Seedfund for visual storytelling in science

Science LinX image editor Leoni von Ristok has received a grant from the University of Groningen Seed Fund for Public Engagement program. She will use the grant to develop a photo exhibition which shows the consequence of energy poverty world wide.

Science is important, but can be difficult to understand, and this leaves many people out. Science explained through images may be able to bridge the divide between those who do and do not have a deep understanding of science. We therefore propose to develop an exhibition in which science primarily speaks to the public through images on societal issues and their solutions. Von Ristok will develop an exhibition in which science primarily speaks to the public through images on societal issues and their solutions. She will use artistic photographs to showcase and document the implications of scientific findings in the lives of people, and thus visualize societal or environmental issues which have been investigated by University of Groningen scientists.

The first exhibition will be on energy poverty – both far away, and in the Netherlands. This theme was inspired by recent research published by University of Groningen Professor in Science, Technology and Society Klaus Hubacek, who is the official applicant of the seed fund grant. Through this exhibition, Von Ristok wants to develop a space where people of different worlds meet, creating more understanding towards one another. The aim is to show the consequences for those who are actually affected by the issues involved, a side of scientific research which is often ignored. Furthermore, the exhibition aims to show how science and scientific findings could actually contribute to valuable solutions. The plan is to create an exhibition that will be shown at different locations, like libraries, and will bring those affacted and interested in the issue together. The pictures can be made by photographers world wide, but local pictures will be made by Von Ristok herself.