The Polytechnic Museum in Moscow commissioned Ars Electronica Linz to co-curate the "EARTH LAB – Artists as Catalysts" exhibition, a collection of artistic projects dealing with key issues pertaining to our planet. In it, museum visitors are called upon to act as researchers and travelers on a journey of discovery along a parcours consisting of infographic sequences and experimental arrays, many of them interactive. The exhibition will run from June 22 to September 25, 2016 at the former Red October chocolate factory in Moscow.

We or The Microorganisms: Who's in charge here?
EARTH LAB conceives of Planet Earth itself as a laboratory in which every available square meter is dedicated to research on a broad spectrum of topics. What sort of noise does the Earth make, how does its "heartbeat" sound, and why is it revolving slower and slower? Might artificial leaves counteract the increasing pollution of our air, and could flies be the garbage-busters of the future? And speaking of flies: Why aren't we snacking on insect bars now that nutritional as well as environmental considerations suggest that this is the way to go? And in light of the fact that the number of cells that make up the human body is only a tenth of the number of bacteria in and on it, than is it perhaps the case that microorganisms are what ultimately govern the human species? There are so many questions to answer as we go about advancing our basic understanding of processes at work on the Blue Planet.

Art as Catalyst
Indispensible for such understanding are unconventional new (thought) experiments. And who could be better suited to taking leave of well-trodden paths than artists, who work on concrete solutions to problems but also call the R&D enterprise itself into question and thereby shed light on why we know so much about some things and so very little—or even virtually nothing—about others. The exhibition is being supplemented by a specially developed ancillary program of speeches, performances, screenings and workshops. You'll fin a list of workshops here.