BODY allows audiences to step inside biology
By Emma Marshall, Contributor
A Canadian festival that fuses art with science stopped in Calgary to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Beakerhead has partnered with the experts at Walk the Plank to host the North American debut of BODY, a UK-based interactive art exhibit, at Millenium Park from Sept. 14 to 17. The festival was free to attend and took place at three locations, Contemporary Calgary, Millennium Park and TELUS Spark Centre.
To celebrate a decade of success, Beakerhead planned a weekend with over 50 activities, workshops and displays that combined the ideas of artists and scientists. This included everything from adaptive skateboarding to Alien Talk Shows.
Since its creation in 2013, Beakerhead has been made possible because of the support from sponsors and volunteers. The organization enables people with the same passions to form a community and their creations are showcased at their annual festival.
“You get to know who the artist is, what their background is and really just get to know them and why they want to do this,” said Sherry Yang, a former volunteer for Beakerhead. “It’s such a great experience to understand science in a creative way.”
Having recently joined forces with the TELUS Spark Centre in 2022, Beakerhead kept this momentum going by kicking off their 10th festival stronger than ever before.
Over the course of the weekend, attendees got to visit the TELUS Spark Centre to learn about robotics and witness Hack The House, a project where youth upcycle furniture into sustainable and operational machines.
People can also venture to Contemporary Calgary to experience virtual reality displays, take in the immersive art and take a ride through the roller rink at BRAIN.
The main attraction, BODY, is an immersive exhibit that connects art and anatomy to teach viewers the beauty behind our own human biology. By using all of the elements to ignite guest’s senses, they take attendees on a journey through their own biology.
“You feel it in your body,” said Yang. “It’s that… they are trying to create an environment for you to understand the body.”
Founded in 2020 by Richard Babington, BODY began as a creative project to keep artists entertained through the COVID-19 lockdown. The creators had time to dedicate towards a project and the public was showing an interest in things like virology and immunology because of the pandemic.
“I think everybody was thinking about how their bodies worked in that period of time,” said Babington. “We specifically enjoy making things that have a meaning and a core behind them. You can come to this and you can walk through the whole thing and [have] taken no sciences…but you will accidentally learn.”
The first showing of BODY was at the British Science Festival in 2021. They went on to premiere numerous other events around Europe over the last two years, including a showing at the 2022 Science Week in Dublin.
Now, after their first-ever transcontinental premiere, the BODY exhibit has attracted many Calgarians, some came for science and some came for art. Regardless, the attraction brought people together as attendees experienced the display in awe.
“For Calgary, they want to bring this warmth, especially during this time. September can be cold. It’s great to see Calgary light up this way and at the same time, you’re still learning about science,” said Yang.
By bringing elements of science to life in a wondrous display of steam, fire and innovation, the festival is inspiring guests to think critically about their bodies and health.
“We don’t listen to our bodies every day, we breathe because it’s natural, but we come here in order to feel it,” said Yang.
Not only was much of the exhibit sustainably designed but it was also created to be portable, so packing up and transporting it across the seas was no problem for the creators. This type of accessibility has allowed many great opportunities for the organization.
Considering the emphasis that both of these organizations have on innovation, art and curiosity, this collaboration has offered both exposure and empowerment for their future endeavours.
As Beakerhead showcases this year’s work, they prepare for the next year of innovation at their new base in the TELUS Spark Centre. Meanwhile, BODY has their next two events lined up back in England.
“There’s an appetite for curious minds,” said Babington. “It’s a labour of love.”
