This panel explores art interventions into sociomaterial worlds and their implications for STS. It draws on the assumption that the complexity of emerging worlds requires innovative modes of approaching and engaging with these worlds. Building on recent discussions of the potential of art in exploring the nexus of science, technology, and society (Salter, Burri & Dumit 2017, Sormani, Garbone & Gisler 2019), we aim to further this conversation.

The visual and aesthetic dimensions of scientific knowledge production have been discussed in STS for a long time. More recently, art in particular has attracted more attention by STS scholars who have addressed connections and boundaries between art and STS, relations between science, art, publics, and democracy, and project collaborations between scientists and artists. In this panel, we explore art in/as STS research. Art may serve as a way to express feelings of unease, confusion and powerlessness while at the same time has the potential to critically reflect sociomaterial developments and challenge power structures. By engaging with such issues, art interventions into emerging worlds are a form of “acting now”. In this panel, we aim to discuss in what ways art may open up grounds for realigning and adding to STS practices.

We welcome contributions that reflect on the potential of art in exploring emerging sociomaterial worlds. We are interested in both theoretical papers discussing the implications of art in/as STS research, and presentations of art practices / projects / interventions that examine science and technology driven realities of our times.