TABOO - TRANSGRESSION - TRANSCENDENCE

pETER Purg, PhD is Associate Professor at both Arts and Humanities, University of Nova Gorica, whose new-media art (thinking) practice ranges from performance to education and interdisciplinary research. He is Dean of the School of Humanities and New Media module lead as well as coordinator or team lead in several projects crossing disciplines, sectors, theories and practices. For the Go!Borderless European Capital of Culture 2025 programme pETER Purg currently leads the xMobil art+science mobile lab, curates the PostMobility artistic programme of exhibitions and performances as well as co-curates the 26th international festival of contemporary art practice Pixxelpoint 2025. With a PhD in media art, communication science and literature from the University of Erfurt in Germany, he often combines scientific inquiries that include media arts pedagogy, avant-garde studies, post-growth and media ecology with artistic experiments in performance and media art. www.pleter.net

Claudia Westermann is an internationally renowned researcher, artist and licensed architect, and a senior associate professor in architecture at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China. She is a member of the German Chamber of Architects, Vice President of the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC), and managing co-editor of Technoetic Arts. Claudia Westermann’s projects have been shown in many prestigious exhibitions. She has received awards for her practice and teaching, including two provincial and three national awards related to studio teaching and a county-level award for a Philosophy of Art module that brings indigenous Chinese positions into dialogue with Western thought. For her visionary engagement and fostering of systemic design research and practice, she received the Margaret Mead Prize from the American Society for Cybernetics in 2024.

María Antonia González Valerio, PhD in Philosophy, full Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Director of the Seminar Arte+Ciencia, which brings artists, academics, and scientists together to work interdisciplinarily, producing graduate education, specialized theoretical research, artistic artworks and practices, and exhibitions. She is also a curator and leader of the artistic collective Bios ex Machina. She is the proponent of a philosophy of nature within ontology aesthetics. She has presented her philosophy in universities worldwide: North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Books (selection): Through the Scope of Life. Art and (Bio)Technologies Philosophically Revisited (Springer, 2023); Un tratado de ficción (Mexico: Herder, 2010); El arte develado (Mexico: Herder, 2005);  (Ed.) Pròs Bíon: Reflexiones naturales sobre arte, ciencia y filosofía (Mexico: UNAM, 2015); Cabe los límites. Escritos sobre filosofía natural desde la ontología estética (Mexico: UNAM/Herder, 2016); (Ed.) Arte y estética en la filosofía de Arthur Danto (Mexico: Herder, 2018), (Ed.) Encuentros de animales (Mexico: UNAM/Akal 2021), (Ed.) José Gaos. Filosofía de la técnica (Mexico: Herder, 2022), (Ed.) Estética y tecnología (Madrid: Dykinson, 2023).

Marta de Menezes is a Portuguese artist with a degree in Fine Arts by the University in Lisbon, a MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture by the University of Oxford, and a PhD candidate at the University of Leiden. She has been exploring the intersection between Art and Biology, working in research laboratories demonstrating that new biological technologies can be used as new art medium. In 1999 de Menezes created her first biological artwork (Nature?) by modifying the wing patterns of live butterflies. Since then, she has used diverse biological techniques including functional MRI of the brain to create portraits where the mind can be visualised (Functional Portraits, 2002); fluorescent DNA probes to create micro-sculptures in human cell nuclei (nucleArt, 2002); sculptures made of proteins (Proteic Portrait, 2002-2007), DNA (Innercloud, 2003; The Family, 2004) or incorporating live neurons (Tree of Knowledge, 2005) or bacteria (Decon, 2007). Her work has been presented internationally in exhibitions, articles and lectures. She is currently the artistic director of Ectopia, an experimental art laboratory in Lisbon, and Director of Cultivamos Cultura in the South of Portugal.

Ingeborg Reichle holds a PhD in Art History from the Humboldt University (HU) in Berlin with postdoctoral studies in the area of visual culture. She teaches and writes on contemporary art, new technologies, and new media with a focus on biotechnology and artificial life. Currently, she holds the position of a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam; until 2021 she held the position of a full professor of Media Theory and served as chair of the Department of Media Theory at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, she was also the Founding Chair of the Department of Crossdisciplinary Strategies (CDS), where she set up an integrated BA study programme on applied studies in art, science, philosophy, and global challenges. Before joining the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2016 she was FONTE professor at Humboldt University (HU) in Berlin. She is the author of the books Art in the Age of Technoscience: Genetic Engineering, Robotics, and Artificial Life in Contemporary Art (Springer, New York 2009), and Kunst aus dem Labor: Zum Verhältnis von Kunst und Wissenschaft im Zeitalter der Technoscience (Springer, Vienna, New York 2005).

