Abstract

In early 2010 a diverse group of scientists and performance artists came together in Wellington, New Zealand, for a week of dialogue and collaboration on the topic of “Waking”. Following on from the successful production in 2008 of “Sleep/Wake”, by performance designer Sam Trubridge and chronobiologist Professor Philippa Gander, the Waking Incubator was designed to investigate the transition from sleeping to waking, from the multiple perspectives of dance, music, photography, film, sleep science, chronobiology and science communication. A diverse range of installations, performances and presentations were displayed in an Open Laboratory at the end of the week. The aim of the Open Laboratory was to engage the public in dialogue and to develop new ways of communicating sleep science. Although “The Two Cultures” still remain largely parallel today, the Waking Incubator began to blur the edges of what constitutes art and science. The artists transformed the science of sleep through their exploration of affective resonances of scientific processes and technologies, and the scientists became actors in their role of objective communicators. We conclude that such interactions increase the chance of meaningful conversations, stimulate respect for and interest in other disciplines and promote both creative art and science communication.