We are an international group of artist-scientists studying and researching neuroscience in Berlin. A community, with varied perspectives on the intersections between art and neuroscience.
Scientists often see the technical landscape of their experiments and clinical work through abstract visualizations and blends of other sensory experiences. EDGE urges neuroscientists, artists, and the public to humanize the scientist and to explore the border or lack thereof between the fields.
The multi-media exhibitions at the heart of what EDGE is, show art of various artists addressing topics around the brain, from and of neuroscience labs, their members, their motivations, and the research findings, to bridge the divide between the lab bench and the outside world.
Each exhibit presents a personal relationship or unique perspective on neuroscience, exploring inspirations from and motivations for study of the brain. These range from experiences of mental disorders, empathy with patients of epilepsy, acquiring a biological perspective on humans and their personalities, to fascination over the intricate structures and arrangements of neurons and the mathematical relationships of their interactions.
We hope that through art, we can connect to a wider community, educate and share with creativity, humanise the scientific and research process, and engage with the public through art. In the future we hope to widen our collaborations to those other stakeholders in neuroscientific process, after all—we all have a brain!
But most of all we hope you enjoy!
Lots of love, your EDGE organisers,
Tatiana Lupashina, Amelia Young, Corinna Kühnapfel, Philip DePoala, Enya Weidner, Dimitra Mazaraki, Shahryar Khorasani
Amelia Young, MSc
EDGE e.V. Vice President
Communications Lead
amy@edge-neuro.art
Amy has been involved in sharing scientific details of the natural world through art and performance for over 10 years. Her personal research passions lie in human spatial navigation and her recently completed medical neuroscience studies have deepened her understanding in the beauty of existence and provided a foundation in the subject most interesting to share. Her interest in facilitating citizen science has led to event planning in organisations such as UNESCO, Hacking Health Berlin, and educational theatres in the UK and Hong Kong. EDGE Neuroscience & Art events combine her research interests, fascination with the beauty of the nervous system, and passion for sharing neuroscientific concepts with all who will lend an ear! She works as a freelance neuroscience communication consultant, fusing creativity and design with scientific marketing and communication. She is currently a speaker for the MIND Foundation Art Section and with EDGE, she aims to foster a community of creatives and enable the conception and production of artworks which inspire curiosity and understanding of neuroscientific topics.
Tatiana Lupashina, MSc
EDGE e.V. President
Oculus Lead
tatiana@edge-neuro.art
Tatiana Lupashina is a Russian-American neuroscientist and visual artist currently working in Berlin, Germany and the US. She is the Co-Founder and President of EDGE Neuroscience & Art e.V., for which she has been producing and curating multimedia group exhibitions and workshops since 2018. She earned her masters degree in the International Graduate Program of Medical Neurosciences at Charité Universitätsmedizin in Berlin where she continues investigating behaviour and sensorimotor processing. Her attention to the visual and sensory filled world and her curiosity for neural networks involved in translating multisensory information influences her artistic work. She is also invested in how science informs artistic conventions and appreciation. Tatiana is currently the speaker for the EDGE- MIND professional Arts section. Together with Philip DePoala, they are the lead artists of Oculus, an ongoing developing interactive sculpture featuring the neurobiology of the eye and embodying the spirit of EDGE.
Corinna Kühnapfel, MSc
EDGE e.V. Bookkeeper
Outreach and Members
coco@edge-neuro.art
Coco is a PhD candidate in the ARTIS project (Art and Research on Transformations of Individuals and Society) at the University of Vienna. She has a background in cognitive science (Bachelor’s) and embodied cognition (Master’s) and with a focus empirical aesthetics and neuroaesthetics. In her dissertation she explores the role of the body in the experience and evaluation of art in light of 4EA (embodied, extended, enactive, embedded, affective) approaches to cognition.
In EDGE, she has found a way to combine her passion for both art and science, as well as organizing conferences, workshops of exhibitions, which she previously also had gained experience with as a student worker at the Association of Neuroesthetics and Schering Stiftung. In between Vienna and Berlin, she manages, among others tasks, EDGE’s members, Verein structures, website and social media presence.
Philip DePoala
Art & Business Advisor
Oculus Lead
Philip DePoala is a visual artist from the Hudson Valley of New York. He studied Fine Art at the Woodstock School of Art and Pratt Institute. After receiving a BFA with high honors from Pratt Institute, he worked professionally in New York City in the Fine Arts for 5 years with several blue chip artists. He exhibited his sculptures, paintings, and interactive art at Black Rock City for the past 7 years with the support of 5 consecutive Honorarium Grants from Burning Man Arts. During this time he has traveled extensively through 48 states of the USA, Europe, and SE Asia studying visual art, indigenous culture, and ancient antiquities. Philip has produced and exhibited his artwork internationally since 2017. During this time he developed international collaborations with EDGE in Berlin, Germany and master mask carvers in central Java and Bali, Indonesia. He has been working directly with EDGE and its president, Tatiana Lupashina since its founding in Berlin, Germany in 2018.
Enya Weidner, MSc
EDGE West Chapter Lead
Enya is a PhD candidate in affective neuroscience at Bielefeld University. With an academic background in psychology and neuroscience, Enya specialized in affective neuroscience for her PhD studies. Her research focuses on intricate network dynamics involved in the bottom-up and top-down processing of emotion, for which she researches intracranial electrophysiological responses in patients with epilepsy. She has found a harmonious synergy between her passion for art and science within the community of EDGE. Drawing from her experience as an artist herself, she currently is leading EDGE West, organizing events in the NRW area. She is also responsible for the social media presence of EDGE as well as the visual communication.Enya is a PhD candidate in affective neuroscience at Bielefeld University. With an academic background in psychology and neuroscience, Enya specialized in affective neuroscience for her PhD studies. Her research focuses on intricate network dynamics involved in the bottom-up and top-down processing of emotion, for which she researches intracranial electrophysiological responses in patients with epilepsy. She has found a harmonious synergy between her passion for art and science within the community of EDGE. Drawing from her experience as an artist herself, she currently is leading EDGE West, organizing events in the NRW area. She is also responsible for the social media presence of EDGE as well as the visual communication.
Dimitra Mazaraki, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Shahryar Khorasani, MSc
Business Advisor
EDGE in media:
- Charité CNS NeuroScience Magazine, March 2020, Volume 13, Issue 1 “Science Communication”
- Comes To Mind Blog, “At the EDGE of Neuroscience and Art”, March 28, 2020
- Art Next Door’s Tuçe Erel podcast interview of EDGE founders
- SEISMA magazine feature article about part I of EDGE’s exhibition
- Technology Networks feature article about part I of EDGE’s exhibition
- DrawBioMed’s Youtube interview of EDGE founders
- Data Week at the ICN Charité – presentation during on “ Creative Uses of Neuroscience Data”
- MIND Foundation’s blog post about EDGE’s contribution to the symposium on Bewusstseinskultur (culture of consciousness)
- BJKS Podcast Episode “EDGE, art & neuroscience, and empirical aesthetics”
- Conference presentations including at Society for Neuroscience Meeting 2021
Find us on:
We would like to thank our supporting institutes for their generous sponsorship:
Einstein Centre for Neurosciences
Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience Berlin
International Graduate Program Medical Neuroscience
FENS/DANA Brain Awareness Week 2021