Lyndsey Walsh is an artist, writer, and researcher from the United States and based in Berlin, Germany. Lyndsey has a Bachelor’s in Individualized Studies from New York University and a Master’s in Biological Arts with Distinction from the SymbioticA Centre of Excellence in Biological Arts at the University of Western Australia. Lyndsey’s practice fuses speculative narratives with autoethnographic investigations into the ruptures created by technology in the corporality of culture. Lyndsey sets out to question the cultural binaries of human-non-human, diseased-healthy, and life-machine using Crip, Queer, and intersectional feminist frameworks. Currently, Lyndsey is the first and only residing artist of the Department of Experimental Biophysics at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. They have been awarded the S+T+ARTS Prize 2024 Honorable Mention, and their work has been featured in events and with institutions such as Frieze Art Week New York, the Humboldt Forum, the Ural Biennial, the Berlin Biennale, Athens Digital Arts Festival, Transmediale/CTM, and more.

Dr. Nigel Helyer; is an internationally prominent sculptor and sound artist, whose interdisciplinary practice combines art and science to embrace our social, cultural and physical environments. He brings these concerns together in creative projects that prompt the community to engage with their cultural histories, identity and sense of place, inviting us to examine the abstract conditions of our world and our complex relationships to it. His creative output spans forty years and ranges from large public artworks, to Biennales, Triennales and Museum and Gallery exhibitions.

Nigel is a strong advocate for experimental art and is a specialist in Art and science collaborations; notably the creation of cultural works that transform scientific data into tangible forms that reveal the patterns and structures that underlie the natural world. He has an impressive track record of long-term collaboration with peak research bodies such as the Paul Scherrer Laboratory (Switzerland), The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (Hobart), The Water Research Laboratory (Sydney), The Centre for Integrated Bee Research and the SymbioticA Lab (UWA, Perth).  He was the co-founder of SoundCulture International and responsible for commissioning several large international sound-art festivals in the Asia-Pacific zone.

He was a lead artist/researcher at Lake Technology (now Dolby Australia) developing "Sonic Landscapes" an augmented-audio-reality, location sensitive system, that subsequently was developed as the "AudioNomad Reseach Group" at UNSW (Sydney).

Nigel is active in critical thought and is a prolific contributor to journals, conferences and radio broadcasts. He is a board member of the Paris based Association Internationale de Critiques d’Art and was the founding editor and publisher of PraxisM the contemporary art journal of Western Australia. Nigel has authored several books, including "Crayvox", "The Deluge Ark(ive)", "Culturescape: An Ecology of Bundanon" and "When Science Meets Art".  His writing embraces speculative fiction including the graphic novel "Sonique" and the novel "Freeze Frame", a fiction about the relationship of Cinema and the Afterlife. Nigel is an honorary Professor in Media Arts and Culture at Macquarie University, Sydney, and a visiting Research Fellow at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (UTAS) Hobart, Tasmania and at Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland.

Boryana Rossa PhD (b. Sofia, Bulgaria, 1972) is an interdisciplinary artist and curator who works in the fields of electronic arts, film, video, performance and photography. She is a Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Film and Media Arts at the School of Visual and Performing Arts, Syracuse University, NY. She is an artist in residency at Hehnly’s Lab, Biology, SU. Most of Rossa’s works have been shown internationally at venues such as 1st and 5th Moscow Biennial for Contemporary Art; Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum, NY and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art (MUMOK) Vienna; Kunstwerke and Akademie der Kunste, Berlin; Stedeljik Museum Bouwkeet, Amsterdam; Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona and Centro Cultural Montehermoso Kulturunea, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, Zwitzerland; Zacheta Gallery, Warsaw; 1 and 5th Thessaloniki Biennial, Greece; Museet for Samtidskunst Roskilde, Denmark; Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary; Sofia Arsenal – Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMCA), Sofia; Coreana Museum, Seoul; National Gallery of Fine Arts, Sofia; Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn, Estonia; Institute of Contemporary Art, Sofia.

