CERN is delighted to announce the programme for The Hybrid Nexus, the third edition of CERN’s annual Art and Science Summit. Hosted at the Science Gateway, the Summit is Arts at CERN’s flagship event and a key occasion to reaffirm the Organization’s commitment to fostering dialogue between fundamental research and the arts. Over two days, beginning on the evening of Thursday, 19 November and continuing on Friday, 20 November with an all-day event, the Summit will bring together leading figures from particle physics, fundamental research, artificial intelligence, the arts and curatorial practice. The Hybrid Nexus draws inspiration from mathematician and philosopher Norbert Wiener’s observation that the “boundary regions of science” offer “the richest opportunities to the qualified investigator.” 

This year’s Summit, curated by Giulia Bini, Head of Arts at CERN, builds on Wiener’s idea by investigating the convergence of particle physics, quantum technologies and artificial intelligence and how developments in these fields are creating new perspectives and posing new questions for artistic inquiry and contemporary thought.

On the evening of Thursday, 19 November, the opening event will introduce the central themes and set the stage for the discussions and exchanges to follow. On Friday, 20 November, the programme will feature in-depth lectures, as well as roundtable discussions and conversations that will invite attendees to engage with speakers and investigate the ideas emerging at the intersections of artistic practice, scientific knowledge and technological change.

The opening event will feature Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, theoretical physicist and Deputy Director of the Simons Collaboration on Celestial Holography, Daniel Birnbaum, curator and Professor of Philosophy at Städelschule Frankfurt, and Marta Kuzma, curator and Professor of Art at the Yale School of Art. From CERN, Ursula Bassler, Director for Stakeholder Relations, Enrica Porcari, Chief Information Officer, experimental particle physicist Maurizio Pierini and scientist Sofia Vallecorsa – experts in the development and applications of AI, deep learning and quantum computing at CERN – will participate. Artists Robin Meier Wiratunga and Wendi Yan will also take part. 

On the second day, the participants will include the artist collective Metahaven; Declan Colquitt, Head of Studios at Moth; Carly Whitefield, Head of Programme at LAS Art Foundation, Berlin; and the two co-founders of the Art & Science Lab, Rosa Barba, artist and filmmaker and Professor at ETH Zurich, and Professor Puneet Anantha Murthy. They will be joined by Arts at CERN’s former artists-in-residence Dominique Koch, Martyna Marciniak and Amanda E. Metzger; CERN scientist Verena Kain; and curators and cultural thinkers Marta Kuzma, Lívia Nolasco-Rózsás and Enrique Rivera Gallardo, Director of MIM (Museo interactivo mirador, Santiago, Chile). 

The Summit will conclude with the premières of two new films by Arts at CERN alumnae Dominique Koch and Marion Tampon-Lajarriette, which were developed in the framework of the Arts at CERN residencies Connect Chile and Resonance, respectively.

“The Hybrid Nexus perfectly captures the ambition of the CERN Art and Science Summit: to create a space for reflection, exchange and inspiration, where science and the arts bring different perspectives to shared questions. It reflects CERN’s commitment to fostering dialogue between art and science within an international community,” says Ursula Bassler, CERN Director for Stakeholder Relations. 

“With its third edition, the Summit continues to explore how art, science and technology inform and challenge one another. Through The Hybrid Nexus, we are bringing together artists, scientists and thinkers to question established perspectives, share new approaches and reflect on how artistic practice and scientific and technological developments shape our understanding of the world,” says Giulia Bini, Head of Arts at CERN.

Journalists are warmly invited to attend the Summit. To obtain accreditation, please contact press@cern.ch by 16 November. 

More information is available on the Indico pages of the event: 

• Day 1 evening event, Thursday, 19 November: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1702954/
• Day 2 full-day event, Friday 20, November: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1740658/