Call to Artists – 2021-2022

Call to Artists – Funded Residency
To create and exhibit work at the interface of ecology, botany, and network science at UC Berkeley.

Scope
Our team at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California – Berkeley has funding for a project entitled ‘Design principles of evolved transportation networks in leaf veins’. The project uses leaf vein networks as inspiration for understanding the evolution of complex networks more broadly, and is oriented towards eventual biomimicry applications. We have funding for an artist to (1) become part of our community, and to (2) create bold and exciting work inspired by these ideas and their interactions with our research team.

How to apply
Please fill out our web application at https://forms.gle/y1kTy3RZvRTUzPys6. Required materials include:

  • Current location
  • Website or social media account (optional)
  • Your proposed start date
  • Cover letter, explaining your motivation and interest in the residency, and how this funding would benefit you or your community (500 words max)
  • Artists’ statement (500 words max)
  • (optional) examples of prior work (three pieces max)
  • Name and contact information of one professional reference who can speak for your ability to interact positively and professionally with a diverse team of people

Application close date
Applications will be reviewed for the first time on 30 April, 2021. Applications arriving after that date will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Due to overwhelming interest, applications are now closed.

Questions
Email benjamin.blonder@berkeley.edu with any questions. We would be happy to address questions or set up a time to talk by phone to discuss potential collaborations in advance of an application.

Desired outputs and timeline
We want someone who will collaborate with our research team and be inspired by our ongoing research to envision their own work. Work in any media or exhibition in any format is possible. The residency is for 6 months, of which at least 2 months should be spent physically present with our team and laboratory. Extensions are also possible.

By the end of the residency, the artist can remain in creative process mode. We do expect that by the end of 2022 (the end of our federal funding) that the artist will have developed a set of finished works, and will have put together an exhibition or community engagement event.

Start date for the residency is flexible. The majority of our field work will likely occur summer 2021, with extensive lab work fall/winter 2021, and with a potential second round of fieldwork in California or internationally (Ghana or Peru) in spring 2022.

Financial resources available to the artist
A total of $17,000 is available to support the project. These funds can be used to support travel, materials and supplies, rentals of exhibition spaces, payment of a stipend or living expenses, or other reasonable costs. If the artist is not local to the Bay Area, costs could be spent on a housing allowance or roundtrip travel. If domestic or international travel to field sites is desired, we anticipate reserving approximately $3000-5000 for costs. It is likely that university exhibition space and web/computer resources could be made available to the artist at no cost. The artist can decide if they prefer to receive a stipend (which would be taxable) or have us purchase items on their behalf. The scope of the residency could be longer than 6 months, but with the understanding that the available budget is fixed. The intent is that the scope of the proposed artistic work will be consistent with a fair allocation of resources and time to the artist.

Project resources available to the artist
The artist would be invited to become part of our lab community. Daily interactions would be based at the Berkeley campus and also at the University of California Botanical Garden in Berkeley (15 minute walk from campus). We are currently carrying out work in both locations (May – Oct 2021) and will continue with lab work only from Oct – Dec 2021. The artist would also potentially be invited to travel with us to field sites (Jan- Apr 2022), which may include field stations in the state of California (via the UC Natural Reserve system), likely in desert or coastal or montane environments. Other travel is also possible to either Peru or Ghana. Travel beyond Berkeley will depend on logistics and ethics as the pandemic continues to change.

Within our laboratory, the artist would be given access to our chemical and imaging equipment for visualizing leaf venation networks, and would also be invited to learn how to use various field instruments for measuring plant functioning. Within the Botanical Garden or other field sites, the artist would be able to engage with our research team or other scientific staff, as well as have free access to explore sites.

At the university, the artist would have access to a secure outdoor working space and (dependent on the pandemic) an indoor desk/working space.

Interactions with our team
The artist will work closely with the project lead (assistant professor Dr. Benjamin Wong Blonder), postdoctoral researcher (Dr. Ilaíne Matos, from Brazil), and PhD student (Mickey Boakye, from Ghana). The artist will also meet several undergraduate student researchers and botanical garden staff. Regular meetings and check-ins would be offered, as well as invitations to research group social events. We are a welcoming community which includes members from several countries, and which is working to build a more equitable and inclusive space for ecological research and outreach.

Interactions would be in person for the (at least) 2-month in-person component and could be via videoconferencing if the artist then shifts to a remote residency.

Minimum qualifications
There are no restrictions on citizenship to apply. However, to receive direct payments, the artist would need to register as a University of California supplier, which requires provision of a W-9 form (with SSN or TIN). If this is not possible, we are still able to purchase items on behalf of the artist. The artist would need to comply with all University of California policies related to sexual harassment, discrimination, coronavirus safety, occupational health, etc. while working with our team.

Desired qualifications
We seek to work with an artist with a demonstrated interest in biology, ecology, and/or networks, and who has a track record of prior exhibitions or successful completion of projects. Artists with substantial media reach who are able to help publicize their work are also preferred.

We are strongly interested in supporting an artist who would be able to create work that would engage a diversity of audiences, especially those that have been historically under-served, and whose perspective and voice would broaden representation within their field.

We will give preference to an artist who can articulate how this funding and opportunity could be impactful to their career or community.

Artists who work in pairs (e.g. as life partners) are welcome. The total budget available for the collaboration is fixed.

Accessibility
We are committed to making the residency accessible to all. Potential work spaces meet ADA requirements and all of our university partners have training in making workspaces and communities accessible and welcoming. We are open to finding timelines, workspaces, etc. that will work for each person’s needs – either before or after the application process. Please inquire if you have questions.

Detailed project motivation
Many biological systems contain spatial networks that transport resources. Examples include the branches of trees and the circulatory systems of animals. These networks vary widely in their architecture – some only branch, while others form loops; some have multiple levels of hierarchy, while others do not. This variation may reflect evolved solutions for optimizing functionality and minimizing costs in different contexts. Key network functions include transport efficiency, damage resilience, damage resistance, or mechanical strength. There is currently limited theory or data for linking network form to these functions, or for predicting tradeoffs between these functions. Prior theory has mostly focused on single functions or costs. Moreover, very few networks have been fully quantified or had their functionality measured, due to the difficulty of collecting data and developing vocabulary for network architecture. Better understanding the rules underlying network architecture will provide insights into the evolution of diverse organismal forms and will also identify principles that could one day guide the engineering of artificial networks, e.g. solar cells or synthetic organs.

This project will use leaf venation networks as a model empirical system. Leaves are central to plant performance via their roles in carbon gain and water loss, processes mediated by resource transport through their venation networks. These networks have high diversity of form and function and are tractable to phenotyping and functional characterization. This project will 1) quantify network architecture in a broad set of species from temperate forests, desert, and lowland/montane tropical forests, 2) determine how network architecture and functions/costs are linked, 3) develop and test theory for these functions/costs of networks based on multi-scale network statistics, and 4) identify evolutionary drivers of network architecture.

Further background reading

  1. https://benjaminblonder.org/2019/08/27/new-data-paper-leaf-venation-networks-of-bornean-trees/
  2. https://benjaminblonder.org/2020/11/18/new-new-phytologist-paper-automated-and-accurate-segmentation-of-leaf-venation-networks-via-deep-learning/
  3. https://benjaminblonder.org/2018/03/12/new-paper-structural-and-defensive-roles-of-angiosperm-leaf-venation-network-reticulation-across-an-andes-amazon-elevation-gradient/