Photo credits: photographer Boryana Pandova

Dr. Bardakos is a hunter gatherer of Forms and Non Localities. He integrates problem-solving, mentoring, consulting, direction, technology, art, drawing from his extensive background in both the academic, commercial, and entrepreneurial sectors. His professional journey spans over three decades with roles as an artist, researcher, producer, coordinator, director, and consultant. The projects in which Dr. Bardakos is involved encompass a broad spectrum of the contemporary media arts field, including complex projects such as digital animation, generative art, virtual and augmented reality, interactive installations, and projects underpinned by generative AI methodologies. Dr. Bardakos's expertise extends across various media implementations, from narrative digital storytelling to abstract form aesthetics and immersive digital installations, to digital film and motion graphics.

Andrew Carnie is an internationally exhibiting contemporary visual artist practicing in the UK. He is an emeritus fellow at the Winchester School of Art, Southampton University. His main concerns focus on the interface of art and science, often working in collaboration with scientists, though not exclusively. His approach is media agnostic, using methodologies and media as informed by the context, concepts, and concerns. Drawing, painting, and sculpting have an enduring place in his practice, but video, projection, and installation are his primary strengths. He creates environments that are endlessly fascinating around subjects, like heart transplants, metabolism, and neurological conditions that intrigue him, and engage audiences in how we see ourselves through the world of science. Recent work has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide including the Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, the CCCB, Barcelona, Brain Observatory, San Diego, Kunsthall Charlottenborg, København, the RSU Anatomical Museum, Riga, the Spencer Museum of Art, Kansas, and the Science Gallery, Bengalru. 

website: https://www.andrewcarnie.uk | science and art blog: http://scienceandart--andrew-carnie.blogspot.com/

Margerita Pulè is a freelance curator, researcher and cultural manager, and is founder-director of Unfinished Art Space, an independent and nomadic space showing contemporary art in Malta. Her curatorial practice is political, feminist, and collaborative, and encompasses diverse disciplines and spheres. In 2024, Margerita was one of four practitioners awarded Arts Council Malta’s first Sabbatical for Artistic Research, and through this grant is currently researching curatorial methodologies outside of traditional exhibition contexts. She is also currently a researcher with the Department of Digital Art at the University of Malta. For five years, Margerita was Programme Manager for Valletta 2018, planning and programming the cultural programme in the run-up to the European Capital of Culture title for the city of Valletta in 2018, initiating and commissioning a large number of flagship community projects around Malta, and working with many local and international artists and arts organisations. She is currently co-director of Farfara 2031, researching and planning for the bid of European Capital of Culture 2031. Margerita is also a founder-member of the Magna Żmien Foundation, which digitises 20th century analogue home archives, forming a community archive accessible to researchers and artists.

Sunčica Ostoić is an art historian and theorist from Zagreb, Croatia, focusing on the intersection of visual arts with science, technology, and the body in the 20th and 21st centuries. She graduated in art history and philosophy from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb and holds a PhD in Art and Media Sciences from the Faculty of Media and Communications in Belgrade. As a co-founder and long-time director of KONTEJNER | bureau of contemporary art praxis, a Zagreb-based association, Ostoić has worked for twenty-five years as an independent curator, organizer of artistic events, and researcher. She has authored numerous professional and scientific articles, written forewords for art exhibitions, edited exhibition catalogs and interdisciplinary readers, and lectured at various conferences. Since 2016, she has also been an external lecturer and expert collaborator at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb where she teaches courses on art, science, and technology, as well as professional writing for artists.

Dr. Clarissa Ribeiro is an Assistant Professor in the Visual Arts Department at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and the Program Director of the Roy Ascott Studio’s Technoetic Arts program in Shanghai. She was honored with the Pete Townshend Endowed Senior Lectureship in Performative Technoetics (2022-2024), serves on the editorial board of the Technoetic Arts Journal, and is an ad hoc reviewer for The Leonardo Journal. Holding a Ph.D. in Arts from ECA USP, Brazil, with an internship at the Planetary Collegium (UK), Dr. Ribeiro was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Grant, which enabled her to conduct research at UCLA’s Art|Sci Center and the James Gimzewski Lab. Her work bridges art, science, and technology, focusing on the information dynamics that shape emergent phenomena. She has led LASER Talks in Brazil and China and chaired the CR2024 Consciousness Reframed International Conference. Her work has been published and exhibited internationally. Dr. Ribeiro also contributes to major international art and science platforms, including ISEA and SIGGRAPH, and serves on various art juries and conference program committees.

