Using Movement to Unite Art and Science
The one truth – everything moves – it’s fundamental.
I was 25 years old when I was invited to give a TEDx talk on unifying art and science using a concept of movement. In my talk, I describe working across different career fields or disciplines using movement as the unifying theme or variable. In particular, the TEDx talk describes how movement is a part of the human experience and can be used as a framework for cross-disciplinary work (with two examples from research and the arts at the end).
Importantly, I believe that art and science can co-exist in cross- and inter-disciplinary work given right variables and opportunities. I believe that art-and-science offers its own space, as a distinctly separate discipline, to create and innovate. When art and science readily merge the outcome can be unique and compelling. In this framework, art-and-science is the perfect medium for sharing a message or to create an impact.
Below was my first ever talk attempting to explain the topic, and to add to my nerves, the rules were that you couldn’t say the name of your company because the TED platform is about sharing ideas rather than promotion! I took the stage for the first time to describe why I thought cross-disciplinary work is necessary for innovation and that you could join two different disciplines using a broad definition of ‘movement’. At the time, I utilised movement as a leading component (or variable) that could directly, or indirectly, unify art and science for various purposes – it is how I came to the name Movement for Hope, when I started the nonprofit. Overall, I wanted to demonstrate, at a time when art and science were not readily merged in public engagement, that it was possible to reunite the disciplines of art and science in a variety of ways.