SETI Institute Announces Nominees for the Speculative Life BioArt Residency

The SETI Institute’s Artist in Residence (AIR) program announced six nominees for Speculative Life, a new BioArt residency exploring one of humanity’s most intriguing questions: What is the origin and nature of life?

About the Speculative Life Residency

Situated at the intersection of art, astrobiology, and emerging biotechnologies, this two-year, $30,000 research-creation residency invites artists to engage with scientific study while examining the ethical, cultural, and philosophical dimensions of life as both a biological and conceptual phenomenon.

Art Meets Astrobiology

Building on the SETI Institute’s astrobiology research, the residency connects artists with scientists investigating extremophiles, planetary environments, and the chemical foundations of life. In parallel, artists are encouraged to critically explore fields such as synthetic biology, genetic engineering, biohacking, living materials, and speculative futures, expanding how life is imagined, constructed, and understood.

“Connecting BioArt and astrobiology is a natural convergence,” said Bettina Forget, Director of the SETI Institute’s Artist in Residence program. “The artists we are inviting to this residency examine questions that sit at the core of both disciplines: the relationship between genetics and identity, the implications of bioengineering, and the infrastructures that sustain life. Through artistic practice, they develop new conceptual frameworks that offer critical and imaginative insights into how we define life itself.”

Advisory Panel and Selection Process

An interdisciplinary advisory team selected six internationally recognized artists as nominees for the inaugural residency. The panel includes Danielle Siembieda, Senior Arts Manager for the City of San José and former Chief Creative Officer of Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology; Rolando Perez, Bioengineer, Co-founder of the UCSC International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team, and Affiliate Research Scientist at NASA’s Blue Marble Space Institute for Science; Bettina Forget, Director of the SETI Institute’s Artist in Residence program; and Nathalie A. Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute.

Each nominee has been invited to develop a project proposal in response to the residency’s focus.

The six nominees of the Speculative Life BioArt residency are:

The selected resident will be announced on July 1, 2026.

About the SETI Artist in Residence Program

As part of the wider SETI AIR program, spanning public art, artificial intelligence, literature, and interdisciplinary education, Speculative Life stands out for its integration of science and creative practice. The residency fosters new dialogues and collaborations, allowing artists and scientists to expand our understanding of humanity’s place in the universe.