Both art and science transcend the material world. The different mediums’ sheer impact cannot truly be encapsulated in a singular space or place. Similarly, PST ART’s latest event Art & Science Collide, is not confined to one museum but comprises over 70 thematically-linked exhibitions and dozens of public programs across Southern California. An initiative from the Getty Center, the “collision” explores the intersections of art and science. In celebration of the event's launch, artists along with PST ART and Getty executives gathered for a week of kick-off events at the Getty Center earlier this month. Notables in attendance included creators with art in the exhibitions like Olafur Eliasson as well as museum curators like President of The Huntington, Karen Lawrence.

Additionally, contemporary art magazine Frieze partnered with Getty to host studio visits with acclaimed painters and photographs like Catherine Opie and Doug Aitken. Attendees took part in tours of private art collections as a part of the three-day event prior to the opening of Art & Science Collide. Frieze also hosted a daily panel series at The Beverly Hill Hotel called "Conversations on Patronage," where artists and philanthropists such as Alice Bucknell and Michael Govan discussed the intricacies of art patronage with participants.

Art & Science Collide is the largest art event in the U.S., with programming centered around niche topics such as ancient cosmologies, Indigenous sci-fi, environmental justice and artificial intelligence. Over 800 artists contributed work to the expansive exhibition, creating inconceivable displays of science and art at work. For example, in San Marino, The Huntington hosts the installation, Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis, an examination of environmental awareness across the American and British art scenes throughout the 19th Century.

Shifting themes, For Dear Life: Art, Medicine, and Disability, hosted at San Diego’s Museum of Contemporary Art, is the first exhibition of its kind to survey themes of illness and impairment within American art, from the disability rights movement in the '60s through the stressors of the pandemic. In Los Angeles, The Academy Museum pays homage to cyberpunk cinema, exploring near-future scenarios evoked throughout science fiction films. Beyond the walls of museums, PST ART partnering institutions like Caltech and REDCAT host concerts, performances and workshops at venues like San Diego’s Balboa Park and the United Theater on Broadway.

As PST ART espouses, art has scientifically demonstrated physical and mental health benefits. Visitors can experience this firsthand at Art & Science Collide. As a platform for civic dialogue surrounding pressing topics, Art & Science Collide embodies the importance of examining both past and present connections between art and science. Exhibitions and events will last until February 2025.