About

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, Ian Erik Stewart, Corinna Kühnapfel, Fred Schwaller

Amelia Young
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 is currently working as a scientific marketing associate for the Neurotechnology company NIRx Medizintechnik GmbH, fusing creativity and design with scientific marketing and communication. She is currently a lead 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
tatiana@edge-neuro.art

Tatiana finished her masters in the International Graduate Program of Medical Neurosciences at the Charité Universitätsmedizin in Berlin. Her focus lies in visual processing, where she researches electrophysiological technicalities involved in processing visual information. The motivation behind her interest in such natural processes are closely related to her infatuation with the artistic world. Her attention to details and layers influences her own artistic expression and attracts her to discover scientific understanding and appreciation in artworks, such as Oculus, an ongoing developing interactive sculpture featuring the neurobiology of the eye. Her passion for science and art has naturally driven her involvement in establishing and organizing EDGE.

Ian Erik Stewart
ian@edge-neuro.art

Ian Erik Stewart is a PhD Candidate at the MDC Berlin conducting a research project in the neurobiology of proprioception. During his academic studies so far in Sydney, Longon, and Berlin, he has produced installation, audio, and conceptual art works with which he investigates hidden aspects of human behaviour and the relationships between culture and science. To humanise and present neuroscience for the public, he co-founded EDGE in 2017, and continues to act as executive member at the interface between art and neuroscience. Recently, he has collaborated in various artistic projects, providing technical and theoretical knowledge for the development of new ideas.

Corinna Kühnapfel
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.

Fred Schwaller, PhD

Fred spent ten years in neuroscience research laboratories during his PhD at University College London and postdoctoral position at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. He is now a writer, specialising in science communication, journalism, and fiction writing, with articles and short stories published in many outlets (http://www.fredschwaller.com/).
Fred joined EDGE in autumn 2020 to become involved in a range of activities including writing and promoting EDGE in the media, and helping to connect EDGE with the neuroscience research community in Berlin and worldwide. He also brings organisational and project management experience from organising conferences.

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