The Fetter Museum of Nanoscience & Art at Bar-Ilan University Activity Report January - June 2023
1 Who we are The Fetter Museum of Nanoscience and Art presents artworks that are the fruit of the collaboration between artists and researchers at the BarIlan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials. This interdisciplinary discourse and collaboration is the unique starting point for conceptual journeys of discovery and exploration into far-away realms that expand our knowledge and increase our curiosity. The exhibitions on display throughout the building offer visitors a firsthand experience of this journey. Visitors can witness live and dynamic research processes that take place throughout the laboratories at the Institute and learn about the dialogue between the researchers and the artists. The establishment of the Fetter Museum of Art and Nanoscience was made possible by the generous donation of the Fetter family (USA), in memory of Mr. Joseph Fetter.
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New Languages The ‘New Languages’ exhibition presents the process of collaborations between the Institute’s researchers and the artists who joined the journey of discoveries. Collaborations at the institute continue for several months or years, during which the teams develop joint research initiatives that involve a discussion of the expressions and conceptualization of both disciplines. From this discourse, a new language is often formed. The exhibition presents a selection of the artworks that were generated through this joint research: Transdisciplinary artworks that present new shared knowledge and bring new insight into the essence of matter or scientific and artistic research. 1 New exhibitions
The Wisdom of Water pop-up exhibition “The Wisdom of Water - Art as an engine for ecological sustainability” in collaboration with the School for Sustainability and the Environment at Bar -Ilan University. Participating artists: Lauren Bon, Lidia Boševski, Ruth Hazi, Dorit Ben Tov. These four artists, as part of their practice, drive research, social, and educational processes. Both Lidia Boševski and Ruth Hazi contribute to the restoration of biodiversity in the sea through sculptural objects that act together as a reef, substituting damaged corals. Ruth Hazi works in the Red Sea in Israel, while Lidia Boševski works in the Adriatic Sea. The value of these projects lies in their collaboration with expert biologists, who 2 document the progress and development of life in the new habitats over a period of several years. The artist Lauren Bon, together with the members of Metabolic Studio, has been working for many years for extensive solutions in the field of ecology in the state of California. In her “Bending the River” project, she examines the pollution of the Los Angeles River. Artist Dorit Ben Tov creates tools designed for controlled irrigation of the land. The four artists create with the aspiration of “Tikun Olam” (mend the world).
• Unbounded Parallel Universesresearcher: Prof. Emanuele Dalla Torre / artist: Israel Hadany • Saltanimals – researcher: Dr. Gili Cohen Taguri / artist: Caroline Maxwell • Flooding- researchers: Prof. Shlomo Margel, Dr. Sarit Cohen, Dr. Safra Rudnick-Glick, Dr. Talli Elane-Wall, Naftali Kanovsky / artist: Eili Levy • Stretching the Limitsresearcher: Prof. Orit Shefi / artist: Vardi Bobrow • Sync Variations- researchers: Prof. Moti Fridman, Dr. Shir Shahal, and Prof. Nir Davidson / artist: Dr. Elad Shniderman • Here and There- researchers: Prof. Dror Fixler, Dr. Hamootal Duadi / artist: Ella Goldman • CoppeRain- researcher: Dr. Shay Tirosh - Prof. Arie Zaban‘s Laboratory / artist: Elad Shniderman • Arabesque - researcher: Prof. Adi Solomon / artist: Mahmood Kiis • A Picture Within – an interactive video that summarizes the experience of 3 collaborations. • Teaspoons- researcher: Prof. Permanent exhibitions Shlomo Margel / artist: Eily Levi
Exhibits on-loan: • Fleeting- researcher: Dr. Tifani Abitbol with architect Ariel Blonder / artist: Shira Shoval • Oblique- artist: Edna Oliver • One Hundred Mules Walking the Los Angeles Aqueductartist: Lauren Bon and metabolic studio Off campus / mobile exhibits: • Arabesque Extractresearcher- prof. Adi Solomon/ artist- Mahmood Kiis • A Diamond Water Dropletresearcher: Prof. Margel’s lab/ artist: Eily Levi 2 Temporary and offcampus exhibits
• Collaboration between Prof. Galit ShohatOphir and the dancer/ choreographer Nitzan Lederman on an exhibit focusing on the nervous system responsible for socialization in Drosophila flies (fruit flies) and humans. • A collaboration between Dr. Moran Dvela- Levitt and the musician-artist Ilan Green focusing on using sound markers to identify proteins that interfere with kidney function. • Artists Amir Meir and Gideon Levy are collaborating with some of our research teams to build a musical instrument that uses optics and light to produce sounds. These projects will be presented at Transmeet 2 Science and Art festival in October 2023 , after which they will gradually be integrated into the museum (currently, the development of the projects for the festival is funded by the municipality of Tel Aviv as a result of our collaboration with Tel Aviv University and the Choreographer’s Association. In order to install the works and integrate them into the museum we will need to have more funding). Coming soon… • Collaboration of scientist Prof. Li Koren with musician Prof. Shai Cohen on the relationship between animal hormones and their sonic gestures. • Cellulose: Into the paper- recycling paper from a Nano point of view, featuring a master papermaker and the Exhibits in development Nano institute microscopy team.
