Our first exhibition at the new Center for AI and Data Science, of the work of the artist Zaven Paré, showed us the kind of art-science program we want to build: an open exchange between fields that brings fresh energy and new encounters to the institute, and ties us into the wider conversations about science, art, and technology. What kept surprising me was how much a theatre archive, a hospital library, an art school, and an AI center have to say to one another once they are in the same room. These are some notes on how it came about, and why they left us looking forward to what comes next.
The beginning
It started when Sarra Margi, project manager of the center, was thinking about artistic and cultural events they might host. While discussing with people at the institute, it was suggested to “talk to Stephen.” I had just moved my team, the Data Analysis Core, into the new building, a clean, open space that was fine for work and meetings but still felt a little lifeless. I had also been looking for a way to bring some life into it, and was thinking about opportunities to bring my art-science activities within these walls. So when Sarra and I started talking, we hit the ground running.
We quickly drew up a plan for an art-science program, setting out its mission, how we wanted to work, and how to make it happen. The first task was to find a few partners in the arts and in culture who could connect with what we do at the center: neuroscience, data science and AI. Beyond that, we decided to keep our eyes open.
Monday 16 March
While browsing LinkedIn, I spotted an event just across the Seine, at the Théâtrothèque Gaston Baty of the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle: an exhibition of Zaven Paré’s work, Le théâtre des robots : des arts de la scène à la rencontre de l’IA, built around his pieces and his collection on robotics and automata. Soon after, Sarra and I went to see the exhibition. It was beautifully put together: the robots, the posters, the old documents, the care taken over the display. If only we could do something like this at our center… We got talking with Céline Hersant, who curated the show and heads the Théâtrothèque, and with her deputy, Sara Bompani. They showed us around, told us what the Théâtrothèque does, and explained their long relationship with the artist, who would give his masterclass the next day. We told them we were hoping to build collaborations across fields and to share activities, and it was immediately clear we had met like-minded people. There was no further convincing needed.
Tuesday 17 March
I could not make the final masterclass, “Le Robot Actors Project,” but Sarra went, and came back to say that Paré was every bit as engaging in person as in his work. In fact, she came away with his contact details, and a pile of books for our (not yet existing) library.
Thursday 19 March
We invited Zaven for lunch, showed him the space, and talked about art and science. Zaven has spent his career working alongside science, robotics above all, as both an insider and an outsider, and he knows both worlds well. His art is exciting and also critical. It looks closely at how people and robots meet, how we project our humanity onto machines, and how a robot can be built to draw out our instinct to empathize with it. The more we talked, the more common ground we found, and we became convinced his work would mean something to our colleagues at the center.
Tuesday 31 March
We decided it would be good to have a first meeting of the like-minded people we had so quickly gathered. There was no formal agenda, just a program of visits to the Charcot library, the Research & Development unit of the Paris Brain Institute, and finally the Center for AI and Data Science. It was wonderful how readily everyone answered the call, and how each was enthusiastic, kind, and happy to share. Sarra and I both felt, somehow, that this was an important meeting, full of spontaneous energy. Attending were:
- Zaven Paré, artist.
- Céline Hersant, head, and Sara Bompani, deputy, of the Théâtrothèque Gaston Baty.
- Isabelle Poisot, head of the health sciences libraries, and Sylvie Leroux, her deputy.
- Jade Poupon, heritage collections librarian at the Charcot library, Sorbonne Université.
- Vincent Rioux, head of the Digital Media department at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and head of the BaseDigitale.
- Pierre Tissier, head of the Research & Development platform at the Paris Brain Institute.
- Sarra Margi, project manager, Center for AI and Data Science, Paris Brain Institute.
- Stephen Whitmarsh, head of the Data Analysis Core, Paris Brain Institute.
I already knew the Charcot library well, an easily overlooked treasure inside the Paris Brain Institute, from an earlier exhibition there on the history of brainwave music that Samon Takahashi and I put together in 2018. Pierre showed the group what his platform can do, from 3D printing to machining, electronic fabrication, and laser cutting. The laser cutting especially delighted Zaven as a plasticien, and Pierre would later put it to use, laser-cutting parts for one of Zaven’s works. It was our first meeting across so many fields, the kind we had been picturing for months. My own link with the Beaux-Arts went back a little way as well. The previous December, Vincent invited me for a lecture on language in art, science, and AI, and before that, in 2018, we created a Brain Brunch, and spent a week together with ENSBA at the Folie Numérique, at La Villette, Paris. Good times.
The conversation was animated, and at a certain point Zaven drew out a connection none of us had known about. The Charcot library sits inside a long history between science and the image. In the 1880s, at this same Pitié-Salpêtrière, Charcot’s photographer Albert Londe built a medical photography service. Londe worked from the chronophotography of Étienne-Jules Marey, whose single-plate motion studies were made in the same years as Eadweard Muybridge’s sequential photographs in the United States. That work runs on into the history of the moving image, and so into what is taught and collected at the Beaux-Arts. In other words, between the library and the art school you could trace a line from nineteenth-century neurology to the art of the moving body, and back again.
