SCIENCE GALLERY NETWORK REVIEW
CELEBRATING A TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR FOR THE NETWORK
The Science Gallery Network celebrates a transformative year with four permanent galleries now open in Bengaluru, London, Melbourne and most recently Monterrey in November.
In 2024, Science Galleries sparked critical conversations on human and planetary health, envisioned hopeful futures, expanded narratives of science fiction, and more. We ignited collaborations between university researchers and artists, advanced interdisciplinary research, and equipped thousands of students with future-focused skills through art-science education.
Young people, researchers, community leaders, and artists were at the heart of our programmes, with passionate student mediators serving as the public face of Science Gallery. Collaborations with scientific, cultural, and governmental institutions further expanded the Network’s reach.
We congratulate Dr Jahnavi Phalkey, the founding director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, for her awards during the year, including the Infosys Prize in Humanities, India’s highest academic prize.
Our dynamic activities are made possible through the invaluable support of our champions, donors, and supporters across our university members and civic society. We would like to thank you for your commitment to the Science Gallery Network.
Together, we empower the next generation to address global challenges through dialogue, resilience, and creativity — reshaping education, research, and public engagement for the future.
While Science Gallery Dublin will not reopen its physical location, as our founding member, Trinity College Dublin continues to connect through academic and research initiatives.
2025 promises to be an even more ambitious year with collaborations, exhibitions, educational programmes and exciting new partnerships.
Sarah Durcan CEO, SGI
Rose Hiscock Chairperson, SGI
SELECT HIGHLIGHTS 2025
Sarah Durcan and Miguel González Virgen, Science Gallery Monterrey, will be delivering a key-note address at the Inaugural Global Institute of Innovation District’s Summit, which takes place in the Innovation District, Monterrey, April 9-11.
In July, Jesse Chambers, Science Gallery Melbourne, will address the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) in Rome, on SGM’s deaf programme which pushes the boundaries of inclusive education.
Science Gallery London is preparing a vibrant lineup of events and off-season exhibitions. The gallery will also welcome its second Just Futures Residents, Hey, Sis, who will explore the compelling theme of Joy As Resistance in collaboration with the Visual Embodied Methodologies Network at King’s College London.
Science Gallery Bengaluru will present CALORIE, an exhibition-season exploring humanity’s complex relationship with food. Through artistic and scientific inquiries, the programme will examine the calorie’s role in health, culture, and policy.
TWO SCIENCE GALLERIES
OPENED PERMANENT SPACES
SCIENCE GALLERY BENGALURU
OPENED JANUARY 2024
SCIENCE GALLERY MONTERREY
OPENED IN NOVEMBER 2024
NETWORK STRATEGY
Developed by the Network Directors and led by Jahnavi Phalkey (Science Gallery Bengaluru) and Ryan Jefferies (Science Gallery Melbourne), the Science Gallery Network Strategy outlines the collective ambition of the international network of galleries for 2025–2027. This work continues to connect key stakeholders, amplifying our impact and building relationships and opportunities across the Network.
Over the next three years, the Network have committed to collaborations across four critical focus areas.
Sustainable Exhibitions
Developing sustainable exhibitions and touring
Global Learning
Transforming interdisciplinary learning locally and globally
Collaborative Research
Leading in non-traditional art-science and interdisciplinary research Community of Practice
Leading in art-science practice through key publications
BAT NIGHT MARKET by Kuang-Yi Ku and Robert Charles Johnson, LIFT Festival, Science Gallery London
2024 IN NUMBERS
Visitors
2 New galleries open
600 Researchers & artists collaborations
1,300 Researchers & artists engaged with open calls
200 Programmes & events
12 Exhibitions across the Network
30,000 Students from 9 countries participated in the first Global Classroom
88% * of University of Melbourne students said Science Gallery sharpened their ability to connect diverse ideas
* Science Gallery Melbourne 2024 Impact Report: Academic Engagement & Research
Mythical Living Data by Noémie Soula, NOT NATURAL, Science Gallery Melbourne
EXPANDING GLOBAL YOUTH EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
The Global Classroom is broadening interdisciplinary education, fostering connections between students and inspiring professionals whilst promoting a wide range of creative avenues in STEM-related careers. Launched in 2024 by Science Gallery Melbourne with Science Gallery Bengaluru, it has already connected with over 30,000 students in nine countries through the Future Careers Forums.
