Special series of Science Week events at Luan Gallery

Luan Gallery is presenting 'Systems and Cyborgs' - a special series of talks, workshops, screenings, and creative activities as part of Science Week 2025, in dialogue with its current exhibition SYSTEM ARMING.

The Science Week events at the gallery in Athlone will run from Tuesday, November 11 to Saturday, November 15.

The exhibition examines the entanglement of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and transhumanism, investigating how data mining, algorithms, and machine learning shape our daily lives — influencing everything from human behaviour and perception to ecological and psychological wellbeing.

During Science Week, audiences of all ages are invited to explore how science, art, and technology intersect to shape our shared future.

Visitors will be encouraged to reflect on how digital infrastructures influence our ways of seeing, knowing, and being — and to consider not only how systems shape us, but how we might reshape them with empathy, creativity, and critical awareness.

Science Week is a national celebration of science in our everyday lives. In 2025, Science Week marks its 30th anniversary with the theme “Then. Today. Tomorrow.”, celebrating thirty years of curiosity, collaboration, and discovery.

Managed by Science Foundation Ireland, this year’s programme reflects on how science and research have transformed our world — and how they continue to guide our collective future.

Luan Gallery Science Week event highlights include: a Drop-in Art + Science Worksheets, available daily at the gallery reception (free, no booking required), offering creative prompts for all ages to explore SYSTEM ARMING’s core themes — from AI and robotics to the ethics of surveillance and control.

Online Engagement — GIRLHERO’s Alchemical Lair presents a digital artwork by exhibiting artist Nadia J. Armstrong that invites audiences to explore feminist perspectives on technology, transformation, and digital ritual.

This will be available throughout Science Week via web link and QR code displayed in the gallery (https://technopagan-cauldron-craft.lovable.app/), An Age-Friendly AI Talk and Exhibition Tour takes place on Tuesday, November 11, at 1pm (1 hour), featuring Kelley Keogh, Westmeath STEM Engagement Officer.

This will be an accessible talk on how artificial intelligence impacts different generations, followed by a guided tour of SYSTEM ARMING (free, booking essential).

A film screening of Blade Runner will be held on Thursday, November 13, at 7pm (2 hours). This will include the screening of Ridley Scott’s iconic film alongside a live reading from Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Finally, a children’s robotic Workshop — VEX Robotics takes place on Saturday, November 15, at 11am (2 hours).

This is a hands-on robotics session for children aged 8 to 12 years led by Kelley Keogh, Westmeath STEM Engagement Officer, where participants design and build robots (free, booking essential).

All events are free to attend, but booking in advance is essential for the film screening and children’s workshops. Contact Luan Gallery at T: 090 6442154 or E: info@luangallery.

SYSTEM ARMING and its accompanying programming have been kindly supported by The Arts Council.

Further information can be found on Luan Gallery’s social channels: Instagram: @luangalleryathlone , Facebook: @luangallery. Admission to the gallery is free for groups and individuals. Tours for schools and groups can be arranged by contacting the gallery in advance on 090 6442154.