Michigan State University (MSU) will welcome international artist Violeta López López of Ávila, Spain, as the fall 2024 MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist in Residence. This new residency aims to foster collaboration, exploration, experimentation and innovation, culminating in the creation of groundbreaking artworks at the intersection of art, science and technology.
Lopéz was selected from a call for artists as part of this collaboration between FRIB; the MSU Museum; the STEAMpower Project, Michigan State University’s Art, Science and Culture Collaborative; and Arts MSU. This new residency fosters collaboration, exploration, experimentation and innovation on MSU’s vibrant campus, culminating in the creation of original artworks at the intersection of art, science and technology.
López is an interdisciplinary artist who takes a multimedia approach to her practice, merging analog and digital through visuals, sound and words. The resulting work explores language, literature and science from a poetic perspective.
“Participating in the MSUFCU Arts Power Up Arts Residency is an invaluable opportunity to develop a body of work that combines physics and art from the inside out, to gain first-hand knowledge and to engage with the scientific, artistic and university community that the MSU environment offers,” said López. “The research time in collaboration with the scientists at FRIB, as well as the multitude of resources offered, provide a supportive framework for my project that will surely allow it to develop beyond expectations, finding connections between linguistics and physics in search of the common syntax that makes it possible to formulate a new artistic proposal through relations and forces, atoms and verses, codes that we interpret and that interpret us.”
López will immerse herself in the FRIB laboratory environment and explore this year’s residency theme of nuclear astrophysics through their boundary-pushing work.
FRIB is a world-unique rare isotope research facility that enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security and industry. Rare isotopes are versions of elements with a combination of protons and neutrons that do not hold together forever. The facility proudly supports a community of about 1,800 scientists from around the world, while also regularly collaborating with artists across disciplines.
The residency program provides a supportive environment for artists to create their new artworks while engaging with the vibrant communities across MSU’s campus. MSU encourages the public to join Lopéz at the following free public events as part of this effort:
- Artist Talk and Welcome
Thursday, 19 September, 5:10-6 p.m.
Meet the second MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist in Residence, Violeta López López, and learn about her artistic philosophy, past work and her vision for this residency at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. Learn more and register for the event here.
- Artists in Dialogue and Opening Reception
Saturday, 5 October, 1-3 p.m.
311 Abbot, downtown East Lansing
Join the conversation on transdisciplinary collaboration with current Artist in Residence Violeta López López and previous Artist in Residence Abel Korinsky. Learn more and register for the event here.
- The Syntax of Science
Thursday, 24 October, 5:10-6:30 p.m.
1300 FRIB Laboratory
Explore the intersection of art, science, language and technology with MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist in Residence Violeta López López, professor of physics at FRIB and MSU Artemis Spyrou, and linguistics professor Brian Buccola. The conversation and audience Q&A will be moderated by science, technology and society professor Megan Halpern. Learn more and register for the event here.
The MSUFCU Arts Power Up Arts Residency at FRIB program is generously supported by an endowed gift from the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, with contributions from the MSU Museum and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.
Michigan State University
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 165 years. One of the world’s leading public research universities, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery to make a better, safer, healthier world for all while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 400 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
Facility for Rare Isotope Beams
Michigan State University operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security and industry.
MSU Museum
As the state’s first Smithsonian Affiliate, the MSU Museum is an innovative and experimental collaboratory that exists to catalyze creativity. Here, people can openly explore, express and experiment with ideas across disciplines and interests and indulge their natural curiosity about the world. The museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibitions. For more information, call 517-355-2370 or visit museum.msu.edu
Arts MSU
Arts MSU is a strategy that moves creativity to the center of university life by integrating the arts into our educational experiences, our research activities, our outreach and our campus culture.
Guided by the belief that the arts are essential to a vibrant university community that is resilient, inclusive, collaborative and globally minded, this strategy is committed to advancing the impact and amplifying the presence of the arts across campus.
MSUFCU
Founded in 1937, MSUFCU has a national reputation for excellence and has received several top industry and workplace awards, including being named a Best Credit Union to Work For® by American Banker for the sixth year, a Top Workplace by the Detroit Free Press for 13 consecutive years and a National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® winner for seven consecutive years. MSUFCU has also been certified as a Great Place to Work® for 10 consecutive years and has been recognized by the Credit Union National Association, earning first place for the people-helping-people philosophy Louise Herring Award. The credit union operates an award-winning, wholly owned credit union service organization, Reseda Group, along with digital financial platforms AlumniFi and Collegiate, trade name Oakland University Credit Union, and its foundation, the Desk Drawer Fund. MSUFCU is headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan, and has 23 branches, over 350,000 members, $7.61 billion in assets and more than 1,100 employees. For more information, visit msufcu.org.