The Point:Engineering the Imagination

Exploring the intersection and future of the arts and STEM

What happens when art and science not only meet—but merge?
Engineering the Imagination brings together artists, scientists, designers, and engineers to explore how interdisciplinary collaboration can spark bold new ways of seeing, thinking, and creating. Inspired by Noli Timere—a breathtaking aerial sculpture and circus born out of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology and created by visionary artist Janet Echelman—this conversation delves into the radical potential of art and technology to transform both physical and emotional landscapes.
Through the lens of Echelman’s gravity-defying work and other boundary-pushing collaborations, panelists will examine how innovation emerges not just from problem-solving, but from poetic inquiry, aesthetic risk-taking, and a willingness to defy traditional silos. Together, we’ll consider:

– How can the built environment move us—emotionally, politically, spiritually?
– What does it mean to create in a time of climate crisis, technological acceleration, and social upheaval?
– And how might we engineer wonder as a tool for resilience, resistance, and radical imagination?

Whether sculpting with data or coding with intuition, these practitioners remind us that the future isn’t just built—it’s dreamed into being.