Join the Bell Museum of Natural History for one last after-hours bash in their Minneapolis location on December 9. The Bell Social highlights the museum’s dedication to showcasing the intersection of art and science through their Resident Artist Research Project (RARP). "The museum's residency proposes that art and science are two dialects of the same language. While both are used to describe a variety of phenomena going on around us, art has the power to translate the jargon of science in different, more accessible ways,” said Leah Peterson, Bell Museum Adult Programs and RARP Coordinator.
A variety of refreshments and activities are planned for the Bell Social, including a museum-wide art exhibition and live music from special guest Har Mar Superstar. The event will also feature a mini Café Scientifique with U of M plant biologist and Bell Museum curator Dr. George Weiblen: "The Ethnopharmacology of Energy Drinks,” science trivia, free ExploraDome planetarium shows, DIY art-making, and other surprises. Latin American cuisine from Cafe Racer and a cash bar will also be available for purchase.
RARP artists work with public and scientific staff at the Bell Museum and other University of Minnesota experts to create original works. “To be immersed in study of the natural world, to spend time in the field, in the museum’s collections, with world-class University researchers who are pushing at the edges of current knowledge—and then, to have a space of time in which to let the stories take shape and find expression in the broader community? It’s hard to imagine anything better,” said Laurie Allmann, environmental writer, poet and spring 2013 Bell resident artist. “I consider it an honor and privilege to be a part of the Bell Museum's Resident Artist Research Program.”
The museum will welcome back several former residents to exhibit works from their residencies, including:
- paper cuts by Sonja Peterson
- video installations by Sam Easterson
- multi-sensory experiences by Diane Willow
- macrophotography by Sreekishen Nair
- bird collision portraiture by Miranda Brandon
- preserving memory photos by Jeff Millikan
- selections from a crowdsourced photo project by Areca Roe
- a motion-sensing interactive by Minneapolis Art on Wheels
- contemporary movement performances by Carl Flink and members of the Black Label Movement dance theater
Sponsor: The Bell Social and Resident Artist Research Project are made possible thanks to generous support from the McKnight Foundation.
The museum’s longtime home on the Minneapolis campus closes on December 31, 2016. The museum will be open every day in December, except 12/24-25, with extended hours the last week of December (9 am to 7 pm). The new Bell Museum + Planetarium opens on the St. Paul campus in 2018.
About the Bell Museum
The Bell Museum is Minnesota’s state natural history museum, founded in 1872. The museum is part of the University of Minnesota's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and is set to open a new museum and planetarium in 2018. Our mission is to ignite curiosity and wonder, explore our connections to nature and the universe, and create a better future for our evolving world.
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