Change Collective is a diverse community of 18–25 year-olds from South London and King’s College London, united by their commitment to systemic change. In 2024, the group of young creatives, organisers and researchers collaborated with Science Gallery London to embed anti-oppressive values and youth-centred perspectives
into its work. After dynamic training on creative approaches to systems change and on driving institutional change, they shaped the Gallery’s programming.
Science Gallery Melbourne delivered its third annual STEAM Careers Online Forum series. Each forum highlights the journeys of professionals working at the forefront of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics and provides students with insights into tertiary study pathways. 18,738 school and university students from 14 countries connected online with inspiring experts.
ENHANCING THE UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
Science Gallery Melbourne plays a vital role in the University of Melbourne’s ecosystem, engaging 11,475 students across eight faculties through 66 subjects, nine co-curricular programs, and 23 internships. Aligned with the University’s Advancing Students and Education Strategy, an ongoing research project revealed the impact of Science Gallery’s engagement: 88% of students reported positive outcomes, highlighting the ability to connect diverse ideas as the most valuable benefit.
“It is really important to be able to think creatively to solve problems and be able to view things from multiple perspectives”
— University of Melbourne student
At Science Gallery Bengaluru, the innovative full-time and part-time mediator programme employed over 25 young adults. With intensive training from artists and scholars, these mediators empowered visitors to connect personally with exhibition themes and artworks. Drawing from diverse academic backgrounds and a shared passion for art and science, they fostered meaningful, two-way conversations with the Gallery’s audience. They also took their roles beyond the gallery walls, engaging in outreach activities that further developed their interpersonal skills, such as the pop-up side show Carbon in the City, set up at various metro stations across Bengaluru and created compelling social media content.
FOSTERING ACTION FOR HUMAN AND PLANETARY HEALTH
Science Galleries across the Network tackled the urgent challenge of the climate crisis through multiple perspectives.
At Science Gallery Bengaluru, CARBON delved into the pivotal role of carbon in our lives and ecosystems, engaging over 26,000 visitors and nearly 10,000 participants.
In collaboration with Accenture, Science Gallery Atlanta’s RESILIENT
EARTH
offered a reflective space for visitors to consider their actions and commitments toward a sustainable multicultural and multigenerational planet.
Science Gallery London’s VITAL SIGNS underscored the critical link between planetary health and the survival of all living things, featuring collaborations between artists, King’s researchers, students, and activists.
Science Gallery Monterrey’s inaugural exhibition, BRAVE NEW FUTURE, sparked a collective reflection on how we can image and shape brighter societies for today’s and future’s youth. Hosted in the state-of-the-art Expedition Building within Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Innovation District, the exhibition showcased works by international artists, local creatives, Tecnológico de Monterrey students and researchers.
Kaleidosphere by Colectivo La Lucha Libre, BRAVE
NEW FUTURE, Science Gallery Monterrey
CATALYSING INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
ELEVATING DIVERSE VOICES
IN SCIENCE FICTION
Following the success of 2022’s MENTAL, Science Gallery Melbourne and Singapore’s ArtScience Museum together presented SCI-FI: Mythologies Transformed. The exhibition spotlighted fresh perspectives on science fiction through the works of Asian and First Nations women artists and collectives. Attracting 29,778 visitors and 1,875 participants in public programmes, it celebrated the dream worlds and fantastical realities of artists calling for more inclusive futures.
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
EXAMINE THE ETHICAL AND CULTURAL
DIMENSIONS OF QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES
Science Gallery Bengaluru and Science Gallery London partnered with Goethe-Institut’s Studio Quantum, an artist-in-residence programme that explores emerging quantum technologies through the lens of art. Mathematician and artist Robert B.Lisek served as the first resident in Bengaluru, while writer and performer Chandrika NarayananMohan collaborated with King College London’s physicist Dr. James Millen.
Superposition by Robert Liesek and Darita Nereyeth, Science Gallery Bengaluru
Walking through Songline, Science Gallery Bengaluru
CONNECTING LOCAL AUDIENCES TO GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH TRAVELLING EXHIBITIONS
Science Gallery Bengaluru strengthened its international ties by hosting a series of acclaimed travelling exhibitions. These included Critical Zones from the ZKM – Centre for Media Art, Karlsruhe, supported by the Goethe Institute Bengaluru; Songlines from the National Museum of Australia, supported by the Australian Consulate-General in Bengaluru, and From the Moon to Mars: Italy in Space Exploration, supported by the Italian Consulate-General in Bengaluru. These collaborations brought compelling narratives on ecology, cultural heritage, and space exploration to local audiences.
