SCI_ART BC 2026: Oct 1 - 8, 2026

After the Data/Cultural Climate Futures

SCI_ART 2026 convenes artists, scientists, and research institutions from Canada and the European Union for a transnational Artist-in-Residence program and festival taking place in Vancouver and Kelowna, British Columbia, October 1-8, 2026.

At its core, SCI_ART is a science-based art initiative that positions artistic practice as a form of research capable of engaging environmental transformation through critical inquiry, experimentation, and public activation. Grounded in a science-based approach to artistic practice, the program positions art as a mode of inquiry; one capable of translating complex environmental, technological, and social systems into forms that can be experienced, questioned, and collectively understood. Under the theme After the Data/Cultural Climate Futures, we will move beyond representation to engage climate systems, Northern research, and technological infrastructures through embodied, immersive, and critically situated methodologies.

  • October 1: Arrive
    Arrivals in Vancouver, Stanley Park walk, and welcome dinner.

    October 2: UBC Vancouver
    UBC Vancouver tours including the TRIUMF particle acceleration centre, Decolonization Art Walk, Quantum Matter Institute, and UBC Botanical Garden.

    October 3
    New Media Gallery Panels and Workshop.

  • Participation in two days of showcases, workshops, talks, panel discussions and more at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and Multimodal Media Lab:

    October 4: H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
    Afternoon dome workshop and open dome immersive jam session in collaboration with local Vancouver Artists.

    October 5: Multimodal Media Lab
    Immersive panels, discussions, and showcases of SCI_ART projects.

  • Critical workshops, scientific research lab tours, idea testing at the Critical Future Studio/Lab, regional visits, and coming together as a group to reflect on the festival's themes.

    October 6: UBC Okanagan
    Campus tour including the Plant Growth Facility. Studio time at the Critical Future Studio/Lab. Ars Electronica Screening at UBCO.

    October 7: Okanagan Art & Workshop
    Cardiff Miller Warehouse Private Tour. Afternoon Workshop at the CFS/L.

    October 8: SCI_ART Symposium
    Keynote and panels at the Critical Future Studio/Lab. Private tour of the Kelowna Art Gallery. Closing dinner.