Why should scientists work with artists?
If you’re a scientist, and you’ve asked yourself any of these questions:
How do I get more people to care about my research or take action?
How do I explain my research to a non-expert audience in a way they’ll understand, but without compromising accuracy?
How could I communicate about my area of expertise in a more creative way?
…it might be time to hire an artist to help with your science communication.
At least that’s what I keep hearing as I dive into science communication circles to learn what’s what. I’ve been attending some great events in the last year to wrap my head around where folks with humanities backgrounds (like me!) can help inspire trust in science and drive positive action to better our planet. I love the creative problem-solving and translation/interpretation work at the center of science communication. And I like identifying the most effective languages scientists and policy experts can speak to reach the communities they serve. Rather than ask, How do I make someone care about science?, I see that the most effective science communicators are curious about the places where folks already feel comfortable to learn new things, talk about stuff, and participate in science. It might be at a museum (shout-out to the Exploratorium and Monterey Bay Aquarium), on social media, or in their community solving problems. Some key questions science communicators are driving are, When do people care about science? Where do they have the opportunity to dive into these topics? And what are more ways to invite them in?
SciArt is a budding movement that offers many paths forward. I joined Dr. Paige Jarreau, Lifeology’s founder and VP of Science Communication, and Jessika Raisor, freelance artist and medical illustrator, in their talk How to Work with Artists to Improve Scicomm as part of this year’s Science Talk conference. It was great perspective for me as a multimedia artist to understand what apprehensions or questions scientists had, and what these collaborations look like in practice. Who knows, maybe I’ll become a freelancer!
I want to capture the questions they answered here. I imagine many scientists are asking themselves these.
Why should I (a scientist) work with artists?
How do I identify the right artist for my project? And once I do, what do I do next?
Where do I find funding for a project like this?
What does the collaboration process look like? Who’s in charge?
How do I maintain scientific accuracy while not curtailing the creative expression of the artist?
Let’s dive into Dr. Paige Jarreau and Jessika Raisor’s answers!
Why should I (a scientist) work with artists?
Good science communication serves so many purposes. According to the history of science communication in the United States (as told by Bronwyn Bevan and Brooke Smith in Communicating Science: A Global Perspective), science communicators do what they do so that others:
can benefit from or use science in their daily lives
are healthy and prosperous
support scientific advancement (hello Sputnik era!)
are empowered citizens and can make informed decisions about what they want for their community/country
are educated and participate more in science
are curious and can share in the wonder of our world, universe, and selves
trust science
This Science Talk workshop asked of its scientist audience, Why do you do what you do? What new things might you try to achieve your goals?
There’s immense value in thought-partnering with an artist—i.e. brainstorming ways to get your science out there with someone who has a totally different skill set for communicating. Artists can help come up with appropriate visual metaphors that invite folks in and make technical details more accessible. They have ideas you might not have considered—like, instead of an infographic, what about producing an animation, a VR experience, a card game, or an art installation? They can help you think big, given your goals, and then make that happen. And the possibilities are endless. With a project like this, our panelists said:
You’ll expand your reach. Art makes science accessible and less intimidating for non-experts. Think of the safety cards in airplanes, Dr. Jarreau pointed out. There's a reason why that information is represented through cartoons! Whether your goal is to inform, inspire curiosity, start a conversation, inspire participation or action, or show the beauty in something—art connects powerfully and effectively to peoples' emotions. It gives them framing to understanding complex topics and contextualize that within their own lives.
You might see a new angle to your research. Working with an artist to creatively and visually represent your work might surprise you. Artists see things differently. They have endless ideas for presenting information in interesting, dynamic ways. They ask different questions than your peers might. The process of collaborating with them could even spark new research questions.
You’re more likely to foster participation or action. Art gives folks a channel to participate in science that they already understand how to engage with. When people experience an illustration of insect anatomy, an animation of a biological process, or a VR experience of a rain forest canopy, they have a unique sense of agency over their own learning. They can understand the science and interpret the message on their own. Visual metaphors are powerful for inviting people in. And, art is just fun.
Sci comm folks are driven by deep passion and creativity. So are artists. Working together makes sense.
How do I find the right artist?
Okay, you’re convinced. This would be great. But how…? First, find some artists! Check out social media (hashtags like #sciart and #art), Lifeology’s member directory of hundreds of artists who want to work with scientists/scicommers, or online networks like the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, Sci Art Community, Network of Women who Draw, or the Latinx Design Directory. How do you decide who to reach out to? Look at an individual’s portfolio. Make sure that they have previous experience representing your field or that their style lends well to your goals or needs.
Okay, I identified someone great. Now what?