ENGAGING LATIN AMERICAN AUDIENCES WITH CRITICAL RESEARCH ON TECHNOLOGY
The Aleph Festival in Mexico City and Congreso Futuro in Santiago de Chile showcased artist-researcher collaborations from Trinity College Dublin’s ADAPT Centre. Facilitated by Science Gallery International with support from the Irish Embassies in Mexico and Chile, the installations invited viewers to reflect on algorithmic bias and media consumption habits.
CULTIVATING INNOVATIVE RESEARCH
Thylacine De- Extinction by Emma Bugg and Andrew Pask, NOT NATURAL, Science Gallery Melbourne
CO-CREATING EDUCATIONAL TOOLS FOR CLIMATE ACTION
The multi-gallery research project, Hacking the Anthropocene, led by researchers from the University of Melbourne in collaboration with the Science Gallery Network, developed a climate curriculum co-designed with young adults from Atlanta, Bengaluru, and Melbourne. The programme empowers young people to reflect on the Anthropocene, exchange hopes and fears about the climate crisis, and formulate collection action items. The project was presented at the COP29 and recognised by the University of Melbourne for excellence in sustainable communications and engagement.
EXPLORING ETHICAL DILEMMAS OF DE-EXTINCTION
Science Gallery Melbourne’s NOT NATURAL presented Thylacine DeExtinction, a collaborative research project between artist Emma Bugg and Professor Andrew Pask at the University of Melbourne’s Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research (TIGRR) Lab, Faculty of Science. TIGRR’S cutting-edge research and novel technologies aim to ensure marsupial conservation and restoration. Real Tasmanian tiger specimens from the University’s collection were displayed and visitors were invited to contribute their own opinions on deextinction through an in-gallery survey.
CHALLENGING CULTURAL STIGMAS AND REIMAGINING
THE FUTURE OF FOOD
Artists Kuang-Yi Ku and designer
Robert Charles Johnson created BAT
NIGHT MARKET, a multisensory experience commissioned by the London International Festival of Theatre and the Taipei Performing Arts Center, supported by a residency at Science Gallery London in 2022. Premiering at the gallery, the work fused performance, speculative design, and science, developed in collaboration with King’s College London researchers specialising in tissue engineering, bat ecology, anthropology, and health. Through games, tastings, and encounters, it explored bats’ extraordinary role in our global ecosystem.
ADDRESSING PLASTIC WASTE IN LOW-RESOURCE COMMUNITIES
Science Gallery Atlanta’s RESILIENT
EARTH featured Ecolectivos: A World Wrapped in Plastic, an installation born from an implementation research project tackling the challenges of plastic waste management. Led by Emory University researchers Dr. Lisa Thompson and Dr. Eri Saikawa, the project collaborated with rural residents of La Montaña de Santa Maria Xalapán, Jalapa, Guatemala, and artist Susana Aragon. The installation wrestles with the sustainability challenges faced by low-resource communities in Guatemala and the United States.
BAT NIGHT MARKET by Kuang-Yi Ku and Robert Charles Johnson, LIFT Festival, Science Gallery London
ENGAGING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
POWERING BENGALURU’S
SCIENTIFIC LEGACY THROUGH LOCAL INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION
Science Gallery Bengaluru’s seventh exhibition season SCI560: Science in the City celebrated the city’s identity as a hub of science and innovation. Supported by the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, SCI560 engaged 14 local research and cultural institutions, including esteemed organisations such as the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences and the National Institute of Biological Sciences. The progamme showcased Bengaluru’s rich scientific legacy, driven by academic, industrial and military research communities.
HIGHLIGHTING STORIES OF DEMENTIA CARERS
Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK, yet access to quality end-of-life care remains inequitable. Empowering Better End of Life Dementia Care (EMBED-Care), a six-year research collaboration led by King’s College London, is driving transformative change in how care is provided. Science Gallery London highlighted this work through Dementia Journeys: Towards Better End of Life Dementia Care, featuring portrait photography, comic strips, interactive installations, and games that explored the experiences of carers.
