Locarno was an incredible experience, from the city to the people and importantly the films. I was able to experience every emotion in front of the big screen from pure joy to despair and anger. The roller coasters of emotions allowed for candid discussions between those that shared our experiences in the showing and those who missed the opportunity to watch the screening.
As there was so much going on, films, retrospectives, conversations and maybe a little swim in the lake to cool off; I would need to relive the week three times over to really fully grasp the essence of the festival. I went in with few expectations and came away with much more than I bargained for, in the greatest possible sense. The projects that I took, namely “me myself & AI” didn’t quite get off the ground, this would have taken me out of the flow of collaboration and discussion that was consistent but spontaneous at BaseCamp. Whilst a disappointing decision, the rewards have more than made up for this. We have started a collaborative project with the Museo Hermann Hesse which will be completed over the next year. Discussions with a Zurich based director to explore concepts surrounding identity, taking influence from my scientific background; and projects that are just beginning to germinate. The Locarno festival will have a profound effect on the narrative of my life.
Having this experience has reinforced my opinion that storytelling fundamentally links the Arts and Sciences. Whilst scientific stories are often linear, the explicit way of telling and leaving little room for interpretation is charming in its own right. The art world has a lot more storytelling tools – non-linearity, sub text, inference – all of which add to the experience and allow for much more discussion. However, if a scientific paper were to take too much and leave the reader to fill in the details, this would certainly be at odds with scientific philosophy. I would relive this experience again, and for anyone even vaguely interested in the opportunity, APPLY! But make sure you take projects that get people talking.
Bradley
I am Bradley Higginson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Basel in the group of Professor Ward. Originally from Britain, I completed my PhD in Spain on photoredox catalysis before moving to Basel for this position. My personal interests span multiple disciplines but cluster around the human experience. On the other hand, my research is more clearly defined, focusing on the incorporation of transition metal catalysts into protein scaffolds. This enables us to bring valuable synthetic reactions into the natural world and develop green, sustainable routes to fine chemicals.
The research blends two previously distinct fields of catalysis to create a new interdisciplinary area of research for the development of ideas, tools, and methods. This interdisciplinarity is one of the key drivers for originality and asks questions on how to foster dialogue between broadly grouped people, in this instance, chemists and biologists. The idea of “interdisciplinarity” is also being explored across the art world, as boundaries begin to break down questions arise like, “what is the role of a theatre, a cinema, or a gallery?” and provide us with a platform to examine our biases and rethink or reform our structures. As boundaries are broken, we can more easily reflect and take the benefits from each.
This blending of previously distinct topics is especially needed between Art and Science and is exactly what BaseCamp provides. At the intersection of Art and Science, when these marked lines are blurred, what comes next? I am attending the festival with an open mind, without defined objectives or goals, only to experience, communicate, and exchange ideas on how we shape the narrative surrounding the themes of this year’s BaseCamp, “Future of Survival”. To get the best of this experience I think preconceptions should be abandoned and the individualistic attitude of “what can I get out of this?” should take a back seat. I am eager to see what we can achieve during this week and then ultimately what comes after.