Connect Chile residency: Meet the selected artists

Pro Helvetia South America, Art+

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Dominique Koch [Switzerland] and Marcela Moraga [Chile] are the two selected artists for the dual residency, carried out bu Arts at CERN, in collaboration with Pro Helvetia

Connect is a biannual juried residency that supports outstanding practice by artists at any stage of their career who are interested in the dialogue between art and science. Connect Chile invited a selection of artists to propose ideas for a residency in both locations. The two selected artists will complete a dual residency, spending three weeks at CERN, Geneva, and three weeks at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The residency in Chile is organised and coordinated by the Centro Interactivo de los Conocimientos – MIM.

Switzerland and Chile are home to some of the world’s leading scientific research facilities, dedicated to investigating the mysteries of the universe. CERN, in Geneva, studies the fundamental constituents of matter with the most complex particle accelerators and detectors. In Chile, ESO’s telescopes are used to observe a wide range of astronomical objects and the ALMA observatory studies the coldest and most distant objects in order to understand our cosmic origins. Connect Chile will juxtapose their complementary scientific and technological research, fostering meaningful dialogue between the arts and sciences through cultural exchange.

About the Artists

Dominique Koch

Dominique Koch lives and works in Basel, Switzerland. In her installations, which she describes as “thinking laboratories”, the artist merges different fields of research to create hybrid entanglements and unlikely intellectual encounters.

Marcela Moraga

Chilean artist Marcela Moraga explores the tensions of the nature–culture binary. In her drawings, textiles and video performances, Moraga develops new narratives that enable the connection between humans and non-humans.

About the residency

During their residencies, the artists will explore scientific sites, gaining a first-hand understanding of the scale and complexity of the research taking place there. Koch and Moraga will work with and receive support from scientists and engineers, as well the curatorial teams from Arts at CERN in Geneva and from Chile to research new forms of expression in their artistic practices and transform these new forms into works of art.

The announcement of Connect Chile marks the fifth edition of Connect, which has included residencies at scientific organisations in South Africa and India. The Connect programme is a collaboration framework launched in 2021 by Arts at CERN and Pro Helvetia to serve as a platform for exchange between artistic and scientific communities across the world.

The jury for Connect Chile was composed of Mónica Bello, Josefina González, Lucie Kolb, Enrique Rivera and Jennifer Teets.

About

Connect Chile is part of the Connect residency programme by Arts at CERN in collaboration with Pro Helvetia. Connect serves as a global platform for interactions and dialogue between artistic and scientific communities across Switzerland, South Africa, India and Chile, which will be realised during the course of 2021-2024.