Join us for a very special in-conversation event between renowned artist Patricia Piccinini and international stem cell expert Professor Melissa Little, moderated by Alanta Colley.
Patricia and Melissa will reflect on creativity, scientific innovation in stem cell research and societal impact, exploring how art can help us make sense of science and a field moving toward once‑unimaginable solutions.
The discussion will be anchored in Patricia’s new artwork Células Madre, commissioned for the EMERGENCE[Y] exhibition.
Células Madre revisits Patricia’s 2002 Still Life with Stem Cells and reflects the technological advances made in the last two decades. It explores innovation in research, the implication for future generations and the hope that is felt at the potential to cure the currently incurable.
This event is part of a day of free programming exploring the future of stem cell research through art and science. Across Saturday 15 August, enjoy talks from stem cell scientists, collaborative drawing, gallery tours and the EMERGENCE[Y] exhibition.
Patricia Piccinini’s Células Madre is the cornerstone of the Melbourne arm of the transnational collaboration Hope Springs Eternal, funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW. The piece is displayed with Still Life with Stem Cells, as well as Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm’s interactive installation An Internal Other at Science Gallery Melbourne.
Auslan available on request with bookings required 7 days in advance. More access information here.
Presented in partnership with the Melbourne node of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW, based at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Part of National Science Week.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Patricia Piccinini is an Australian artist whose work encompasses sculpture, photography, video and drawing. Her practice examines the increasingly nebulous boundary between the artificial and the natural as it appears in contemporary culture and ideas. Her surreal drawings, hybrid animals and vehicular creatures question the way that contemporary technology and culture changes our understanding of what it means to be human and wonders at our relationships with – and responsibilities towards – that which we create.
Professor Melissa Little AC is an international leader in kidney development and pioneer in kidney regeneration research. Her goal is to model the human kidney using stem cells in order to find therapies that replace or restore normal kidney function.
Professor Little is the CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), Chief Scientist at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and leader of the Kidney Regeneration Laboratory, Melbourne.
Alanta Colley is a science communicator based in Melbourne. She is the founder and host of Sci Fight Science Comedy Debate, which brings together scientists and comedians to debate serious issues in a ridiculous manner. Sci Fight is a regular fixture in Melbourne at the Howler Bar and goes on a national tour when it feels like it. Currently she divides her time working as the program manager of the Melbourne Biodiversity Institute at the University of Melbourne and as a comedian, delivering her sell out show ‘Parasites Lost’ and 'Days of our Hives' at Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
