Trinity announces its Science Gallery is to close in February

Trinity College Dublin’s Science Gallery is set to close its doors for good, it has been announced. The gallery hosted exhibitions and events that explored the connections between art and science, and was focused on engaging young people.

It is believed the decision is because the university no longer considered it to be financially viable.

The gallery has only recently reopened since the pandemic, with an exhibition entitled Bias, which examines how human prejudices make their way into algorithms and artificial intelligence systems.

Exhibits combine the work of scientists and artists, focus on topics including how facial recognition technology developes a definition of a ‘normal’ face, what it’s like for human workers who have to cooperate with AI systems, and who gets to decide what data is included in machine learning training.

The gallery opened in 2008, and its cafe was also a popular meeting place. Many have taken to social media to express their disappointment at the closure.

One of the things I did with Science Gallery was sit in on meetings with university presidents from all over the world (US, UK, Australia and others) when they asked us how they could emulate SG in their own universities. Why are we throwing this away? It seems short-sighted. https://t.co/sXUxijPy2z

— Aoife McLysaght (@aoifemcl) October 28, 2021

As one of the folks involved in the original design & concept of @SciGalleryDub, this is gutting. What reckoning of its social and cultural value has been made? Have alternative org models been considered? This will be devastating to students, staff, artists: I’m utterly shocked. https://t.co/BnaldW3cnK

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— Dr Emily MarkFitzGerald (@emilymfg) October 28, 2021

https://twitter.com/g0thjuice/status/1453874469718659079

It is believed that the gallery will close after the current Bias exhibition ends, on February 28. Since its opening, it has had over three million visitors.

It is part of Science Gallery International, a global network of institutions in seven other cities that were launched after the success of Trinity’s project.

The other institutions are King’s College London, The University of Melbourne, the Indian Institute of Science, Michigan State University, Emory University, Erasmus MC, Technische Universität Berlin.

Trinity College Dublin has not commented on the closure.