SCI560: Science in the City, Science Gallery Bengaluru
IMPACT
INTERNATIONAL STAFF EXCHANGE TO ADVANCE STEAM EDUCATION
In 2024, Science Gallery International launched the first team exchange between Bengaluru and Melbourne. Over several weeks, staff spent a fortnight in each location, sharing expertise with colleagues and mediators, exploring new pedagogical methods, and co-creating opportunities to engage students and teachers in STEAM learning. With more exchanges planned for 2025, the Network continues to cultivate inclusive, forwardthinking learning environments, equipping students, educators, and researchers to address today’s (and tomorrow’s) complex challenges.
“Engaging with colleagues internationally broadened our perspectives on building a global Network that embraces unique positionalities and local contexts. It offered valuable insights into the dynamics of sister galleries and innovative ways to break disciplinary silos, expecially in engaging young adults.”
— Gayatri Manu, Senior Programme Associate, Science Gallery Bengaluru
“The exchange made me reflect on what it means to be a ‘Science Gallery person’—what do we have in common? It’s our differences that connect us, making us anything but ‘common.’ The interdisciplinary team of mediators and staff at the Science Galleries demonstrates that our strength lies in diversity.”
— Jesse Chambers, Deputy Head of Learning Programs, Science Gallery Melbourne
CHAMPIONING YOUNG BLACK VOICES THROUGH CREATIVE EXPRESSION
The Spit Game UK, a collective of young Black creatives, became the inaugural Science Gallery London’s Just Futures residents. This year-long residency aims to empower emerging creatives and activists to experiment with bold ideas and systems for equitable futures.
Throughout their residency, the collective gained access to spaces for collaboration, writing, rehearsals, and film production, supported by the Science Gallery London’s team. They worked with researchers from King’s College London to investigate the challenges faced by young Black individuals in education. Together, they developed
a research framework that guided their interaction with school students and shaped their creative process.
The residency concluded with the exhibition MY KIND OF BLACK at Science Gallery London. It featured four short new films inspired by their work with local secondary schools, research at King’s Arts & Humanities faculty, and their personal experiences
“ We used the framework developed with researchers at King’s College London to engage more youth voices in local secondary schools and ensure that the topics of our short films were supported by research”
— Benjamin Turner, Founder and Director of
The Spit Game UK
The Spit Game UK, Science Gallery London
SUPPORT AND FUNDING
Government of Karnataka donation to Science Gallery Bengaluru, with establishment patrons Rohini Nilekani and Dr. Kiran
Mazumdar-Shaw, and Science Gallery Bengaluru Director
Jahnavi Phalkey, at the opening of Sci560: Science in the City
The wide ranging activities and impact of Science Galleries across the network in 2024 have been made possible through the very generous support and funding from individuals, companies, institutes, councils, foundations and governments globally. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to them:
BASF Australia
British Council
Canada Council of the Arts
Chartered Accountants ANZ
DCF Property
Department of Education and Victorian State Government
Economic and Social Research Council, UK
GCRF
Global Challenges Research Fund
Government of Karnataka
Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation
Indian Institute for Human Settlements
Infosys Science Foundation
The Ireland Funds
The Beth MacLaren
Smallwood Foundation
Ttk Prestige Limited
Peter McMullin AM and Ruth McMullin
Polish Institute
Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies
Samagata Foundation
Swiss Arts Council
Telstra
TE|SF India
Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures India
UK Government
UK Research and Innovation Economic and Social Research Council
Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies
Toyota Community Trust
The Hugh D.T. Williamson Foundation
Wellcome Trust
SEASON ADVISORS
Gayatri Manu, Science Gallery Bengaluru’s Senior Programme Associate
Science Gallery uniquely draws on a wide cohort of experts to inform and evolve our public programming and informal learning
George Adamson
Department of Geography, King’s College London
The Change Collective, Science Gallery London
Oluwapelumi Ajayi, Olamide Bamigboye, Akil Hunte, Simran Junaid, Tiarna Lee, Elena Lo Presti, Chidimma Nwankwo
Sorian, Toni Olabanji, and Ria Thomas
Jay Barber
Writer
Sarah Bracking Department of International Development, King’s College London
Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent
Historian of Science
Manan Bhan
