Israel’s Fetter Museum of Nanoscience & Art opens on Thursday, July 8, 2021

According to a July 5, 2021 news article by Maya Margit in the Jerusalem Post (originally published by The Media Line) The Fetter Museum of Nanoscience & Art will be opening at Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA)* this Thursday, July 8, 2021 (Note: Links have been removed),

A new museum set to open in Israel this week combines the cutting-edge field of nanotechnology with the world of contemporary art to create a uniquely mind-bending experience.

The Fetter Nanoscience and Art Museum located at Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials (BINA), pushes the limits of creative expression with a series of artworks that are exhibited throughout the institute’s seven floors.

This museum seems to be conceptual as it is ‘found’ in spaces within BINA rather than having its own designated space within BINA or its own ‘brick and mortar’ structure.

For the curious, there is a Fetter Museum of Nanoscience & Art website where some sections still seem to be under construction.

Back to Margit’s July 5, 2021 news article,

Slated to open to the public on Thursday [July 8, 2021], the museum is the brainchild of acclaimed physics professor Yuval Garini, former director of BINA.

As he was wandering down the spacious halls of the institute one day, Garini realized that much could be done to make better use of the expansive central rooms and meeting areas at BINA.

“Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary field so you really have to have the scientists from different disciplines working together to get something really novel,” Garini told The Media Line, adding that one of the primary purposes of the museum is to attract youngsters to join the burgeoning field of nanotechnology.

The museum has taken years to launch as evidenced by a November 2018 BINA newsletter issue 9 announcement,

Joseph Fetter Museum of Nanotechnology

The Nano-Art Museum will showcase breakthrough research conducted at the Institute, fusing art and science to create an interactive thought-provoking experience.

Art that speaks science

“It started several years ago as a dream to establish a nanotechnology museum through a collaborative process of scientists and artists,” said Prof. Yuval Garini, the visionary and driving force behind the project. “We wanted to dazzle visitors with magnificent experiences, exposing them to scientific principles and to the vast research possibilities in the natural sciences. I am deeply grateful to the Fetter family, whom, without their gracious help our vision would not have been realized”, he said.

The Nano-Art museum is scheduled to open in the summer of 2019, offering visitors a wondrous celebration of the senses. …

Bravo to professor Garini and the others whose continued determination has resulted in the museum.

Back again to Margit’s July 5, 2021 news article,

The launch show, Titled “New Languages,” features collaborations between artists and scientists from a wide variety of nanotechnology-related disciplines, including biology, computer science, engineering and chemistry.

New works will be added as time goes by and as these dialogues continue, she said. Unlike traditional white cube museums, the art at the Fetter Museum is exhibited in the institute’s main halls and in between its research labs, making for a one-of-a-kind museum experience in Israel.

Artist Vardi Bobrow, for instance, created an imposing large-scale sculptural installation called “Stretching the Limits” in BINA’s main hall that consists of a staggering 15,000 rubber bands. The rubber bands are intended to illustrate how damaged neurons recover by stretching and growing, an area of research that was explored by Prof. Orit Shefi. 

It’s not clear if they will be hosting an event of some kind; I was not able to find any press releases.

*ETA July 6.21 0840 PDT: Bar-Ilan University is in the city of Ramat Gan in the Tel Aviv District.

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