• Bar Ilan University’s School of Sustainability and Environment • The Cecilia Project-(this project was initiated and implemented by the museum team) aimed at empowering at-risk female youths from Arab and Jewish schools in the peripheral cities of Ramla and Lod and training them to be docent’s assistants. • Hemda Center for Science and Education- promotion of core science subjects in high schools • Boeing Nanovation Lab • LASER – Leonardo Arts and Science Evening Rendezvous • Bar-Ilan University Center for Youth • Land of Israel and Archeology Studies • Tel Aviv University and the Choreographer’s Association (the Collaborations Transmeet Festival)
• President of Israel Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal visited the museum as part of a tour of BarIlan’s cutting-edge innovational landscape. • ICOM- The Israeli branch of the International Council of Museums toured the museum and held their annual conference there. • A television station in Bejing, China featured the museum in a news segment. • A group of autistic children from Alut- Israel Society for Autistic Children had an accessible tour tailored for children with specialneeds. • A delegation from the European Union visited the “Wisdom of Water” exhibition to explore the possibility of collaborations between artists and scientists in promoting sustainability. 1 Special events and visits
2 • The museum hosted Beit Berl College’s Graduate STEM program for a special tour focused on the development of science education inspired by collaborations between artists and researchers. • An initial program was launched for teachers and teaching students, aimed at training them as leaders of interdisciplinary programs in their schools. The teachers participated in a full day of tours, a specially designed thinking workshop, and meetings with artists and scientists. • For the second year in a row, the museum was selected to participate in the National Day of Excellence. Special tours were conducted, including visits to researchers’ laboratories. • On International Museum Day, the museum organized tours on sustainability for visiting groups.
1 The Museum Experience Visitors by the numbers Over 2,000 visitors since the beginning of 2023- an 80% increase over year 2022 4-5 groups visit the museum each week, with an average of 15-20 participants in each group Groups are referred through: • The Ministry of Education • The university’s center for youth • Teacher training programs • Senior citizen programs • Hi-tech • Events such as Transmeet festival and National Excellence Day • International academics • Social media and marketing
2 Each group leader (often the classroom teacher) can choose from the following activities: Exhibit tour, interactive tour, laboratory workshop, tour of microscopy/ particle accelerator/ researcher’s laboratory, meeting the artist, meeting the researcher, creative thought development workshop, STEM pedagogy / teacher training workshop, curriculum building. Class visits include 45 -60 minutes of touring exhibits with a guide followed by a workshop / lab visit to either a researcher or microscopy or accelerator lab. The entire visit including exhibits, workshops, lab experiments and microscopy lasts between 2-5 hours depending on the group and which options they chose. Groups can choose to focus on one of the following STEM fields: -Optics -Cycles and sequences -Brain studies -Salts and crystals Coming soonarcheology, nano and art Depending on which STEM field they want to focus on, groups choose from hands-on activities such as: -Salt crystal drawing and analysis under microscopes -Nano measurement gameshow big is an atom? How big is the universe? - Participation in specialized experiments in the Boeing Nanovation Lab All exhibits can be heard either through the guide’s microphone or individual headsets which are distributed. The museum also has special auditory accommodations for hearing impaired visitors.
1 Program developers: • Dr. Daria Dubrovin, physics education- physicist and illustrator • Orly Yehiel Sokolov, head of the educational teamdesigner, gifted education, and special education expert • Ben Osher, chemistry expertteacher and designer. • Chava Kalderon, Archeologist and museum education specialist • Tal Yizrael, curator and art education specialist- initiating and mentoring art and science collaborations • Yoni Hadani, workshop developer and designer, and exhibit maintenance specialist Prices The group admission price is 650 NIS for a group of up to 20 participants plus an additional fee of 300 NIS for the workshop or laboratory component. Groups of more than 20 participants will be split into two groups (or more), doubling the 650 NIS. Special needs groups (such as the group of autistic children from ALUT) are divided into smaller groups and require more staffing, thus the price will vary. Our team: 12 docents: Ph.D. students, Ph.D. graduates, MSc, MA, and advanced BSc students
2 Communication Contact with the museum is via email, telephone, Facebook and Instagram. The telephone is manned on Sun-Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. The staff returns phone messages, especially those concerning setting up a museum visit, in the afternoon and evening as well. E-mails are answered within one day of receipt and Facebook messages are answered twice daily on Sundays- Thursday. Group visits take place on Sundays-Thursday, by advance registration only, from 9 am until the early evening. Individual visits are available with advance registration. The museum has an active website which has recently been upgraded and is updated on a regular basis. The website is accessible in both Hebrew and English. Currently the Facebook page only has Hebrew posts but will be adding English soon.
• STEM and STEAM summer camp - a collaboration with the university's youth program • Transmeet Art and Science Festival is scheduled for October 2023 • Biomimicry workshop for high school students for the 2023- 2024 school year • A new STEAM program for Preschools Looking ahead • A semester long program for gifted students from the city of Rosh Ha’Ayin will launch in October 2023 • Exploring options of expanding individual (open to the general public) visits to the museum • Adding English posts to the Facebook page 3 Thank you for your support! Bar-Ilan University Impacting Tomorrow, Today