Infinite Possibilities: Where Science Meets Art
STEMarts Lab is a nonprofit sci-arts organization located in Taos, New Mexico, dedicated to empowering youth through the fusion of art, science, and technology. In a world that is constantly evolving, we believe in equipping young minds with the skills they need to thrive. Through our interdisciplinary approach, we engage students in innovative sci-art experiences that foster creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Collaborating with interdisciplinary art and science organizations, we develop immersive programs that integrate STEAM programming, workforce development, and teacher tools into the art practice. Our initiatives are showcased at museums and festivals across New Mexico and around the world, making a meaningful impact on both local and global scales. Join us as we inspire the next generation of innovators and leaders.
Our Model
The STEMarts Education Model is based on carefully designed media-rich workshops, online tools, hands-on demos or community sci-art interventions built on instruction with four design pillars that revolve around the core principle that all content must help students connect to self, society and the natural world as an interdependent ecosystem, to develop empathy and see themselves as planetary citizens. The diagram below provides a visual illustration of the key components that guide all the activities and intended outcomes.
Our History
STEMarts Lab was founded in 2009 by artist Agnes Chavez through the STEMarts research project. The model was created to combine art, science, and technology to explore real-world challenges through creative expression, inspiring and activating youth leaders. In 2012, the STEMarts Curriculum Tool was developed for the International Symposium of Electronic Arts: ISEA2012 Machine Wilderness. In 2014, Agnes became a founding member of The PASEO Festival, and introduced the STEMarts programming to the event. The STEMarts methodology is centered around new media artists and their unique approach to communicating ideas through emerging technologies
Core Ethos
The future is here, it’s just unevenly distributed – William Gibson
- We build educational tools around the work of cutting edge artists and scientists to bring their work into classrooms that normally would not have access to these exciting new ideas.
- We provide participating artists with a new contextual framework for their work where teachers and students can delve deeply into their artistic vision, process and research.
- We prioritize intercultural exchange and collaboration and design culturally responsive programming.
- We are guided by ‘21st century thinking’ with a focus on inner well-being, ethics and social practice toward a peaceful and sustainable future.
- We investigate the latest science research and technologies to inform our design practice and curricula for our future leaders.
- We are committed to closing the gap between the “knowledge rich” and “knowledge poor” which can lead to economic disparity.
- We focus on community outreach to make STEAM programming accessible to underrepresented minorities and girls. Workshop participants are representative of the socio-economic and cultural diversity of their community.
- We are engaged in the transition from being passive consumers of technology to problem solvers, critical thinkers and innovators of new technologies investigating the social, environmental and global impact of the tools we are using.
Bridging the Digital Divide
The STEAM movement has been pivotal in fostering science and digital literacy skills. However, achieving an inclusive digital society requires expanding STEAM to encompass humanistic skills and futures thinking through community-engaged projects. This is particularly crucial in rural and tribal communities, where gender, race, and culture gaps in STEM persist. STEMarts Lab pioneers immersive sci-art experiences at the intersection of arts, humanities, science, and technology, aiming to bridge the ’empowerment divide’—the third stage of the digital divide. Through a focus on knowledge creation, we empower under-represented youth leaders with the skills to transition from digital content consumers to producers. Our overarching theme, exploring the universe to expand our identities as planetary citizens, fosters artistic, scientific, and humanistic literacy through a transdisciplinary approach that unites diverse voices and narratives.
About the STEMarts Methodology
The STEMarts methodology is to design online STEAM activities and resources around sci-art installations presented at festivals and museums. Featured artists and interdisciplinary collectives share their processes–which inherently integrate science and technology with their diverse creative, cultural and academic backgrounds–and thus create powerful stories that will directly inspire and engage our youth. The online platform is built around the artist’s work and includes teacher tools such as student surveys and standard alignments. STEAM wikis harness the collective knowledge available online with curated activities and resources. Each artist page or project is designed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21).
