The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) was a major presence at the 43rd Comic Barcelona last week. Through an exhibition on everyday science, talks and informative workshops, IBEC was able to bring its cutting-edge research to an audience of all ages.
Last weekend, from 4 to 6 April, the 43rd Comic Barcelona took place. With 110,000 visitors, this cultural event for the whole family offered exhibitions, activities and a wide range of proposals for all audiences, using comics as a starting point. The Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) was present with an exhibition and various informative activities.
Art to break stereotypes in science
IBEC has collaborated with Ficomic to organize the exhibition ‘DÍA A DÍA EN CIENCIA. ¿Qué hacemos los científicos?’, an initiative promoted by Aurora Dols Pérez, senior researcher at IBEC. With 15 illustrations by graphic artists, the exhibition aims to show the day-to-day life and real diversity of people working in science.
The exhibition offers a realistic and dynamic look at scientific work, breaking down stereotypes and showing the diversity of tasks, methodologies and professionals that make up the world of research. The illustrations show that science is not only about experiments in the laboratory, but also about working with computers, field trips, meetings, congresses and international collaborations. In addition, the importance of teamwork, continuous learning and the patience needed to obtain solid results is highlighted.
Science has no borders or closed disciplines: it is a collective and multidisciplinary effort that advances thanks to the diversity of perspectives and experiences.
Among the artists who have participated are Jaume Farrés, Toni Carbós, Miriam Rivera, Meritxell Bosch, Clara Soriano, Nadia Hafid, Fermín Solín, Danide, Ken Niimura, Guilemm Dols, Candela Sierra, Luna Pan, Raquel Gu, Genie Espinosa and Albert Monteys. The cover design was the work of calligrapher Iván Castro.
Activities and workshops for all ages
Comic Barcelona is also committed to encouraging visits from educational centres, with the aim of bringing the ninth art and its language closer to schoolchildren. IBEC has organised several activities around the theme of the exhibition.
On the one hand, there was the talk ‘Comics and science: awakening scientific vocations’, with Teresa Sanchis Estruch, IBEC’s Strategy Manager, Laia Manera Salom, IBEC’s Art and Science Programme Manager, Miriam Rivera, science populariser specialising in comics and illustrator of the exhibition, and Oriol Estrada, populariser of manga, anime and Japanese culture, as moderator. Speaking to an audience of nearly 200 people, the speakers explored how visual language can bring science closer to young people, transforming complex concepts into accessible stories. Sanchis highlighted IBEC’s commitment to society through educational and outreach projects such as this exhibition, the IBBI comics and the Centre’s 10th anniversary book, and paid tribute to the pioneering work of Aurora Dols. Manera offered a view from the humanities, stressing that “more and more scientific centres are opening the door to diverse profiles that bring new perspectives”. Finally, Rivera reflected on the stereotypes in the representation of science and encouraged us to break them by explaining it “in a different, attractive and memorable way”.
On the other hand, during the workshop ‘Draw yourself as a scientist! Create your comic’ around 90 secondary and high school students were able to draw themselves in comic format doing science: imagining, experimenting and discovering. Under the guidance of Toni Carbós, one of the illustrators of the exhibition, the students learned about the creation of scientific characters and stories and how illustration can help to explain the world of research. During the weekend, the same workshop was repeated for visiting families.
Finally, IBEC’s Biosensors for Bioengineering group researchers Samantha Morón Ros, Juanma Fernandez Costa and Carolina Rodríguez Gallo carried out the workshop ‘Bioengineering is powerful: Comics to spread science’. During the activity, which has been organised for the third year running, around 90 primary school children were able to actively participate in the creation of new plots and characters for future comics of IBBI, the bioengineering superheroine that IBEC uses to spread the word about its pioneering research. The activity also gave the pupils a first-hand insight into the work being carried out by the scientists of this research group in the field of organs-on-a-chip.
Through these initiatives, which are part of IBEC’s Art and Science Programme, the Centre promotes transdisciplinary research by incorporating artistic vision into the creation and dissemination of scientific knowledge.
The exhibition 'DÍA A DÍA EN CIENCIA. ¿Qué hacemos los científicos?' is organised by Ficomic in collaboration with the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and is part of an outreach project funded by the European Union (GA: 101168976 - SPM4.0) and the Beatriu de Pinós Programme of the Catalan Ministry of Research and Universities (Generalitat de Catalunya-2) 3, GA 801370).
