This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
The #sciart tweetstorm was huge success - bigger and more exciting than any of us could have imagined. Though we sent out an alert to fewer than 100 people before the launch, on the first day we racked up more than 4000 tweets! Glendon will be posting the final stats in the next couple of days to show just how hard we rocked the twittersphere, but before we wrap up we want to let you know that we have created a website where you can submit your email and be kept informed of projects that stem from the storm. Both a book and a conference have been suggested and we are looking seriously into both.
What struck me most about the success of the storm is the number of people who came out of the woodwork - I think we were all following a small subset of each other and this event really galvanized the community and allowed a lot of new connections to be made. The diversity of art shared was another unforseen bonus. From atop my little anthill, I felt I had a decent handle on all the amazing sciart that was happening out there and the major players involved... boy, was I wrong. The storm reminded me that the folks we feature on Symbiartic and the people we connect with personally are just the tip of the iceberg. If I ever felt like I was nearing the end of my pool of interesting projects and people to share (which I didn't, but work with me here for a sec), the storm washed up a world of exciting new activity in places I hadn't known to look. I hope it did the same for you.
We plan on the storm being at least an annual event, but we are also contemplating ways in which to compile the event into a book or some other celebration of its awesomeness. In addition, a major goal of ours remains thinking of novel ways in which to get our vibrant community together. In the absence of the ScienceOnline "unconference" that brought the three of us here at Symbiartic together, we are looking into ways to start a conference dedicated to sciart and visual communication in the sciences. If you would like to stay in the loop regarding these and any other developments that stem from this first #sciart tweetstorm, sign up here and please share!
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Of course, the #sciart hashtag doesn't cease to exist after today, so let's keep filling each others' Twitter feeds with great science-based art and artful science. If you're not already aware, keep an eye out for our regular roundup of major #sciart exhibits across the country - we publish it every two months and always tweet it with the hashtag #sciart. Here's one we'll feature: a joint exhibit with John James Audubon and contemporary realist painter Kevin Sloan that opened today in Colorado Springs, CO. I was lucky enough to see it in person and it is incredible. This and many more will be listed.
In the meantime, keep on making and posting awesome #sciart and inspiring the masses!
Yours in art and science,
Kalliopi, Katie, and Glendon
