Digital Art, Robotics and Curating Projects
Anna Dumitriu’s work blurs the boundaries between art and science with a strong interest in the ethical issues raised by emerging technologies. Her installations, interventions and performances use a range of digital, biological and traditional media including live bacteria, robotics, interactive media, and textiles. Her work has a strong international exhibition profile and is held in several major public collections, including the Science Museum in London. Dumitriu is known for her work as founder and director of “The Institute of Unnecessary Research”, a group of artists and scientists whose work crosses disciplinary boundaries and critiques contemporary research practice. She recently completed a Wellcome Trust commission entitled “The Hypersymbiont Salon", is collaborating as a Visiting Research Fellow: Artist in Residence with the Adaptive Systems Research Group at The University of Hertfordshire (focussing on social robotics), (Leverhulme Trust 2011) Artist in Residence on the UK Clinical Research Consortium Project “Modernising Medical Microbiology” at The University of Oxford, and Visiting Research Fellow in the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics at The University of Sussex. Her major international project “Trust me I’m an artist, towards an ethics of art/science collaboration” (in collaboration with the Waag Society in Amsterdam and The University of Leiden) investigates the novel ethical problems that arise when artists create artwork in laboratory settings. She is also a contributing editor to Leonardo Electronic Almanac, and winner of the 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology Communication Award. Dumitriu was recently awarded Wellcome Trust funding for her new project "The Romantic Disease: An Artistic Investigation of Tuberculosis". For Anna Dumitriu's Bioart and Bacteria work see www.normalflora.co.uk, for The Institute of Unnnecessary Research see www.unnecessaryresearch.org. Click the links at the top of this section for information on key projects. For more information contact annadumitriu@hotmail.com
Anna Dumitriu and Alex May were recently resident in The University of Hertfordshire’s Robot House. The artists will spent a week in a house surrounded by research robots and document their experiences here, making artwork in response to the situation. There will be an artists talk (open to the public) on 15th May at 1pm as part of the Computer Science Research Colloquium and a Robot House Event with an exhibition, performance and a chance to meet the robots, including KASPAR (above). To attend the event please book here.
“My New Robot Companion” by artists Anna Dumitriu and Alex May in collaboration with scientists Dr Michael L Walters and Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn from the Adaptive Systems Research Group at University of Hertfordshire will be on show at the blinc Digital Festival in Conwy, Wales 27th - 28th October 2012. The project is funded by Arts Council England and University of Hertfordshire.
‘Robots and Avatars – UK Selection’ produced and curated by body>data>space,
showcases a vivid and topical selection of artworks from UK based artists and innovators. The exhibition includes “My Robot Companion” by Anna Dumitriu, Alex May, and Michael L Walters, and Kerstin Dautenhan (University of Hertfordshire) and is open to the public from 19th to 28th September 2012, at 12 Star Gallery.The gallery is located at Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU, the European Commission in London. See photos here and of the exhibition opening here.
We are pleased to announce that Anna Dumitriu and Alex May’s project “My New Robot Companion” was awarded Arts Council England funding to develop a new robot in collaboration with The Adaptive Systems Research Group at University of Hertfordshire. The mannequin above will form part of the base of the robot. See here for the more information.
