The First International exhibition “Science Art: Biogallery” is being held in Kuban State University.

On May 28, 2021, the 1st international exhibition-competition “Science Art: Biogallery” was opened at the Boiling Point of Kuban State University. The combination of scientific and creative approach became an integral part of the exhibition. For 4 months, biologists and artists of the university had been inspired by each other's activities and gone on excursions and master classes. The result is the exhibition itself. 57 competitive projects and 94 participants are presented here. 26 works have become winners.

“Creativity is a way to harmonize society, and the combination of art and science is an invincible union. I am convinced that we are starting a very cool story in our university”, said Mikhail Vladimirovich Sharafan, a Vice-Rector for scientific work and innovation of KubSU. The winners and awardees of the exhibition-competition were presented in three age categories. The youngest contestants were the students of the children's art school No. 4 and the art studio “Divo”. After them the students of 4 faculties, Biology, Art and Graphic Arts, Romance-Germanic Philology and Journalism, presented their works. The works of professionals, university teachers and foreign authors from China, Italy and Serbia, were the connecting link. Apart from the paintings, three-dimensional art objects, photographic works, reports and translations were presented. All participants received diplomas and exhibition catalogues. The dean of the Faculty of Art and Graphics Prof. Yuri Vladimirovich Korobko noted the practical significance of the competition: “Artists create their works based on the feelings that arise in the process of creative activity, and the direction of Science Art is just focused on imaginative, emotional-sensory perception of science”.

A living Australian lobster, which, according to the idea of the KubSU business incubator team, symbolizes a person's choice to improve himself or go to destruction at the expense of its environment, as it happens with lobsters, among which cannibalism is developed, also became an interesting art object. The work took the 3rd place in the “Object” section. An equally interesting project of the Faculty of Biology – the sculpture “Centaur” – a man-sized skeleton won a special prize from the KubSU Boiling Point. As it turned out, it already got a name – Oleg. “Our best reward is to get a positive comment from our anatomy professor. We are glad that we participated in this project”, Nina Uspalenko, a student of the faculty of Biology, shared her impressions.

The winners of the 1st and 2nd degrees in the “Canvas” section were students of the “Divo” art studio – Elizaveta Mirgorodskaya with a three-dimensional composition of plaster “Poetry of the Universe” and Daria Vizhenga with a work of polymer clay “Living Planet”. They said that they had needed about two weeks to finish their projects, as something had to be redone and modified, but they were driven by excitement and desire to win.

The audience of the exhibition was particularly impressed by the bacterial painting in Petri dishes, where live bacteria grew along the lines of various compositions. This project took the 2nd place in the “Object” section. Elizaveta Skrudzina, a student of faculty of Biology, shared her point of view on the compatibility of science and creativity: “Science is the brightest manifestation of art. Search, observation, and other methods that artists use are all a part of the scientific process. ScienceArt clearly demonstrates that art and science are one”.

Elena Anatolyevna Morozkina, the initiator and the main executive of the competition, explained, how the results were finalized: “The jury consisted of all the faculties-participants of the project, as well as of representatives of the Department of International Relations of the Kuban State University, so the evaluating approach was comprehensive. Partly, the results were surprising for some people: those works that the artists predicted would win, remained in the shadows and vice versa. In the future, we are going on working under the project ScienceArt and interact with other faculties of our university. These are just the first steps. We are diving into the process itself. Hopefully, in the nearest future joint grand-based research will be presented on the competition”. 

The Boiling Point of Kuban State University has become a truly unique art space. The conceptual works of scientists and artists have shown how interesting the world around us is. The exhibition itself will last a month, and in November everyone will be able to see an expanded version of the exhibition “Science Art: Biogallery” at the F. A. Kovalenko Art Museum.