidarity clinic of Thessaloniki, various solidarity initiatives, and their own research and work, the tool brings communities together to address illness as it manifests in the individual and how that is connected to the health of the social body. In this gathering, they discussed the impacts of health autonomy together while also outlining some of PMS’ theory and approach, and some of the collective’s ongoing research and work. They also played around with the accountability model to understand how it works and how it can be used. Attendees were invited to take a look at the model of the text in advance online if it was desired, but the discussion did not assume any prior knowledge.
Power Makes Us Sick (PMS) is a creative research project focusing on autonomous healthcare from a feminist perspective. PMS investigates the ways that our mental, physical, and social health is impacted by imbalances in and abuses of power. They understand that mobility, forced or otherwise, is an increasingly common aspect of life in the anthropocene. PMS is a trans-national collective developing free tools of solidarity, resistance, and sabotage that are informed by a deep concern for planetary well-being.
A talk about care and health by Power Make us Sick
On January 10 Hangar hosted a talk by the Power Make us Sick collective in the context of the European Biofriction project.
FREAKTION BAR// DECEMBER 17 2019
The past 17th of December, Kapelica Gallery/ Institute Kersnikova held Freaktion Bar #12: ‘I will grow my burger’.
Artist Theresa Schubert discussed the ethical questions that emerge as a result of biotechnological food production and self-cannibalism, as she, with the help of experts and scientists, produces laboratory meat from her own muscle tissue in her art project.
PARTNERS MEETING// OCTOBER 28 – 30 2019
From October 28 to 30 Hangar hosted the first meeting of the European Biofriction project with partners Zavod Kersnikova, Bioart Society and Cultivamos Cultura.
Biofriction is a Creative Europe project led by Hangar in collaboration with Bioart Society, Cultivamos Cultura, and Kersnikova Institute committed to supporting Bioart and Biohacking practices. The title refers to the combination of biology, biotech, fiction, and arts as surfaces of friction, with particular attention to the emancipatory potential of biotechnology through interfaces in the context of artistic practices. The call is addressed to projects in the field of experimentation with biomaterials, with a special emphasis on transhackfeminist as an approach (or method multiplier) to repoliticize feminism through (bio)practice.
Possible topics
Decolonizing technologies; Queer, Feminist, Anti-racist and
Anti-specist methods; Nature_culture continuum; Xenoecologies;
Biopolitics, Necropolitics and Environmental Struggle; Human and
non-human alliances and solidarity through DIY/DIWO/DIT biotechnology;
artistic and cultural practices; Fiction, Storytelling and performative
narratives; BiosurLas aplicaciones deben ser enviadas en
inglés.veillance and counter-tactics; Bioexperimentation based in open
culture; Bio_sonic agencies; Measurements and material-discursive
practices of (bio)mattering and engaging (bio)practices; Re-visit,
re-think, co-design and co-develop processes; tools and technologies for biological experimentation and Radical Open Health.
The residency offers
(i) Artist fee
(ii) Accommodation
(iii) Roundtrip travel costs
(iv) Research materials budget
v) Access to Biolabs/Wetlabs facilities
(vii) Mentoring / tutoring by expert biotechnologist(s)
Applications must include
(i)A residency proposal (maximum of two A4 pages)
(ii) A CV (maximum 1 page)
(iii) A PDF with 5 examples of your recent projects, with high quality images, relevant links an descriptions.
Who can apply
Researchers, artists, developers, hackers and members of collectives
of all ages (over 18 years old) and nationalities working in the field of bioexperimentation.
*Please note that the budget is adjusted to the cost of travel within the European Union. If the amount of your travel is higher than indicated, you should cover the remaining amount or look for other financing possibilities, for example travel grants.
Duration
The residency program has a duration ranging from 15 days to 2 months. The time-periods will depend on the needs of the project as well as the place where they are carried out (Hangar, Bioart Society, Cultivamos Cultura or Kersnikova Institute). The residency might be split in two phases if the proposed project requires a long-term work on biological materials.
Deadline for submission of applications: extended to February 5th, 2020.
Results of the selection process: End of February 2020: interviews with pre-selected and results of the open call for residency.
For more details concerning the proposal see the attached pdf.
