The ongoing story of the art and science colony

Qolony is a non-profit organization based in Bucharest, Romania, that seeks to generate connections between art, science and technology, acting as a bridge between professionals in these fields.

Established in 2019, the NGO is built around its founders’ belief that transdisciplinary practices are the cornerstone of developing innovative ideas.

Qolony supports and organizes events such as exhibitions, conferences, artist / scientist talks and artist residencies, built around scientific research and artistic creation.

Our Objectives:

Questioning and rethinking collaborative practices within the art and science fields

Support the creation of methodologies, protocols and collaborations that allow the extension of both artistic practices, as well as speculative and scientific ones

Creating a viable context for experiments and collaboration between artists, scientific researchers and other cultural entities, in Romania and worldwide

Artistic production, built at the crossroad between creative and research environments

Team:

Floriama Cîndea

Artist / Creative Director

Floriama Cîndea completed an M.A. at the Center for Excelence in Image Studies (CESI) in 2016 and she holds a BA from the National University of Arts, Bucharest. As a visual artist she engages with objects and our perception of objects by introducing media and various methods from the biological realm into her artistic practice. She devise installations, make objects, mix paint and printing, as well as create visuals by using biological materials. With a particular strong interest in bioart, she is driven by the possibilities of cross-practices between art and science.

Starting 2019 she co-founded Qolony – the art and science colony to promote interdisciplinary work. She aims to create a strong art and science community, to establish, investigate and show ways of converting scientific research tools into artistic practices.

floriamacandea.com

instagram.com/floriama_candea

Mihaela Ghiță

Journalist / Research coordinator

Mihaela Ghiță graduated Geology and Geophysics, class of 1985, followed by studies in the Photography and dynamic image department, in the University of Arts Bucharest. She worked as a researcher for 10 years at the Institute of Geology of Romania and joined the National Cultural Radio broadcast, as editor in the Science team in 1998. She has recorded innumerous shows, promoting science research and culture. Since 2016 she has been the host of “The scientific dimension of art” radio section, featuring artists who use technology and scientific concepts as a language of artistic expression.

In 2018-2019, she coordinated FUSION – artist residencies in research institutes, the first edition of this kind of approach in Romania, with the support of Fundatia9. Following this path, in late 2019, she co-founded the NGO Qolony, to further her support for the art & science community.

www.facebook.com/silviamihaelaghita

Sabina Suru

Artist / Project Manager

Sabina Suru is a multimedia artist and cultural manager, living and working in Bucharest. She holds an MA from the University of Arts Bucharest and is currently engaged in a research on the history and appropriations of silver-based holography, in the same University. Her work and research orbits around the “photographical” and instrumentalized vision, as knowledge acquiring tools. Over the last few years, she has closely collaborated with the National Center of Contemporary Dance and other local and international artists and institutions.

In 2019, she co-founded Qolony – the Art & Science Colony, as a platform for launching new paths for collaboration between scientific institutions and the arts, to lead to innovation and positive change.

behance.net/sabinasuru

instagram.com/sabina.suru