Sarah Schachtschneider’s Bioart at Genspace

by Sarah Schachtschneider

Genspace, the interdisciplinary community biotechnology laboratory in a Brooklyn, accepted a proposal by Parsons student Sarah Schachtschneider for a thesis project related to bioart. Genspace is the first community lab of its kind. Schachtschneider will begin work–some of which is featured below–this fall.

I am very passionate about sustainability and believe in uniting my interests in biology and art with the work I do in fashion, as I believe fashion has the potential to be more inclusive of unconventional and alternative approaches, and challenging existing ideas of our bodies and their relation to our environment.

I have had the unique opportunity of becoming involved in bioart (art created from biological material and concepts) which inspired me to begin working with living organisms to sustainably grow materials and raise awareness and interest in science, technology and the implications of biotechnology within society. With a strong desire to continue creating biological artwork, I have decided to pursue this passion for my senior thesis project.

In order to make this possible, I need access to a biological laboratory open to unconventional uses of science. I am very excited that my proposal to Genspace, the community biotechnology laboratory in Brooklyn, was recently accepted, which will allow me to work on my thesis project, facilitating the research and growth of biomaterials.

Genspace is the first community lab of its kind, with members ranging from artist to biologists, with a common passion for science. In their space, they have a biological safety level 1 laboratory, which is the standard among universities. In the space I will be able to experiment with living organisms to create materials, and have access to the equipment necessary to execute this safely, while considering the ethical implications of the work I am doing.