Science and art were not always considered separate disciplines, and many argue that the reintegration of art and science will foster new, more responsive, more humane, and more inclusive practices in both fields. Theo Watson, partner and creative diirector at Design IO, will present his work at the intersection of these disciplines, followed by a dialogue with Eric Siegel.

Theodore Watson is an artist, designer, and experimenter whose work is born out of the curiosity and excitement of designing experiences that come alive and invite people to play. His work includes experimental tools for artistic expression and immersive, large-scale interactive environments. Watson is the cofounder of the widely used openFrameworks project, an open source library for writing creative code in C++. His work is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art and has been shown at the Tate Modern and Ars Electronica.

Eric Siegel is director at the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. He has served for eleven years as director and chief content officer of the New York Hall of Science, which received the Institute of Museum and Library Service National Medal in 2015. In 2014, he was honored with the Association of Science Technology Centers’ Leading Edge Award for Exceptional Leadership. He has taught graduate courses in museum management and exhibition design at New York University.