Sustainability Scientist
Stephany Brow
Photographer, Past Emory Social Justice Fellow
Deborah W. Bruner
Senior Vice President for Research,
Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Nursing, Professor Radiation Oncology, Emory University
Oron Catts
Artist, Researcher, and Director, SymbioticA, The University of Western Australia
Barbara Creed Professor of Cinema Studies and Head of the School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
Kris de Meyer
Neuroscientist at King’s College
London and Director of the UCL Climate Action Unit
Michael Dubois
Design Director, Shibui Designs
María Antonia González Valerio
Director, Arte + Ciencia, UNAM
Melissa Hage
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Emory University
Suzanne Hall
Director of Engagement, Policy Institute, King’s College London
Luis Alonso Herrera Montalvo
Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Dolly Kikon Anthropologist
Lizette Zaldivar Larrañaga
Leader of the Artistic Heritage Division, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Shiqiu Liu
Curator, Rare East Asian Collection, University of Melbourne
Kate MacMillan
Deputy Head, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King’s College London
Michael Martin
Associate Teaching Professor of Biology, Emory University
Megan Munsie
Professor of Emerging Technologies (Stem Cells), University of Melbourne
Naresh Narasimhan
Architect
Tiffani Nevels
Managing Director – Global IT, Sustainability Transformation, Accenture
Rachel O’Reilly
Global Research and Insight Lead, Accenture Song Sustainability
Elva Yadira Ornelas
Director, Futures Design Lab, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Andrew Pask
Epigeneticist and Head of the Thylacine
Integrated Genomic Restoration
Research (TIGRR) Laboratory, School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne
Oliver Pattenden
Global Research and Insight Director, Accenture Song Sustainability
Eri Saikawa
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University
Victor Seow
Historian of Science
Mykaela Saunders
Writer, Teacher, and Researcher
Jessica Yu
Writer and Lecturer in Creative
Writing, Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
John Williams
Founder, Principal, & Senior Exhibit
Designer, Shibui Designs
Roland Wittje
Historian of Science
2024 EXHIBITIONS
AI: Who’s Looking After Me?
Science Gallery London
BRAVE NEW FUTURE
Science Gallery Monterrey
CARBON
Scence Gallery Bengaluru
DEMENTIA JOURNEYS
Science Gallery London
RESILIENT EARTH
Science Gallery Atlanta
MY KIND OF BLACK
Science Gallery London
THE OVERVIEW EFFECT
Science Gallery London
SCI560: Science in the City
Science Gallery Bengaluru
NOT NATURAL
Science Gallery Melbourne
PULLING BLOOD FROM A STONE
Science Gallery Berlin
SCI-FI: Mythologies
Transformed
Science Gallery Melbourne
VITAL SIGNS: Another World is Possible
Science Gallery London
Aguaviva by Thomas Marcusson, NOT NATURAL, Science Gallery Melbourne
A Space for Resistance and Renewal by Birungi Kawooya, VITAL SIGNS, Science Gallery London
RESILIENT EARTH, Science Gallery Atlanta
SELECTED PRESS MENTIONS
“India’s education system builds a view that the arts and sciences are wholly separate. Science Gallery Bengaluru hopes to bridge that chasm, provoking new questions and inspiring new ideas”
— The Economist
“There is a little how, in other words, and a lot of wow!” — The Economist
“Science Gallery London’s Vital Signs exhibition places our own actions as both the problem and the solution, and encourages us to think of our impact on the world” — Forbes
“Science Gallery Monterrey invites us to imagine the future not as something uncertain and distant but as a space we can build today, using the tools provided by science, art, and creativity” – Infobae
“Science Gallery London’s Dementia Journeys was a moving, poignant, and thoughtprovoking exhibition. It deserves to be widely seen” — The Lancet
“NOT NATURAL presents a series of intriguing perspectives on the public discourse surrounding the natural and human-made worlds, standing out as a unique experience within the Melbourne art scene” — ArtsHub Australia
ABC Radio
BBC
Business World
Condé Nast Traveller
Deccan Herald
Infobae
Forbes
Hindustan Times
Lider Empresarial
Mint Lounge
The Economist
The Hindu
The Indian Express
The Lancet
The New Indian Express
The News Minute
The Print
The Standard
The Sunday Guardian Live
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Times of India
Time Out London
Times Higher Education
Science Gallery International connects and facilitates the Science Gallery Network, strengthening its platforms for collaboration and amplifying its international reach
2024 SGI BOARD
ROSE HISCOCK
BEATRICE PEMBROKE
KEN ARNOLD
MARY CARTY
LINDA DOYLE
JAHNAVI PHALKEY
JULIE WELLS
TERRY WU
SCIENCEGALLERY.ORG
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