S+T+ARTS (Science, Technology and the Arts) is an initiative funded by the European Commission since 2016, aimed at promoting alliances between science, technology and art, in order to cultivate technological innovation centered on human needs and values.
S+T+ARTS4WaterII-Ports in Transformation is an initiative dedicated to addressing the complex environmental and social challenges present in ports, port cities, coastal areas and European waterways that focuses on artistic research and solutions to water-related challenges. Following the successful implementation of a pilot project in 2022, in 2024 a new consortium is engaged in the realization of the second edition, titled “Ports in Transformation”, which will deal with Port Authorities and their impact on the surrounding ecosystem, to explore innovative and sustainable approaches to pollution, infrastructure, circularity, transport and so on. This edition will promote transdisciplinary and artist-led projects that investigate more regenerative ways of coexistence.
The initiative is the result of TBA21-Academy (the Academy of the Thyssen Bornemisza Foundation that operates as an incubator for collaborative research, artistic production and environmental awareness) with the support of STARTS4WATERII, the Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung (KDM), scientific partner, with the collaboration of Ca’ Foscari, CNR-ISMAR, ETT and Venice International University.
Three of the twenty residencies offered, or “challenges”, are organized and hosted by TBA21-Academy and focus on the Venice Lagoon. The residencies are designed to allow an in-depth exploration of the ecologies of the Venice Lagoon, connecting a network of local partners and experts with a situated artistic inquiry. Over the course of nine months (September 2024-May 2025), the three selected artists will develop new artistic commissions focused on the lagoon ecosystem and its multi-species inhabitants. The projects will be presented at the Festival, hosted in June 2025 at TBA21-Academy’s Ocean Space in Venice, as part of the S+T+ARTS4WaterII consortium program.
Artists will receive support in the form of knowledge, tools and data resources provided by TBA21-Academy and the LEGs (including members of KDM, German Marine Research, Ca’ Foscari University, CNR-ISMAR, Onassis Foundation, Venice International University). ETT will present various Smart City solutions, including projects based on data collection, processing and management such as EMODnet Physics, EMODnet Chemistry, Blue-Cloud 2026 and others.