Art Science Collaboration: Life in a New Light

Abstract

Art/Science Collaboration is an optional module at the University of Westminster. It uses student-centred, autonomous learning; tutors play facilitative roles. Students from various disciplines engage in skills exchange and peer teaching. Multidisciplinary teams form, researching and developing interdisciplinary project work. Learning outcomes and assessments focus on learning and development processes rather than products. A weekly three-hour timetabled session includes workshops, seminars, external visits, tutorials and presentations, supported by online resources including blogs and social media. Migration between and within physical, virtual and conceptual learning spaces is a disruptive but essential element of the pedagogic model. Hierarchies and received wisdom are challenged. Life in A New Light was a 2016 collaboration between students from BSc Biochemistry, BSc Photography and Digital Imaging Technologies and BA Photography. Visible light, ultraviolet and infrared photography and false colour imaging were employed to question the objectivity and subjectivity of vision, scientific imaging and visual representation; the impossibility of perceiving the world as it is perceived by another species became apparent. Throughout the project students overcame various challenges including access to specialist equipment; motivation, organisation and time management; and, not least, research ethics. Successful completion of the project required a creative approach throughout. The development of transferrable skills including problem solving, negotiation and communication is inherent in such a project but these are not taught; they are learnt through experience, supported by the structure of the module. This presentation is a collaborative exercise; a conversation between student and tutors; a manifestation of the ethos of Art/Science Collaboration