Dalila Honorato, Ph.D, is the starter of the conference "Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art & Science". She is a Professor in Aesthetics and Visual Semiotics at the Ionian University, Greece. where she is also the Director of the Interactive Arts Lab and the Master of Research in Hybrid Arts. A collaborator at the Center of Philosophy of Sciences - University of Lisbon, her research focus is on embodiment, monstrosity, the uncanny and the acrobatic balance between phobia and paraphilia.

Photo credits: Gina Rottweiler

Andreas Giannakoulopoulos is Professor at the department of Audio and Visual Arts of the Ionian University, where he teaches courses related to Internet Communication, New Media and the Web Technologies. He holds a BA (Ptychio) in Economics from the University of Athens (UoA), a BA (Ptychio) in Communication and Media Studies from UoA, a Master of Arts in Communication and Media Studies from UoA, and a Master of Science in Logic from the University of Amsterdam. His doctoral dissertation, approved by the University of Athens, was in the field of web accessibility. The main fields of his academic activities are computer mediated communication, web technologies and e-learning systems as means of effective communication via the web. He has participated in international programmes with a particular interest and experience in dissemination and communication activities. During the last few years he is particularly interested in web applications with academic and artistic content.

Adam Zaretsky, Ph.D. is a former researcher at the MIT department of biology, who for the past decade has been teaching an experimental bioart class called VivoArts at: San Francisco State University (SFSU), SymbioticA (UWA), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), University of Leiden’s The Arts and Genomic Centre (TAGC), and the Waag Society. His art practice focuses on an array of legal, ethical, social and libidinal implications of biotechnological materials and methods with a focus on transgenic humans. Zaretsky stages lively, hands-on bioart production labs. Currently a Creative Director TTTlabs and TTTfellows in the project “Rewilding Cultures” developed by the Feral Lab Network co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Dr. Iakovos Panagopoulos is Assistant Professor in “Film Production Specializing in Creating Audiovisual Narratives” at the Department of Audio & Visual Arts, Ionian University. He focusses on the combination of practical filmmaking and academic research and his book, “The Third Path in Cinema: The Academic Filmmaker Model”, is the first published in Greece that deals with film practice research field in academia. He is an award-winning director with short fiction films such as Flickering Souls Set Alight (2019) and Allimonò (2020) and documentaries such as A Quest for Eternity (2020) and Iannis Xenakis: Music of the Universe (2023). He is a member of the Scriptwriters Guild of Greece and the Greek Directors Guild. He integrates StoryLab (Skills Training for Democratised Film Industries) in the UK and InArts Lab (Interactive Arts Lab) at the Ionian University in Greece.

Dr. Heidi Hehnly is Renee Crown Honors Professor and an Associate Professor of Biology at Syracuse University, and the Associate Director of the BioInspired Institute. Since establishing her lab in 2015, Dr. Hehnly's research has focused on elucidating the cellular mechanisms that underlie cilia formation, membrane trafficking, cellular polarity, and centrosome function during tissue development. Using a range of model organisms, including D. rerio, C. elegans, and murine models, her lab integrates advanced molecular techniques such as optogenetics, high-resolution live-cell imaging, and biosensor assays to dissect complex signaling pathways within developing embryos. Notably, Dr. Hehnly's team has identified novel communication pathways between the centrosome and Rab11-regulated trafficking events that contribute to mitotic fidelity and abscission, offering new insights into the roles of centrosomal proteins in ciliogenesis and cell division. Beyond her research and teaching, Dr. Hehnly serves as the Director of Syracuse University's Light Microscopy Imaging Center and co-founded the BioArt Research Coalition with Dr. Boryana Rossa (Visual and Performing Arts, Syracuse University). In this capacity, she bridges science and art to enhance STEM engagement.

