Through three examples, we narrate our activities that intertwine art and science to discuss the study of climate risks and civil protection
The greatest scientists are artists as well
A. Einstein
Floods, fires, droughts: all phenomena that deeply impact each of us, prompting reflection on the risks we must face and the importance of safeguarding human life and our planet. Unfortunately, we often feel involved only when such events occur, especially if they are close to us. In this sense, communicating about civil protection and risk issues is challenging because sensitivity is heightened only during emergencies, and much less so in “times of peace”, when disasters haven’t occurred or perceived dangers are absent.
This challenge underscores the importance of effective communication on risks and civil protection. How can we achieve this? In recent years, many areas of science have turned to art to convey their work and engage in outreach and awareness-raising activities. While examples are scarce in the field of risk mitigation research, CIMA Research Foundation has endeavored in this pursuit. Since 2022, all our proposals in this field have been compiled on a dedicated website. Some have been showcased at scientific festivals, schools, and other public events, with select presentations at the EGU General Assembly 2024, the primary annual congress in Earth sciences.
A rekindled relationship
Art and science have historically been closely intertwined, with the study of the natural world often expressed through artistic representation. Famous examples abound, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s engineering and anatomical masterpieces or, a hundred years later, the Micrographia in which Robert Hooke depicted the world as seen through a microscope. What unites the scientific and artistic realms is a shared origin in the exploration of our surroundings, the ability to formulate abstract thoughts, and provide a synthetic representation of the world. This has often lead to a fusion between the figure of the scientist and that of the artist.
Over time, the figures of scientist and artist have drifted apart due to increasing specialization, although the bond has never been completely lost. Today, they are reconnecting. Science, emerging from its ‘ivory tower,’ is now called to engage with the public and political sphere, explaining its rationale, objectives, methods, and potential implications.
In this endeavor, art becomes a valuable ally, capturing attention and transmitting urgency through emotions, where technical explanations fall short. Thus, numerous initiatives involving artists, museums, and scientific institutions have emerged to revive the historical relationship between art and science.
Art as science, science as art
CIMA Research Foundation has embraced the use of art to narrate its work. However, this process is not straightforward. Disciplines like biology or astronomy have traditionally relied on graphic representation, but our focus on risk prediction and monitoring involves highly technical tools such as mathematical equations, algorithms, and artificial intelligence systems, which do not always lend themselves to artistic expression. Nonetheless, the challenge has already been faced by other researchers, with fascinating results. An example is the work of Tadashi Tokieda, a mathematician at Stanford University (and previously a painter), who created artistic toys to showcase the results of his research.
Furthermore, scientific communication on climate change-related risks and civil protection should not merely highlight dangers but also stimulate reflection on prevention. While examples in this area are limited, the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred initiatives from this perspective. Art’s ability to offer an emotional perspective on risks encourages contemplation of causes, consequences, and potential strategies.
The languages of art are manifold, and to make communication as effective as possible, we have chosen to “speak” different ones, hoping to touch the sensitivity of different audiences – people. Thus, CIMA Research Foundation has explored painting, installations, photography, and theater. Let’s try to delve into some examples.
Memory and footprints of risks
“Water doesn’t warn when it reclaims spaces it deems its own.” This line from the monologue It’s Raining, performed by Ligurian actress Annapaola Bardeloni for the national campaign I Don’t take Risk, promoted by the Italian Department of Civil Protection. It is the interpretation of the flood in the Polesine area in 1951, which also encapsulates the stories of many other floods, aiming to be their memory. As highlighted in an editorial from 2015 in the Natural Hazard Observer, memory has a dual value. It represents, in fact, a tool of catharsis for people involved in a disaster; and it is a form of testimony that can live long, passing between generations, for example, during commemorative moments. Memory helps in this way to increase risk awareness and, with it, to encourage community resilience. A third value can also be recognized in the power of memory: being able to create a group identity by virtue of a common past (or experience). This is an important ingredient for community cohesion, which in turn, according to studies, can promote disaster preparedness and public cooperation.
Another project developed from this perspective. The Events that leave a mark, created as well within I Don’t Risk, is a collection of testimonies of the effects of extreme events, ranging from photographic images to the voices of those who experienced them. It is structured almost like a journey through Italian villages (the locations are collected on an interactive map), narrating the risks of our peninsula: earthquakes, fires, floods. Each of them leaves a mark on the territory and the people who inhabit it; not by chance, the exhibition was presented during the Genoa Science Festival, whose theme for 2023 was precisely Footprints.
Community
Obviously, it’s not only memories of the past that reinforce group or community identity. Although many projects of CIMA Research Foundation now have international reach, the bond with the territory in which we were born has never been lost. Many of our activities have led us to work with and for the places that surround us – through art as well. With the project A wall as long as a film, in which we created, in collaboration with local artists, a mural in Cairo Montenotte, a small municipality in the Savona hinterland. The work presents different elements that refer to the history of the territory: its unfolding in a film reel recalls its industrial history.
In this case, the message is not enclosed in the memory of a past disaster, but rather in a present, although at risk, richness. The aim of the mural is to recall the richness of biodiversity, both fauna and flora: a texture based on the tree species of the territory frames the wild animals, whose gaze is directed at the observer, in an instinctive invitation to reciprocate it. Thus, the artistic narrative of nature conservation themes returns in this case, characterizing many projects worldwide, starting from the prints of the Endangered Species series created by Andy Warhol in 1983.
Why a mural? A vast representation on a city wall, with which anyone can freely interact: street art is perhaps the most accessible form of art, available to the entire community.
From art to action?
These examples illustrate CIMA Research Foundation’s efforts to merge art and science. It is work that we started doing since our inception and that today is also part of some international projects. Proposed on various occasions (brought to schools, public events, scientific festivals), this work seems to have been well received and also led us, in 2023, to collaborate on drafting guidelines for the Museum of Science and Technology in Addis Ababa.
The power of art in conveying messages in the form of emotions, even of a scientific nature, is widely recognized in literature and justifies the flourishing of initiatives worldwide. As for CIMA Research Foundation, there have been opportunities to make known these artistic elaborations of our work, and the feedback – informal – has been positive. However, there are various aspects that we would like to deepen in this context. Can we say that art has contributed to greater awareness of risks? Has it truly been the vehicle to push for behavior change?
These open questions are difficult to answer, because they would require a long-term study. However, we can hypothesize an evaluation through questionnaires and interviews that can guide us in the continuation of these activities. The benefit would not be only of citizenship but also of our own researchers. Like any valid relationship, in fact, the interaction between art and science is reciprocal. Art not only provides those who research new avenues and approaches to communicate their work in its complexity but, as an article in the Smithsonian Magazine observes, it can “influence the way scientists do science,” potentially stimulating inspiration, curiosity, and creativity.