A round table discussion on art and science in the pandemic launches Hac Te, Barcelona's Art, Science and Technology hub

Nine institutions in Barcelona came together last December to create an Art, Science and Technology hub in the city, which was christened Artech but has since been renamed Hac Te. The institutions behind this cross-disciplinary initiative are the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia · BarcelonaTech (UPC), Fira de Barcelona, the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC), Barcelona Tech City, Hangar, the New Art Foundation, and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), with support from Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. The first event is about to take place, just a few months after the launch of Hac Te: a performance and round table discussion in hybrid format entitled "Art and science during the pandemic," which will be streamed for viewing on 27 April from 7 p.m.

The digital artist Mayra Citlalli Rojo will be giving a performance from her home country of Mexico, and the participants in the round table discussion will be Erich Berger, an artist, curator, cultural worker and the director of Bioart Society, who will be participating from Finland, and Laura Benítez, a doctor of Philosophy, researcher, independent curator and course instructor at the UOC. The discussion will be chaired by Pau Alsina, a member of the UOC's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The institutional welcome will be given by Lluís Nacenta, the director of Hangar, and the event and Hac Te will be introduced by Pau Alsina, the coordinator of this cross-disciplinary initiative; they will both be speaking in person from Hangar. The event will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the UOC's YouTube channel.

This first event will also act as an introduction to the latest issue of the UOC's academic journal Artnodes, which was created and has been edited by Pau Alsina for almost twenty years, as a forum for articles presenting and examining the relationships between art, science and technology. This special issue of the journal features Berger and Benítez acting as guest editors.

Hac Te begins a series of lectures on art, science and technology

This event is the first in a series of lectures on art and science during the pandemic which will take place throughout the year. These talks will foster a dialogue between combined creative processes and collaborations in the field of art and science. Each of these lectures will feature one specialist speaker with links to the world of science or technology, and another associated with the art world.

"These lectures aim to highlight the importance of the contribution made by these collaborations between arts and sciences in a situation of crisis and uncertainty associated with the pandemic," explained Alsina. "At this time," he added, "the cultural and artistic dimension enables us to focus on the current crisis from various perspectives, and improve our understanding of its complexity. The arts encourage us to emphasize precepts and feelings, our connections with ourselves, other people and the world, which are being restricted by the effects of the pandemic." Alsina concluded that "the arts remind us of our connection with what is essential for human beings, while at the same time helping us to reflect on some key issues that have come to the forefront during this crisis, which is an expression and consequence of excessive consumption models, the destruction of biodiversity, climate change, socioeconomic inequalities and neocolonialism."

Practical information

Date: 27 April

Time: 7 p.m.

Limited places available (40 pax). Those wishing to attend must register in advance using this form.

The event will be streamed here.