The Synapse series at The University of Akron probes ideas, images, and mutual interests connecting art and science professionals and disciplines. Open to all university disciplines and the public, Synapse events take the form of residencies, internships, collaborative projects, lectures, workshops, panel discussions, and exhibitions.

Synapse is a means for exploring enlightened collaborations on diverse topics ranging from artificial intelligence and evolution to the relationships between the animal kingdom and Humans.

Ten artists will be on display at the Emily Davis Gallery for the Synapse exhibition: Judy Pfaff (Tivoli, NY), Jenny Sabin (Ithaca, NY), Terry Winters (New York, NY), Nervous System (Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jessie Louis Rosenberg of Palenville, NY), Mark Dion (Copake, NY), Stacy Levy (Spring Mills, PA), John Roloff (Oakland, CA), Diane Davis-Sikora (Akron, OH), Nathalie Miebach (Boston, MA), Wong Kit Yi (New York, NY and Hong Kong).

Highlighting Akron’s location in the Cuyahoga Valley and its legacy as a city of invention and making, the UA Synapse Art and Scienceseries partnering with the Emily Davis Gallery, Myers School of Art, and the University of Akron Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center will develop community engagement and an exhibit inspired by the intersection of art and science. Artists and designers exploring the natural world consider issues as challenging as sustainability, climate change, and psychology or as fundamental as abstraction, mechanics, and material processes. Scientists and Engineers at UA’s Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center focus on both abstract and applied thinking. The exhibition will consider areas of research such as spider silk, gecko adhesion, bacteria, and snake robots parallel concerns about abstraction, perception, time, environment, and human interaction.

For fifteen years, the goal of Synapse has been to encourage dialogues and relationships between scientists, engineers, business professionals, artists, and designers. Synapse develops new educational strategies, research initiatives, community enrichment, and economic development. Synapse will spur interactions and insights among artists and scientists, campus and community, faculty, and students, practicing professionals, and the simply curious.

Synapse will be running concurrently with the FRONT International and featuring work from FRONT artist Wong Kit Yi.