Maria Chalkou holds a Ph.D. in Film Theory and History (University of Glasgow), sponsored by the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (I.K.Y.), and an MA in Film and Art Theory (University of Kent). Currently she is an assistant professor in History, Theory and Practice of Cinema at the Department of Audio & Visual Arts of the Ionian University. She is also the principal editor of Filmicon: Journal of Greek Film Studies. Her research interests focus on film cultures of the 1960s, Greek Cinema, contemporary European cinema, film censorship, film criticism and cinematic representations of the past. She has also researched and co-directed the documentary Oneira Mikrou Mikous (1960-1967)/Dreaming in 'Shorts' (1960-1967) for the TV program Paraskinio (2007).

Robert B. Lisek PhD is an artist, mathematician, and composer who explores the intersections of systems, networks, and processes—computational, biological, and social. His art delves into themes such as artificial intelligence, bioengineering, information theory and quantum physics. Lisek is a pioneer in art based on machine learning and artificial intelligence, prompting critical reflection on AI’s implications for privacy, agency, trust, creativity, and culture. He is a composer of contemporary music, authoring numerous projects and scores at the intersection of spectral, stochastic, concrete music, and noise. Lisek is also a scientist conducting research in the foundations of science.

Jasna Jernejšek currently works as the Artistic Manager of the Visual, Audiovisual and Intermedial Arts Program at the Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture, as well as the head of the DobraVaga Gallery in Ljubljana. Previously, she worked as an independent curator, researcher, writer, and lecturer in the field of contemporary visual arts. In her work she focuse on the interdisciplinary intersection of social science theory, the history of photography, contemporary artistic practices, and visual communication.

Uroš Veber (he/him) heads Zavod Projekt Atol, a Slovenian NGO which develops projects and programmes that transcend the boundaries between art, technology and science. He loves to work with artists and helps developing artworks, but most of his work involves coordinating international productions in contemporary art and leading teams in citizen science and informal education. As president of Asociacija he advocates for NGOs and the self-employed in arts and culture. He co-runs music labels rx:tx Rec and Kafana. Uroš leads two Creative Europe projects: Rewilding Cultures and DATAS, and is leading Projekt Atol’s part in the More-than-Planet consortium.

Robertina Šebjanič is an artist whose work explores the biological, chemical, (geo)political and cultural realities of aquatic environments and the impact of humanity on other organisms. Her projects call for the development of empathetic strategies aimed at recognising the other (non-human) entities. In her analysis of the Anthropocene and its theoretical framework, the artist uses the terms “aquatocene” and “aquaforming” to refer to the human impact on marine environments. She exhibited / performed at solo and group exhibitions as well as in galleries and festivals worldwide. Her works received awards and nominations at Prix Ars Electronica, Starts Prize, Falling Walls, Re:Humansm 2023. Her art work Aurelia 1+Hz / proto viva generator (artist proof) is since 2019 part of the NewArt { collection;}. _ Electronic Art Collection, Spain. https://robertina.net/

Dr. Aisen Caro Chacin leads the medical prototyping lab at the University of Texas Medical Branch and is an Assistant Professor at the John Sealy School of Medicine. She is an artist and affiliate faculty at the School of Art at the University of Houston, where she also received her BFA. She is a founding board member of the Medicine and Arts Program at UCLA and holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons the New School, where she was also a teaching Fellow. She received her Ph.D. in Human Informatics from the University of Tsukuba, Japan.

Dr. Chacin's research and practice focus on sensory perception, the human-machine relationship, and the technical and philosophical implications of embodiment through artificial bodies and reality. Her work is an intersection of art, science, and technology, and focuses on new media art, developing human-computer interfaces, medical devices, and Assistive Device Art (ADA). Her work includes sound art, interfaces for sensory substitution, resuscitation, human echolocation, haptics, medical automation, surgical simulation, and fashion. She is bridging the gap between art and science in Houston, TX, engaging art and medical students to collaborate and participate in the conversation about conscious evolution, BioArt, new media arts, and device prototyping. Her work has been presented and exhibited at Ars Electronica, Cite du Design, Malta Arts Society, TEI, NIME, NYC Museum of Art and Design, The New York Hall of Science, and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Featured as an inventor in Future Tech by Discovery Channel, Creative Applications, FastCo, Time Techland, Engadget, and NY Times, and was awarded by PopSci.

