Translacore — Where Science Meets Art
International Poster Exhibition | Bologna, Italy | May 2026
About the initiative
“TRANSLACORE – Where Science Meets Art” invites artists to turn translational-control research into posters that spark public curiosity and conversation. TRANSLACORE is a European COST Action (CA21154) advancing research on translational control in cancer and its therapeutic opportunities. Selected works will be exhibited in Bologna, Italy (May 2026).
Scientific context within Art
Cells convert information into proteins:
DNA → RNA → protein
Translation is highly regulated in cells; cancer can reprogram it to support survival, growth, and resistance. TRANSLACORE maps these control points and the vulnerabilities they create. See more on the webpages:
https://translacore.eu/page/biennale-2023 and https://translacore.eu/page/biennale-2025.
Theme
The anchor is the Cycle of Health and Cancer, homeostasis, disruption, adaptation, and (potential) recovery, plus the flow of information inside cells and the control of translation. We welcome interpretations of cellular dynamics, molecular interactions, transformation from healthy to diseased states, hope and innovation in oncology, and molecular beauty/complexity.
What we hope to see
We are not asking for a textbook diagram. We are looking for a strong, original idea that makes invisible processes graspable, through metaphor, structure, tension, and contrast. Abstract work is welcome if the biological concept remains perceptible.
Helpful lenses you might explore:
- Translation as interpretation: code, language, decoding, “mistranslation,” noise vs fidelity.
- Molecular choreography: binding/signalling as attraction–repulsion; networks as maps.
- State change: thresholds, mutation, emergence, order into instability (or repair restoring balance).
- Human dimension: vulnerability and hope, care and innovation, the social meaning of progress.
Consider visualising cycles (feedback loops, renewal, oscillations) and flows (signals, messages, translation/assembly, misreading, correction). Scientific precision is not required, but the conceptual link should be intelligible. We also welcome philosophical and social layers, identity, fragility, equity in access to therapy, trust in science, alongside the molecular story. These prompts are offered as creative starting points, not constraints. Aim for a clear focal point and legibility from a distance. Text is optional; if used, treat it as a graphic element, not a caption.
Practical notes
Format: portrait, 70×100 cm, 180 dpi; submit PDF/TIFF/JPG (≤10 MB).
Submission window:
15 Jan – 31 Mar 2026
Results: 15 Apr 2026
Exhibition opening: 5 May 2026, Bologna.
Supervision and organisers
The call is conducted under TRANSLACORE Action supervision and organised by the International Poster Biennale Lublin, together with Maria Curie-Sklodowska University (umcs.pl) partners: the Institute of Fine Arts (Department of Graphic Design and Printing) and the Institute of Biological Sciences (Department of Molecular Biology).
