Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences (CPNAS), as part of its mission to explore the intersections of art, science, and culture, actively fosters connections between creative practitioners in art and science, facilitating collaborations that advance knowledge production and community engagement in a wide variety of areas including climate change and health. Since 2009, CPNAS has organized and hosted DC Art Science Evening Rendezvous (DASER), a valued gathering spot for the art sci community in Washington, D.C. DASER is where many conversations around the potential of cross-disciplinary conversations have germinated.
Examples of collaborative work fostered by CPNAS:
National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI)
NAKFI was a 15-year project that fostered collaborations across science, engineering, and medicine that eventually grew to include artists and designers.
CDC Foundation
More than 50 artists, scientists, physicians, and other stakeholders convened virtually on April 14, 2022, to discuss the role art might play in increasing the public’s confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines.
Getty Foundation
In 2021, the Getty Foundation engaged CPNAS to support collaborations between curators from over 70 museums and institutions in southern California and scientists and artists as part of Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.
Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Since 2021, CPNAS has collaborated with the Gulf Research Program (GRP), to foster connections between scientists, community leaders, and artists working in the Gulf region through the establishment of the Creative Gulf Network.
Performing Artist-in-Residence
To explore the power of performance, music, and storytelling in engaging the public and community, CPNAS invited jazz great Fred Johnson to be the first Performing Artist-in-Residence at the NAS.
Image credit: Benjamin Dubansky, Brooke Dubansky, Brandon Ballengee, and Christopher Just, in collaboration with Le Bleu Perdu Project, Fresh Sea, from the series Né dans le peche (Born in Sin), 2024. Digitized image from a histology slide of American alligator osteoderm, stained with a modified version of Ramón y Cajal’s picroindigo-carmine and Kernechtrot Nuclear Fast Red. Courtesy of the artists, Le Bleu Perdu Project, Atelier de la Nature.