In 2021, CERN and Pro Helvetia launched Connect, a collaboration framework that promotes dialogue between artists and scientists through residencies at CERN and international laboratories. With its framework extended until 2028, the programme has established itself as a vital platform for artistic experimentation in dialogue with fundamental science.
Connect integrates science into contemporary culture by creating a global network of collaboration. It supports two dual residencies each year. In every edition, one artist from Switzerland and one from the partner country will share residencies at CERN and a partner scientific institution, supported by Arts at CERN and local cultural organisations.
This distinctive opportunity allows artists to gain new perspectives and deepen their practices by working with scientists, engineers, and staff in diverse cultural environments. These residencies encourage artistic innovation and shape the creation of new works.
Connect has built a global network with scientific partners, including the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR) in Bengaluru, India, and several prestigious astronomical research facilities in Chile’s Atacama Desert, such as the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and the Pierre Aguer Observatory in Mendoza, Argentina. Previous partners have included the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO).
Connect Argentina
Connect Argentina invites one Argentinian artist and one Swiss artist to undertake a shared residency between CERN and the Pierre Auger Observatory, organised in partnership with Presente Continuo – Arts & Science Program by Fundación Bunge y Born and Fundación Williams. Connect Argentina offers artists a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in two scientific and cultural settings, cultivating new artistic perspectives through engagement with research communities in Switzerland and Argentina.
It brings together two world-leading institutions dedicated to fundamental physics. At CERN, scientists and engineers probe the constituents of matter using the world’s most complex accelerators and detectors. On the pampas of western Argentina, the Pierre Auger Observatory studies high-energy cosmic rays from outer space.
Connect India
Connect India offers one artist from Switzerland and one artist from India a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge fundamental scientific research in both Geneva and Bengaluru. At CERN, physicists and engineers design and use a wide array of experiments in particle physics, while the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) focuses on theoretical sciences, encompassing fields like physics, mathematics, astronomy and computational biology.
The two selected artists are invited to a three-week residency at ICTS in Bengaluru, followed by a three-week stay at CERN in Geneva. They receive support from the Arts at CERN and ICTS curatorial teams to explore new forms of artistic expression and transform these explorations into art productions.
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2024
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2024
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2022
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2022
Connect Chile
Connect Chile invited one artist from Chile and one artist from Switzerland to the world’s leading scientific research facilities dedicated to investigating the mysteries of the universe. CERN, in Geneva, studies the fundamental constituents of matter with the most complex particle accelerators and detectors. In Chile, European Southern Observatory (ESO)’s telescopes are used to observe a wide range of astronomical objects, and the ALMA observatory studies the coldest and most distant objects to understand our cosmic origins.
The two honorees will complete a dual residency, spending three weeks at CERN, Geneva, and three weeks at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The residency in Chile is organised and coordinated by the Centro Interactivo de los Conocimientos – MIM.
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2023
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2023
Connect
Connect invites artists and collectives from or based in Switzerland to become immersed in CERN’s community and engaging in close dialogue with scientists, engineers, and staff at CERN. The residency welcomes artists with a distinct interest in an interdisciplinary approach and a strong motivation for learning more about the modes of scientific thinking and fundamental science.
The Connect residency consists of a fully funded residency that supports an artist or artist collective to spend two months at CERN and one month remotely. During this time, artists are supported by a scientific partner and the curation and mentorship of the Arts at CERN curator and team. The residency encompasses a research phase at CERN, followed by a remote development period to refine and produce a new artwork.
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2024
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2023
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2022
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2021
Connect South Africa
One Swiss artist and an artist from South, West or East Africa were invited to complete the Connect South Africa dual residency, the inaugural edition of the collaboration framework.
The artists spent three weeks together at CERN, followed by five weeks at the array of optical and radio astronomy observatories across rural and urban South Africa, concentrated in the vast semidesert expanses of the Northern Cape. These include SARAO’s MeerKAT radio telescope near the town of Carnarvon, as the precursor to the South African component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope, as well as the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), the largest of several telescopes operated by SAAO near the town of Sutherland.