By the end of the meeting something real had formed between us. We still had no budget and nothing signed, just the will to make something happen. Back at the center we got to talking about how Zaven’s show would soon go into storage, and how three weeks after that he would fly home to Brazil. Why not put my work up during those weeks, he said, since it was being moved anyway? We could hardly believe our luck, or his generosity. We had nothing to give him in return, no fee for his time or his work, only our thanks and appreciation for the work. Céline offered us her images and her meticulous information sheets to adapt, and supported us through the insurance, transport, and paperwork. People kept giving!
Preparations
Now things had to move fast. While Céline and Sarra sorted out the insurance (clou à clou), the driver, and the transport budget, and our legal department carried us through the loan contract, I met with Zaven to plan the installation. We went to Leroy Merlin for the right bolts, wires, and other bits and pieces. Big hardware stores make me happy, and it turns out Zaven feels the same. I had worried I was keeping all the fun to myself, but Sarra told me she feels the exact opposite about hardware stores, so we were both in luck. Last of all, we ordered a sheet of Perspex for the table display and made sure it arrived in time, which took more stress and phone calls than it should have.
Friday 10 April
The works arrived at last, and we spent the day and the evening putting the show together. Zaven repaired some of his robots, which had been knocked about in storage and transport. In the evening Per Hüttner came by, my friend and a long-time art-science collaborator, and co-founder of EEGsynth. He was able to advise us on the spatial arrangement of the exhibit. We were also joined by William C. Stafford, molecular biologist, musician, and part of our art-science tribe. After shifting the pieces around a few times, we felt we were finally done, with only a hundred flyers left to fold. Helped by Sylvain, the building manager, we lingered a while, talking and watching the robots in the darkening space, before we all headed home.
Thursday 7 May
On the final day, we organized a finissage with a “meet the artist” lunch. We could not put on a fully public event yet, but we welcomed those who found out about it through Zaven’s social media. It was great to have a real audience, an unexpected mix of researchers and members of the public, who enjoyed not only Zaven’s work but also his talk on the themes of art, science, and robotics. Sarra gave the visitors a tour of the building and explained the research done at the center. An exhibit like this is a fine conversation starter, and shows our engagement with the public conversation about AI.
What we learned
The exhibition really worked. It showed us that our way of working can put something real into the world. In a few weeks, and on almost no budget, a run of conversations became an actual show, one that pulled together a theatre archive, an art school, a hospital library, and an AI center, and left a group of people who had barely known each other with a real sense of connection and shared values. Colleagues wandered over from the center, met Zaven, and found robots and automata a short walk from where they spend their days doing neuroscience, studying consciousness, and working on brain health. That is exactly what we had hoped an art-science program could do. What we had not quite realized was how close these worlds already are, and how lucky we were to find people who love to share and work together.
The one real regret is the timing. It fell during the school holidays, so a lot of people were away and missed it. The show was only up for under four weeks, from 10 April to 7 May, and even with plenty of communication the word did not reach everyone. It did not help that we sit a short walk from the main building rather than inside it. Next time we will aim either for a show that stays up long enough for people to find their way to it, or for single events we can plan and announce well in advance. Even so, none of this was really something we could have engineered. It was a gift, for us and for everyone who came, down to the chance at the end to meet Zaven in person.
Thank you
None of this would have happened without a lot of generosity. Our thanks go to Zaven Paré, for his work and for the extraordinary gift of sharing it with us. To Céline Hersant and the team at the Théâtrothèque Gaston Baty, who opened their exhibition to us and let us stand on their shoulders. To the Charcot library, for hosting us, sharing their collection, and always being ready to collaborate. To Pierre Tissier for hosting us, and helping ujs out with advice and support indesign and laser cutting. To our legal department, for carrying us through the contract and the insurance. And to Per Hüttner, for his eye and his advice. Thank all of you.
We remain in close contact with our colleagues at the Théâtrothèque Gaston Baty, the Charcot library, and the Beaux-Arts de Paris, continuing our visits and plans, and the next things are already taking shape. We are organizing a workshop with the Beaux-Arts for their art students, planned for March and April 2027, with lectures and hands-on sessions both at the Beaux-Arts and at the center. More to come!
Links
- Exhibition, “Le théâtre des robots : des arts de la scène à la rencontre de l’IA,” Théâtrothèque Gaston Baty, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle: fabula.org
- Masterclass announcement, “Le Robot Actors Project,” 17 March 2026: Bibliothèque Gaston Baty, and recording (YouTube).
- Finissage, “meet the artist” lunch, on Zaven Paré’s LinkedIn: post one, post two
- Center for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science, Paris Brain Institute: parisbraininstitute.org
- Lecture on language in art, science, and AI, Beaux-Arts de Paris, 5 December 2025: eegsynth.org
- BaseDigitale, Digital Media department, Beaux-Arts de Paris: babd.fr