Thirteenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

The Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of feminist artists, rose to fame by raising the question: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?” Their argument underscored the disproportionate amount of male artists’ work on display compared to the number of female nudes, thus emphasising the underrepresentation of women in art. This gender disparity is also very apparent in science. Accordingly, this paper reviews a pedagogical case study of how illustration can be leveraged to communicate gender inclusivity through a transdisciplinary collaboration between the applied arts and science. Undergraduate Art, Design, and Media students worked closely with Molecular Chemists to conduct lab-based, observational studies, from which they could draw inspiration once back in the design studio. The creative outcomes proved successful, providing tangible documentation of gender roles in chemistry, and these were subsequently disseminated through physical and online exhibitions and publication in top-tiered scientific literature. Of equal importance were the intangible outcomes of the project, such as increased student engagement and synthesis of research methods, all of which helped to forge deeper connections between project stakeholders. Developing the relationships between art and science is essential in cultivating a more humanistic approach to science communication, and there is an expanding body of research to support this approach. From the perspective of deepening connections, this project challenged students to question what currently exists and then to look towards what could be or, perhaps more importantly, what should be, for the future of women in science.