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In present times it would not be appropriate to say art made a “debut” in science centres, as it has been a feature since the beginning of their history, and it appeared precisely in the ‘parent’ science centre, the Exploratorium. However, now it is time to check the progress. There is unrest for this issue, as in history-making times, and it is worthwhile to follow the new developments and hear the words of the coordinators of the artistic activities in science centres and, more in general, in science museums, and also of the artists involved in the process. The goal is to promote a debate on the final results of this phenomenon and on what will happen next. Also, emphasis should be put on the importance for each museum to define right from the start an ‘art policy’, even a complex one, but somehow structured, that may be employed at many levels according to the needs of the museum itself. In the late sixties Frank Oppenheimer, founder of Exploratorium of San Francisco, the first science centre in the world, said: “Art is included, not just to make things pretty, although it often does so, but primarily because artists make different kinds of discoveries about nature than do physicists or geologists. The purpose of science and art is to understand nature with the involvement of people. And as they mix, they become part of the pedagogical process.” Therefore, in present times it would not be appropriate to say art made a “debut” in science centres, as it has been a feature since the beginning of their history, and it appeared precisely in the ‘parent’ science centre, the Exploratorium. The way this occurred and the museums that have followed the same path were the subjects of an article of mine published in this journal (see the article in JCOM no. 5 of 2006). Now I will go back to this because there is unrest again for the issue, as in history-making times, and it is worthwhile to follow the new developments and hear the words of those coordinating the artistic activities in science centres and, more in general, in science museums, and also of the artists involved in the process. The goal is to promote a debate on the final results of this phenomenon and on what will happen next. Also, emphasis should be put on the importance for each museum to define right from the start an ‘art policy’, even a complex one, but somehow structured, that may be employed at many levels according to the needs of the museum itself. This way it is also possible to better communicate the value and the importance art has in each museum, streamlining investments and not wasting efforts in many activities that cannot be received at best by the public. This is also to avoid the risk of reducing art to a ‘fashionable ingredient’ not adding or removing anything. After this preliminary remark, it should be immediately clarified that we are facing quite a complex picture. Some museums, as previously reported, have long followed this path, but now they are wondering how to go on. This is the case of the Exploratorium, which has prepared a report entitled “A vision of art at the Exploratorium. A plan for programmes, research, and the creation of new work, 20072012”. This report focuses on the pivotal elements which, according to the museum working group that wrote it, are necessary to set up an organic artistic action. Some other museums, although having old origins and a more traditional approach, have recently been exploring new communication channels including art. An example of this (incidentally one of the experiences featured in this commentary) is the Natural History Museum of London which – after some important temporary exhibitions and installations between 2006 and 2007 which saw the involvement of various artists – inaugurated its first permanent art installation this year, Tania Kovats’ ‘TREE’. And yet, the most interesting data apparently emerging from the words of Bergit Arends, curator of Contemporary Arts at the Natural History Museum

Science centres around the world see unrest for art and science in society