Artist Diplomat

US Department of State       American Arts Incubator

Learn more about this exchange on the American Arts Incubator site ›

As an American Arts Incubator Exchange Artist Diplomat, Amy Karle’s task is to facilitate creative expression and social innovation to empower women in STEAM.

While Amy Karle was the American Arts Incubator (AAI) Artist Diplomat to Poland and first Artist in Residence at Centrum Nauki Kopernik (Copernicus Science Center), she conducted research, led workshops, distributed grant funding, supported teams to create community projects using art and technology to address social issues in the model of a silicon valley type incubator – and also created artwork and an exhibition herself. The exchange concluded with a panel review, public exhibition and small grants program for participants to continue their work. 

American Arts Incubator (AAI) is a cultural exchange initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that is administered by ZERO1. AAI addresses community challenges through cross-cultural art, science, and technology collaborations. American Arts Incubator – Poland was implemented in collaboration with U.S. Embassy Warsaw and the Copernicus Science Centre. Karle is thankful for her partners, participants, collaborators and supporters without whose support this project would not be possible.

           

Click here to learn more about the final projects and artworks ›

A very special thank you to all the partners, participants, organizers and institutions without whose generous support this project would not be possible.

While leading “Layers of Life” American Arts Incubator workshop at Copernicus, Artist Amy Karle also created her own artwork, leading by example collaborating with other disciplines and institutions in the similar artist residency and incubator style as the workshop participants.

Amy Karle’s larger project as an artist studies what it means to be human. She uses the body, science and exponential technology (including 3D printing, regenerative medicine / synthetic bio, AI etc) in her work as mirrors to the self and mirrors to who we can become. She works with technologies that can be used for healing and enhancing the body and develops the workflows, materials and technology in the process to help achieve those goals. The outcome is expressed in artworks, which can be seen as “artifacts of a speculative future” – a time to stop and consider these topics she’s exploring.

For her work as Artist in Residence at Copernicus and American Arts Incubator Artist Diplomat empowering women in STEAM, she considered “Layers of Life” and how we form – biologically/socially/emotionally/spiritually – all levels, as well as questioning “What is Life in the Bio-Tech era?” She considered these topics through the lens of empowerment and proposed ideas which could help shape a more resilient future.

Amy Karle focused on transcending these layers – from the micro to the macro, from the individual to the social, from the internal to the external, from the depths of the earth to the sky, space and beyond. She conducted artistic research in the labs at Copernicus and in UNESCO heritage sites Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines. She did research in one of the deepest parts of the earth accessible to humans in Bochnia, and studied concepts of space at Copernicus. She researched how nature forms and grows: in this case the natural additive manufacturing (natural 3D printing) of salt and crystallization. Karle also considered salt as a vital, life-sustaining element in our bodies and of our earth, and learned about theories of the origins of life beginning in salt lakes proposed by astrobiologists.

Combining her research, influences and inspiration from being an American Arts Incubator exchange artist at Copernicus, artistic research in the lab and in the Royal Salt Mines, as well as her social research and practice in cultural diplomacy and social innovation as an AAI exchange artist, she created performance art, sculptures, and a show for the planetarium in collaboration with Copernicus Biolab and Planetarium team and Grain Films. 

Considering “Layers of Life” and expressing it in art forms, her work inspired new ways of thinking, new ways of making, and new ways of collaborating; empowering herself and others in the process.

ARTISTIC RESEARCH in labs and mines conducted with the support of and collaboration with Copernicus Bio Lab, Stanisław Loboziak, Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines.

PRINTS Crystallization under various conditions under the microscope. Created in the Biolab at Copernicus Science Center with support from Stanisław Łoboziak.

PERFORMANCE ART in Wieliczka salt mine. Film by Grain Films, software by Aaron Thomen and with support and sponsorship by Wieliczka Salt Mine.

SCULPTURE on the origins of life in salt and water. Considering the role of salts in our bodies, earth and universe; how nature forms and grows; and women’s empowerment, these works are 3D printed sculptures with natural additive manufacturing crystal growth. “Crystal Copernicus” large scale sculpture made with generous sponsorship by Titanic Design and support from Benjamin Julian.

PLANETARIUM SHOW artistic video and sound art in Planetarium exhibition created in collaboration with Grain Films (Maciej Przemysław Wróbel, Kacper Bartczak, Adam Woropiński, Piotr Wilhelmi), Copernicus Planetarium Team (Weronika Śliwa, Mateusz Borkowicz, Paulina Majda) and Copernicus Bio Lab / Stanisław Loboziak.

FROM THE AMERICAN ARTS INCUBATOR BLOG

What is Life in the Bio-Tech Era? Creating a More Resilient Future
The American Arts Incubator – Poland “Layers of Life” workshop questioned “What is Life in the Bio-Tech Era?” through the lens of empowerment – exploring this pivotal point we are at in evolution across many strata, including personal, social, emotional and…

No Word for “Empowerment” in Polish?!
We are more than halfway into American Arts Incubator — Poland, and it has been an amazing journey witnessing our growth, development, and empowerment of participants and myself through the “Layers of Life” workshop. Layers of Life // First Day from Amy Karle….

The Language That Only Art Can Speak
The process of making art is like the process of exploring yourself. For me, it is one and the same. Making art is a process of exploring myself and the world around me, making sense of it in a way that is beyond the thinking mind… from a place of all of these…

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

Pulse Translator
Manipulating human biodata. The project explores ways to capture biological data and process it into other types of data. The installation is used…

Breathing Space
Plant-powered rejuvenation. The Breath of Life is a prototype of a chamber with an oxygen reactor that intensively produces oxygen by water…

Chlorobody / Plantenstein
Imagining the possibilities of chloroplast wearables. Recent scientific discoveries show that animals are able to perform photosynthesis, a…

Layers of Emotions
Exploring human emotions through art and science. This project explores artistic and scientific representations of human emotions…

A very special thank you to:

American Arts Incubator, US Department of State, ECA, ZERO1, U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Poland, Centrum Nauki Kopernik, Kopalnia Soli “Wieliczka”, Kopalnia Soli “Bochnia” Planetarium Niebo Kopernika, Titanic Design: Rapid 3D Printing, Grain Films, and all those without whose generous support this project would not be possible.