Prepare a few things before reaching out to that person. You don’t have to have a complete vision for your desired end product (the artist will help with that!), but these things are key to have in mind before you contact them:
1. What success looks like or what you’re trying to accomplish with this project
2. Your ideal timeline (last minute is not great)
3. Your audience and channel of distribution (which determines the artist’s style and approach)
4. Your budget. Questions like "How much does an infographic cost?" are harder for an artist to answer than you might think. The difference between, say, a $200 infographic and a $2,000 infographic might be level of detail, the style, or the medium. An animation usually takes longer than a illustration, but it depends on how complex you need it to be! Having a good idea of what you’re willing to spend means your artist can provide options for a final product that works with your budget and scope. Important note: Always compensate artists (with money!). Don't ask for “spec” work (or something they produce before getting paid). And never expect artists to work for free.
Then, email them! Include all of the above^ and:
5. key messages you want to get across (do you want to get people excited about your topic or to take a particular action?)
6. desired medium or format (illustration? infographic? animation? card game? flash card series?)
7. where you saw their call for work and their rate
8. other context (maybe you already have assets you want them to work with); where you see the project going; your reason behind the commission; or the problem you want to solve through the collaboration
9. how you'll use the end result material
10. anything else important about the project’s scope
Where do I find funding for hiring an artist?
Follow Dr. Jarreau’s tips below!
Write a project like this into your grant’s broader impact goals
Seek micro-grants focused on creating content that has social impact
Ask your university or department, who might have a budget
Budget it as a marketing expense
Pursue industry sponsorship
Crowdfund
Reach out to organizations with an interest in creative scicomm, like the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities, the Sloan Foundation, the Kavli Foundation, and others
What is the artist/scientist collaboration like? Who’s in charge?
Trust artists to be an equal collaborator in a project like this. They’re experts in their visual/creative field and you're an expert in your scientific study. You both bring something to the table. Plus, they probably have a good ear for what a non-expert audience wants to know and would understand. Give the artist decision-making power. Their input is valuable. Explore what you can create together, rather than tell them exactly what you think you want. And be ready for the collaboration to go in directions you didn't expect.
After you’ve reached out to the artist you’ve identified, you’ve provided scope/budget/timeline, and they’ve agree to collaborate, Jessika Raisor explained what the process typically looks like next:
Intro meeting: (over email or a Zoom call) where you tell the artist all about what you want to convey to your audience. An “info dump,” so to speak. They’ll will take that, process it, and come back with a…
Creative brief: where the artist will propose a path ahead given your goals, audience, and desired format or style. Then there’s…
Contract creation: where the artist reiterates project scope, timeline, price, payment plan, legal agreement over copyright/ownership of files, and anything else. Then comes…
Initial sketching: the artist will take a first go at the project and send it back for your review. Then…
Reviews and fact-checking: This is the time to give tons of feedback. The more you give early on, the better. It’s time-saving and cost-saving to make changes now, rather than down the line. You might provide photos of the research you want to represent graphically or hop on a call to explain. Bring in other decision makers at this stage, too, who might have thoughts or who will need to sign off on the final design. Then…
X rounds of changes
Testing / audience feedback
Final full-color illustration
Keep in mind, the artist will have expectations too. Be responsive and in regular contact with them throughout the project. Be prepared to receive/sign a contract and outline a payment plan. And expect to have a conversation about usage rights of the final product (exclusive versus inclusive rights determine who owns the files and for what purposes can they be used).
How do I maintain scientific accuracy while not curtailing the creative expression of the artist?
This audience question during the workshop really popped out to me. How do scientist and artist strike this balance? Dr. Jarreau had some helpful thoughts. It all comes back to your original goal for this piece of communication and the audience you’re trying to reach. It’s important that the science is accurate, but remember there are lots of ways to tell the same story. This piece of media is not the end all be all of your research. It doesn’t have to capture everything. Perhaps a metaphor would be a more effective way of explaining a concept or answering a FAQ about your research, rather than visually representing the specifics. Depending on the subject-matter expertise of the artist and how detailed a design you both decide on, you may need to budget time to catch them up to speed on important scientific nuances and add in more stages of review. Or, you can avoid all that by working with them to explain the concept metaphorically rather than literally. Perhaps your goal is simply to start a conversation about a given topic. In that case, a high-level explanation or more abstract representation would suffice. Jessika jumped in here to say she explains this nuance as the difference between describing something as “crimson” versus “red.” Both are correct; they’re just different ways of explaining.
And now, to quell some misconceptions:
This project doesn’t have to communicate every piece of research you've ever done. Nor does it need to include every facet or detail of the topic you’re describing. The artist will help you consider your goal and stick to essential information. Depending on your audience, the end result will be more powerful like that anyway!
Don’t assume the artist has a baseline knowledge of your topic. It can actually be an asset that they don’t. As you both build out the project timeline, include time to catch them up.
You don't have to be a science communication expert to start a project like this. Science artists are there to help you figure out the message that will reach people and how to represent your research. You’re not on your own!
Thanks again to Dr. Paige Jarreau and Jessika Raisor for an enlightening talk!
Thumbnail image adapted from TimJW12 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY SA 4.0)
