2025 – 2026

Biofaction, together with Finnish Bioart Society, is organizing a series of artist residencies. An open call for a total of four residencies was launched in Autumn 2024 and resulted in 96 applications.  A jury team in three rounds selected four artists with strongest project approaches, making sure that they represent a diverse ensemble of backgrounds and topics.

We warmly congratulate selected artists: Kristof De Clercq, Roberta Gigante and Christina Stadlbauer as an artistic trio, HSURAE, Špela Petrič, and Laura Elidedt Rodriguez! With an eclectic and impressive array of expertise and interests, we are excited to be collaborating with them and are looking forward to what their practices and perspectives will contribute to the projects as they develop.

Each artist is offered a 28-day-long fully funded research residency to be undertaken during 2025 and further support for the production of work towards a group exhibition in 2026. The artists will visit, engage and work with labs involved in one of the two European Union’s Horizon EU projects: deCYPher and Bioindustry 4.0. Both projects look into appliances of artificial intelligence and machine learning in synthetic biology.

PROJECT OVERVIEWS & LABORATORIES

deCYPher and Bioindustry come together in the framework of the Horizon Europe program, with the artists in residence creating opportunities for synergy across the two projects. Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation. It tackles climate change, helps to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and boosts the EU’s competitiveness and growth.

deCYPher

The deCYPher project brings together artificial intelligence, machine learning techniques and synthetic biology to go beyond traditional extraction methods of flavonoids and terpenoids. These plant compounds are used for important products, such as pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. As the current extraction is expensive and limited to just a few compounds, deCYPher’s objective is to develop a bio-based production alternative of plant secondary metabolites, which aims to ensure a regular supply in a more sustainable, economical, and efficient way.

Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB) at Ghent University (Belgium), the department of Bioscience at Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands), and ML6 (Belgium) are deCYPher partners participating in the residency. They will host Kristof De Clercq, Roberta Gigante and Christina Stadlbauer, HSURAE, and Laura Rodriguez.

For more information visit: www.decypher.bio

Project in Numbers:

PROJECT OVERVIEWS & LABORATORIES

Bioindustry 4.0

Bioindustry 4.0 leverages advanced digital solutions – including next generation strain searches, AI powered digital twins, and new sensors – to help create and optimise innovative and reliable bioprocesses. These services are being developed for European research infrastructures, with the goal of not just benefitting researchers, but the European biotech sector at large. The project is made up of 20 partners and spearheaded by 6 European research infrastructures: BBMRI-ERIC, DSMZ, ELIXIR, Gaia-X, IBISBA, and MIRRI. Read more about the project here.

Prof. Vitor Martins dos Santos’ Biomanufacturing & Digital Twin lab at Wageningen University (Netherlands) will host Špela Petrič.

For more information visit: www.bioindustry4.eu

Project in Numbers:

These Artist in Residence programmes are financially supported by two research projects funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme : deCYPher (ID 101081782), Bioindustry 4.0 (ID 101094287).