What’s in a name?

EGU’s popular Artist in Residence programme, which traditionally provides artists and scientists with opportunities to exchange ideas during the annual meeting, will remain an integral part of the EGU General Assembly 2021 – even with the meeting occurring fully online. vEGU21: Gather Online will therefore feature several artists (not!) in residence, who will share their artwork via social media (using the hashtag #EGUart), on EGU blogs, and in the meeting’s official newsletter, EGU Today.

Despite the name change, the programme will still provide artists with opportunities to engage directly with geoscientists and their research while at the same time offering scientists chances to discover creative new ways of making their work more accessible. The scheme will build upon the success of last year’s vibrant contributions by Lego artist Stacy Phillips and digital artist Priyanka Das Rajkakati, both of whom will be returning for #vEGU21.

EGU is also seeking additional artists (not!) in residence who’d like to participate in the 19-30 April 2021 meeting. The application deadline is 1 December.

“The Artists in Residence skillfully pivoted from an in-person to a digital experience last year,” says EGU Programme Committee Chair Peter van der Beek. “Their colourful artwork was one of the meeting’s highlights and helped many geoscientists consider new ways of presenting their research to non-scientific audiences.”

Last year’s artists enjoyed being part of EGU’s first virtual meeting. “I had so much fun taking part in #shareEGU2020!” says Stacy Philipps. “Being an online conference meant that most of my connections were made using Twitter rather than meeting people face-to-face, but thankfully there was lots of interest in my work, so much so that by the end of the week I was unfortunately having to turn down requests for images!”

Phillips also discovered that there were tangible benefits to participating in an online meeting. “One of the many advantages of being able to do this engagement remotely and from home was that I had all my materials (Lego pieces) around me at all times and I could make my creations in the comfort of my pyjamas!” she says.

EGU especially encourages applications from artists who are also scientists, as we believe they would benefit the most from these interactions, as well as artists who are of underrepresented identity groups or minorities. We are open to a wide range of art forms that actively build on and interact with the science discussed at the meeting to promote dialogue and collaboration between artists and scientists. As per tradition, all art produced by the 2021 artists (not!) in residence should focus on the science presented at the meeting.

Interested artists should apply online. The application should include 1) a description of the type of work that will be produced during the meeting and how the art will build on and interact with the research presented, and 2) a short document detailing the artist’s experience. We anticipate announcing the results by mid-December.

All work produced will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Licence. The EGU reserves the right to use reproductions of the art (such as photographs) in EGU blogs and newsletters and on social media and other communication channels. Specific terms will be negotiated after the artists have been selected.

• Application form
• Blog: #shareEGU20: let’s get creative and share EGU art!
• EGU General Assembly 2021 website