MINDBLOWERS 2023: Power

This edition of Mindblowers, our scientists and artists will be getting to grips with Power. Power is a complicated concept in society: silent forces, physical force, moral leadership, Black Lives Matter, the space race, individual strength... there’s more to the spectrum of ‘power’ than we imagine. It’s those waters we want to immerse you in this edition of Mindblowers.

What is the power in body language? When is power really power? Can power bring out good leadership? What is real power? Foucault uses the term power/knowledge to signify that power is constituted through acceptable forms of knowledge, scientific understanding and ‘truth’. But what happens when political power is abused and leads to greater inequality, oppression and social injustice?

Silent forces have an enormous impact on society. They may be unseen and unheard, and so felt all the more keenly by our fellow humans. Silent forces remain under the radar, whether intentionally or not. Some are deprived of all power and silenced. Others actively seek out invisible places to carry out their work undisturbed, such as extremist groups or religious fundamentalists. If a journalist wants to explore and enter into those worlds, must they become invisible, or should they use their visibility to publicise their research?

So many questions can make you want to run and hide. But that’s why we’re even more excited to explore power and its questions, with another glittering array of artistic and scientific interventions.