AUTHOR=Stamato Lydia , Higgins Erin , Prottoy Hasan Mahmud , Asgarali-Hoffman S. Nisa , Scheifele Lisa , Dusman Linda , deCarvalho Tagide , Ascencao Teresa , Hamidi Foad TITLE=Raaz: A Transdisciplinary Exploration at the Intersection of Bioart, HCI, and Community Engagement JOURNAL=Frontiers in Computer Science VOLUME=4 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/computer-science/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2022.830959 DOI=10.3389/fcomp.2022.830959 ISSN=2624-9898 ABSTRACT=

Living organisms and their biological properties, including the capacity for transformation and representation of information, offer exciting and inspiring opportunities for transdisciplinary art and design explorations. While an emerging body of work is increasingly investigating the possibilities at the intersection of interactive computing, biology, and art, more work is needed to investigate the potential of these approaches for supporting community and public engagement and participation in art, science, and technology. In this project, we describe a multimedia transdisciplinary bioart installation and hands-on agar art activity that we presented to members of the public in a community biology lab setting. Using short interviews, observations, and questionaries, we investigated attendees' reactions and impressions of the experience and found that the event generated transdisciplinary reflections, invited participants to bring their previous knowledge and experience to bear in engaging with different aspects of the work, and that the audience benefited from contextualization by artists.