IT’S ONLY HUMAN
An Interactive Art & Science Exhibition hosted in
Boston, MA.
Exploring the biases that shape our worlds.
November 2016 • boston, maARTSCIENCEstory
25 interactive exhibits • 2 nights
It’s Only Human is an art and science exhibition on the ways that biases shape our personal, professional, and political lives.
The biggest threat to society isn’t bias. It’s people believing that bias doesn’t exist.
The human brain evolved to thrive in a different world than the one we’ve built for ourselves. Shortcuts that helped us survive in earlier eras now lead us to jump to illogical conclusions, make unfounded generalizations, and privilege our ego over our intellect.
We’ve built a society that often exaggerates our biases, and the only forward is to better understand them and better understand the forces that interact with them, so that we can learn how to navigate them more effectively.
WHAT WE DID
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It’s Only Human featured the works of 18 painters, designers, mixed media artists, and writers. Over 20 exhibits represented a wide range of media, from large scale paintings to creative interactions to data simulations. Each piece was either carefully curated or created to represent a fresh perspective on the topic that evidence alone can’t capture. The result was a multidimensional, multisensory exhibition that leveraged the power of art to provoke, engage, and inspire.
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The exhibition communicated 20 critical facets of our collective understanding of personal, information, and social biases, anchored in empirical research. In addition to each exhibit highlighting representative evidence on a given topic, the show itself was designed using research-based principles of andragogy, learning science, and experience design. Everything from the order of the exhibits to the use of humor, storytelling, and interactivity to the emphasis on generalizable skill and disposition development was rooted in insights from the study of human learning and behavior.
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Context matters, and It’s Only Human prioritized creating a space that cultivated a sense of belonging, comfort, and openness. The show was DJed by Erik Bauch and participants enjoyed bites from the PennyPacker's Fine Foods, drinks from Aeronaut Brewing. Following the show, participants were encouraged to stay, reflect, and further engage with tangible next steps. Lounge areas with games to facilitate reflection and conversation were set up throughout the space to support meaningful absorption of the ideas.
It’s Only Human’s first public exhibition is complete. We are currently exploring ways to make the experience available through our virtual Clubhouse coming Spring 2024.
TRAINING & DISTRIBUTION
Our goal for the It’s Only Human show is to create an open access training platform that allows any member or partner organization to freely use and tailor the show’s framework and materials to engage their local communities.
SHOW IN VIRTUAL REALITY
We are partnering with the team at VR Perspectives to explore translating the show into virtual reality. If you’re interested in learning more or supporting this initiative, contact hi@theplenary.co.
A NEW APPROACH toEXPLORING CRITICAL ISSUEs
SAMPLE EXHIBITS
Event Gallery
WHO MADE IT HAPPEN
Many people of all professions, skillsets, and passions have come together to make this showcase possible. We are so thankful for all the energy, time, contributions, and knowledge that have gone into making Illuminations a reality.
Team Members & Guest Contributors
Featured Artists
Thank you to our participants!
HELP FUND MORE EVENTS LIKE THIS
All our work is 100% funded by supporters and partners like you. Any amount, large or small, helps make our future showcases just as impactful as this one.
SEND US YOUR PHOTOS + VIDEOS
Take some fun content of you exploring the It’s Only Human show? We’d love to see! Send us your photos and videos so we can share them with our community!
For more information about helping in our other programs, please check out our Opportunities and Needs.
