Theresa Liao (Community Relations Director) and Shelley McIvor (Operations Director) met at a local science communication retreat. During a “blue sky” session, they realized they both have passion for sharing science through creative ways. They started Curiosity Collider, to provide the public with a unique avenue for connection with science concepts. As founding members, Theresa and Shelley have extensive science backgrounds, but saw a need to expand beyond laboratories and lecture halls.
Their first event, “Creating Curiosity,” featured artist Char Hoyt. That successful event led to Char joining the board as the Creative Director. With a Creative Director in place, Curiosity Collider could truly incorporate art with science, creating distinctive exhibitions and events. The “Creating Curiosity” event evolved into a successful arts and science speaker series, Collider Cafe.
On this day, the Curiosity Collider Art-Science Foundation is officially born!
In the fall of 2015 we hosted our first art exhibition called Spark: Emerging Collisions Between Art and Science at VIVO Media Arts. It was a one-night-only group exhibition featuring 15 artists and 18 installations. We fostered two successful collaborations, and received excellent feedback on the event.
In 2016, artist Larissa Blokhuis spoke at Collider Cafe, and in 2017, she joined the board as Exhibitions Director. Char moved from the board to become the Managing Creative Director.