Hybrid interactive systems that combine living and digital components can engage, educate, and inform users, and are of growing interest in the HCI community. Advances in synthetic biology are transforming what is possible to do with these living media interfaces (LMIs). Bioart is a practice in which artists, often using synthetic biology methods, work with living organisms to creatively explore the human relationship with nonhuman organisms. We present results from an interview study with expert bioartists as well as our hands-on experience in a bioart project where we created poetry-infused wine by encoding and inserting a Persian Sufi poem into the DNA sequence of living yeast cells. We find that engaging in bioart practice generates transdisc iplinary fluency with implications for access and activism and our understanding of the qualities of living media. We further explore the qualitative aspects of interacting directly with DNA and implications for sustainable futures.

Our workshop will concentrate on vulnerability of specifc social groups due to various reasons, including COVID-19, and the potential for technology design to result in empowerment. We want to address issues of what new forms of vulnerabilities emerge and how we can design digital environments in a way that acknowledges vulnerability but also has the potential to empower people in ways that are meaningful for them. When planning the workshop, we will also refect on social situations that can result in vulnerabilities for participants. Therefore, we will ensure that interested participants will experience low barriers to participation include a variety of people with diferent backgrounds and ensure that interaction happens based on equality principles and in an atmosphere of solidarity. Participants can exchange ideas and thoughts without worrying about being exposed to biased assumptions. The workshop will allow for non-hierarchical and cooperative discussion and collaboration through interactive online exercises, resulting in a collaboratively developed zine. Finally, the social sustainability of the workshop will be ensured through a website, mailing lists, joint publications and continuous contact. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Human computer interaction (HCI).

Living organisms and their biological properties, including the capacity for transformation and representation of information, offer exciting and inspiring opportunities for transdisciplinary art and design explorations. While an emerging body of work is increasingly investigating the possibilities at the intersection of interactive computing, biology, and art, more work is needed to investigate the potential of these approaches for supporting community and public engagement and participation in art, science, and technology. In this project, we describe a multimedia transdisciplinary bioart installation and hands-on agar art activity that we presented to members of the public in a community biology lab setting. Using short interviews, observations, and questionaries, we investigated attendees' reactions and impressions of the experience and found that the event generated transdisciplinary reflections, invited participants to bring their previous knowledge and experience to bear in engaging with different aspects of the work, and that the audience benefited from contextualization by artists.