Darya Warner (they/she) works at the intersection of art and science by bridging the creative process and growth/connections with human and non-human actors through the prism of Climate Change. By addressing site-specific history, ecology, and local systems of communication Darya aims to mine a new form of hybrid space for “intermatter” interaction with an emphasis on the interconnectivity of intelligence across species. Their research explores the Systems Theory as a crucial factor in reconnecting humans and nature via interactive installations, visual displays, photography, sound, time-based media, and bioart in the new form of hybrid matter based on care. They address issues of environmental impact among artists and connect creative processes to earth-conscious practices. Darya is an educator, and they are implementing sustainable art practices methodology as a part of the educational curriculum. Darya graduated from the School of Visual Arts (BFA) and got their MFA from the University at Buffalo. They have exhibited nationally and internationally, including in NYC, Denver, Albuquerque, LA, Miami, India, and Germany, and received multiple grants to support their projects. Darya teaches photography and art+science collaborative practices at the United States Airforce Academy, Colorado. www.daryawarner.com

Kathy High is an interdisciplinary artist / educator who collaborates with scientists and activists, and considers living systems, animal sentience, and ethical dilemmas of biotechnology and medical industries. She is Professor of Video and New Media in the Arts department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and is director of BioArt and Technology Laboratory, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. She is a supporter of community DIY science and ecological art practices and Project Coordinator for the NATURE Lab Urban Environmental Education Center with The Sanctuary for Independent Media where she is a board member and co-founder. She is committed to queer and feminist approaches to reshaping ecological bio-science research and learning-by-doing, and to collaborative action. Among many honors, she is recipient of awards from National Endowment for the Arts, Guggenheim Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. Her artworks have been shown at documenta 13 (Germany), Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, (NYC), UCLA (Los Angeles), Science Gallery (Dublin), NGBK (Berlin), Festival Transitio_MX (Mexico), MASS MoCA (North Adams), Para-site Gallery (Hong Kong), Esther Klein Gallery, (Philadelphia), Medical Museum (Copenhagen). She has had residencies with SymbioticA, University of Western Australia, Finnish Society of Bioart, Coalesce, University of Buffalo, Djerassi Scientific Delirium Madness. www.kathyhigh.com

Dalila Honorato, Ph.D, is the starter of the conference "Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art & Science". She is a Professor in Aesthetics and Visual Semiotics at the Ionian University, Greece. where she is also the Director of the Interactive Arts Lab and the Master of Research in Hybrid Arts. A collaborator at the Center of Philosophy of Sciences - University of Lisbon, her research focus is on embodiment, monstrosity, the uncanny and the acrobatic balance between phobia and paraphilia.

Photo credits: Gina Rottweiler

Jasna Jernejšek currently works as the Artistic Manager of the Visual, Audiovisual and Intermedial Arts Program at the Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture, as well as the head of the DobraVaga Gallery in Ljubljana. Previously, she worked as an independent curator, researcher, writer, and lecturer in the field of contemporary visual arts. In her work she focuse on the interdisciplinary intersection of social science theory, the history of photography, contemporary artistic practices, and visual communication.

Uroš Veber (he/him) heads Zavod Projekt Atol, a Slovenian NGO which develops projects and programmes that transcend the boundaries between art, technology and science. He loves to work with artists and helps developing artworks, but most of his work involves coordinating international productions in contemporary art and leading teams in citizen science and informal education. As president of Asociacija he advocates for NGOs and the self-employed in arts and culture. He co-runs music labels rx:tx Rec and Kafana. Uroš leads two Creative Europe projects: Rewilding Cultures and DATAS, and is leading Projekt Atol’s part in the More-than-Planet consortium.

pETER Purg, PhD is Associate Professor at both Arts and Humanities, University of Nova Gorica, whose new-media art (thinking) practice ranges from performance to education and interdisciplinary research. He is Dean of the School of Humanities and New Media module lead as well as coordinator or team lead in several projects crossing disciplines, sectors, theories and practices. For the Go!Borderless European Capital of Culture 2025 programme pETER Purg currently leads the xMobil art+science mobile lab, curates the PostMobility artistic programme of exhibitions and performances as well as co-curates the 26th international festival of contemporary art practice Pixxelpoint 2025. With a PhD in media art, communication science and literature from the University of Erfurt in Germany, he often combines scientific inquiries that include media arts pedagogy, avant-garde studies, post-growth and media ecology with artistic experiments in performance and media art. www.pleter.net