The MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) was founded in 2012 to support and deepen interaction and collaboration between disciplines.
The center has supported approximately 95 artist residencies, 40 courses, 75 public performances, and 180 public programs. CAST has collaborated with more than 30 departments, labs, and centers across all five schools at MIT. As is clear from these numbers, their Visiting Artists program - i.e. artist residencies - is a major cornerstone. These residencies orient toward the research and development phase of artistic work. Each residency is uniquely designed and implemented; all embed artists in ongoing research and teaching programs at MIT where scientists and engineers are open to artists’ speculative and hands-on way of working. Visiting Artists come from a wide range of visual and performing arts disciplines, exposing students to the creative process and fostering cross-fertilization among disciplines. Leila Kinney, Executive Director and Evan Ziporyn, Faculty Director will start with a broad overview of CAST - its mission and ethos and evolution over the past 7 years. They will then focus on recent CAST-sponsored collaborations with Tomás Saraceno, Agnieszka Kurant, and Matthew Ritchie, each demonstrating different aspects of the program and contrasting outcomes.