ARC Research
MUMA x MACSYS Artist-in-Residence
About the residency
The MUMA x MACSYS Artist-in-Residence program invites an artist to engage deeply with the ground-breaking research of The ARC Centre for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems (MACSYS). It offers a rare opportunity to embed creative practice within a pioneering scientific environment where biology, mathematics and computation converge to ‘see the invisible’—the inner workings of life at the cellular level.
In 2026, for the inaugural MUMA x MACSYS Artist-in-Residence program, the invited artist is Mia Salsjö. Throughout the residency, Salsjö will engage with MACSYS researchers by observing lab work, attending research meetings and exploring MACSYS’s use of high-powered electron microscopy and multi-scale modelling. These exchanges will provide opportunities to reflect on ideas of cellular behaviour, simulation and the aesthetics of scientific data—translating complex biological processes into new creative outcomes.
Bringing together contemporary art with leading research in mathematics and biology, this residency creates new possibilities for cross-disciplinary dialogue, fostering insight, inspiration and creative exchange.
Acknowledgements
This residency program is presented in partnership with Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA and The ARC Centre for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems (MACSYS)
Image: Mia Salsjö, A Score for the Len Lye Centre, 2025, graphic scores on Patterson Associates architectural plans, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Collection. Photo: Christian Capurro; Mia Salsjö. Photo: Brent Lukey
Artist Biography
Mia Salsjö
Mia Salsjö is an acclaimed Swedish Albanian Australian artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. She holds a Master of Fine Art (First Class) and a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne. Her practice encompasses visual art and music composition.
Salsjö’s projects are distinguished by her ability to work between diverse fields and to bring organisations together to produce significant creative projects. Her works, grounded in codebased systems, weave data derived from site investigations with her own artistic interpretations. She produces drawings, music composition, text, performance, video and textile-based works drawn from the engineering, structures and lexical prompts associated with diverse sites and settings.
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