PBC and the Arts

Art evokes inspiration, creativity, problem solving, connection, different methods of communication and empathy. All of these are vital tools for the researchers, faculty, staff and students working and learning on the Phoenix Bioscience Core every day. As we continue to evolve our understanding of the world through science, the PBC is committed to continuously finding ways to integrate Phoenix’s art and culture so we can continue to foster meaningful relationships with our community and develop a develop a deeper level of understanding for all.

How the PBC supports the arts

The Phoenix Bioscience Core is dedicated to maintaining a close connection to the arts and culture community around our innovation district. The PBC recently formed its art committee led by University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix faculty member Dr. Cynthia Standley to explore new ways in which we can integrate art into the Phoenix Bioscience Core. These include:

  • commissioned opportunities for artists
  • program participation that includes creating and touring work around the PBC, as well as selling opportunities for artists.
  • opportunities for artists to present in front of scientists and the wider Phoenix community.
  • Deepen the connection between our art and research communities through workshops, museum field trips and other programming.

We regularly host local art exhibits around the PBC, support local art programs and activities such as First Fridays and the Downtown Phoenix Farmer’s Market, and created a year long connection between local artists and PBC researchers to commission new pieces of art that translate the life-saving research on the PBC in new mediums.


Support the Phoenix Bioscience Core

The Phoenix Bioscience Core’s Arts Committee is wholly supported by contributions from our partners and the greater Phoenix community. If you are interested in supporting local artists, creating new opportunities for public art on the Phoenix Bioscience Core, or one of our other programs, please consider donating using the button below. Select “Phoenix Bioscience Core Arts Committee” as your donation option. Thank you for your support!

The PBC Arts Committee donation fund is managed by the Roosevelt Row CDC. Contributions to the PBC Arts Committee are tax deducible.

Artist + Researcher

Artist + Researcher (ARx) is the PBC Arts Committee’s largest initiative, pairing local Phoenix artists with researchers and scientists from the PBC to develop translational pieces of art that communicate groundbreaking life science research in new and innovative ways. Check out the latest cohort below.

ARx2

Our second cohort of Artist + Researcher featured 10 teams with scientists from Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona, the Translational Genomics Research Institute and PBC startup ElectraTect. The scientists worked with 10 local Phoenix artists and performers over nine months to develop these pieces.

PBC Student Art Grant

The PBC Arts Committee is proud to announce a new arts program geared toward students at Arizona’s three public research institutions, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.

This program will award grants up to $1,000 for students to complete a project that expresses part of their curriculum in an artistic way. Proposed projects must serve the mission of the Phoenix Bioscience Core. This includes academic areas such as healthcare, community health, life science, translational research or any other area with a connection to the mission of the PBC. Learn more and apply using the button below!

Upcoming PBC Arts Events

Artist + Researcher Year 2 Grand Opening

Join us August 19 at Bentley Gallery in Downtown Phoenix for the grand opening of the second annual Artists + Researchers Exhibition. ARx is a unique program to the Phoenix Bioscience Core. Through its Arts Committee, the PBC brings together the cutting edge research taking place at our institutions with local community artists to create translational pieces of art that showcase research in new and innovative ways. The hope is that by presenting this important research in new mediums, the research will reach wider audiences and be understood in new ways.

On August 19, the Phoenix Bioscience Core will debut its Artists + Research Exhibition to the public at Bentley Gallery in Downtown Phoenix. The 10 teams of artists and researchers will be available to answer questions about their work, explain their creative processes and much more. This event is completely free and open to the public. Following the grand opening of the work, the art will remain on display at Bentley Gallery before moving to the Health Sciences Education Building on the PBC before traveling throughout the state.

When: Saturday, August 19, 1-3 p.m.

Where: Bentley Gallery, 250 E McKinley St, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Artist + Researcher Deep Dive

The Phoenix Bioscience Core and its Arts Committee is excited to host a first-of-its-kind event with members of both of our Artist + Researcher cohorts.

Join us on September 14 and hear from researchers and artists about their experience working on their projects. Learn what it was like to work together, what they learned from the process, and what they would recommend to anyone interested in participating in future cohorts. Applications for ARx3 will open following this event. In addition, winners of the Phoenix Bioscience Core Arts Committee Student Grants will be announced at this event.The Artist + Researcher Exhibition, year 2 (ARx2) will be on display.

When: Thursday, September 14, 5-8 p.m.

Where: Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB)
435 North 5th Street Phoenix, AZ 85004

Learn more about the PBC and the Arts

The Phoenix Bioscience Core Arts Committee

The PBC Arts Committee was formed in the summer of 2022 and includes members from each of the three public research universities, the city of Phoenix, and several of the PBC’s private organizations.

Dr. Cynthia Standley

Chair, PBC Arts Committee

Cynthia A. Standley, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Bioethics and Medical Humanism at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. Dr. Standley is an accomplished medical educator with more than 20 years experience teaching physiology to both osteopathic and allopathic medical students. She was formerly among the inaugural faculty at Midwestern University’s Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (AZCOM) and also an inaugural faculty member at the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (SOMA) associated with A T. Still University.

Sara Anderson, Executive Director, Proxsea LLC

Craig Randich, Executive Director, Bentley Gallery

Joe Martin, Communications Director, PBC

Mira Milas, MD, Professor of Surgery, Banner University Medical Center

Jonathan Cartsonis, MD, Director of Rural Health, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix

Cynthia Ivy, OTD, Clinical Professor, Occupational Therapy, NAU

Claudia Whitehead, Bioscience Healthcare Program Manager, City of Phoenix

James Burns, Ph.D., Principal, Cypress & Sage Advising

Mitch Menchaca, Executive Director, Office of Arts and Culture, City of Phoenix

Adan Madrigal, Executive Director, Roosevelt Row

Julie Anderson, Grants Coordinator, Flinn Foundation

PBC Arts Committee Supporters