conference 2023

“Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) – At the Crossroads of Science and Art” was the central theme of the exhibition and conference organised at the Gliwice Branch of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology. It marked the beginning of a project that connects two seemingly distant worlds – science and art – with one shared purpose: to create a positive impact on cancer therapy.

“We seek to reveal the many layers and complexities of cancer to a broader audience – to deepen understanding, inspire new perspectives, so that what is unknown becomes familiar, and what is familiar no longer evokes anxiety and fear,” said Dr Elżbieta Wojarska-Tręda, MD, PhD, President of the Górnośląska Fundacja Onkologiczna (Upper Silesian Oncology Foundation), supporting the Gliwice Branch of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology.

The Artist’s Vision
The Górnośląska Fundacja Onkologiczna (Upper Silesian Oncology Foundation), together with the Gliwice Branch of the National Research Institute of Oncology, undertook an initiative to reshape public perception of a profoundly important social issue – the awareness and understanding of cancer among patients and their families. This process, once begun, can help patients not only accept their illness but also support them psychologically throughout treatment.

At the same time, the initiative seeks to bring the worlds of medicine and art closer together, presenting the results of scientific research in a completely new light. “Both scientists and artists try to explore and understand the world – each in their own way. Scientists do so through facts and analysis; artists, through the images that emerge from within and which they wish to share with others,” explained Assoc. Prof. Ryszard Smolarczyk, PhD, from the National Research Institute of Oncology in Gliwice.

These words were spoken during the “Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) – At the Crossroads of Science and Art” conference, held on 7 November 2023 at the Gliwice Branch of the Institute. The event accompanied the opening of an exhibition of the same title, presenting microscopic images of cancer cells captured by researchers from the Centre for Translational Research and Molecular Biology of Cancer.

Diagnostics Meets the Art Gallery
As visitors to the exhibition can discover, Prof. Ryszard Szala was not only an outstanding biologist at the Gliwice Institute, studying cancer cells through a confocal microscope — he was also an artist. The images he observed under the microscope inspired him to create abstract paintings, whose distinctive forms directly reference the cellular structures he studied.

A second element of the exhibition features images taken by researchers with a confocal microscope, presented as works of visual art. They reveal vibrant, original shapes that capture the eye and spark curiosity. In their artistic form, these images can play a role in the healing process – easing fear and transforming what once provoked anxiety into something that inspires contemplation

“We are dealing with the vision of an artist – which Professor Szala undoubtedly was. He was able to transform what he saw under the microscope into compelling visual form. His artistic vision is juxtaposed here with modern medical diagnostics – the same tools used today by physicians to interpret physiological and pathological findings. This is precisely what our exhibition presents: the artist’s vision alongside the ways in which modern diagnostics depict the reality that surrounds us,” explained Assoc. Prof. Tomasz Rutkowski, MD, PhD, Deputy Director for Research at the Gliwice Branch of the Institute.

A central idea emerging from Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) is the presentation of medicine itself as a form of art — a notion that, in fact, returns medicine to its origins. “Medicine is an art created through science — it has been so from the very beginning. The art of medicine lies in diagnosing and treating patients. I am an artist, because I use science to heal and to help,” emphasised Prof. Krzysztof Składowski, MD, PhD, former Director of the National Research Institute of Oncology in Gliwice. “I am glad that we can speak about oncology in a different way — connecting it with something beautiful and optimistic. And not only speak about it, but also experience and contemplate the fascinating link between art and science.”

Art for Science
The organisers hope that Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) will become the starting point for a broader public conversation that transforms how cancer is perceived in society. A key part of this process is to make the visual layer of oncology — until now largely inaccessible to patients and their families — more open and understandable. In this way, modern medicine, in harmony with the ideas of art, can form a unified whole aimed at improving knowledge and enhancing therapy for patients and their loved ones.

“‘Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation)’ has become a space where cancer cells themselves, in a unique way, begin to create art. Physicians have shown us that the cells forming within the patient’s body take on different shapes and structures, constantly changing and responding to their environment. It is a world we have never seen before – one that provokes a kind of cognitive dissonance. How can something so dangerous be so beautiful?” said Małgorzata Lisowska, curator of the Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) exhibition and cancer patient. “When I saw images of my own cancer cells, I found acceptance. I realised that something so beautiful could not possibly destroy me. I experienced firsthand the therapeutic value of these images.”

The Górnośląska Fundacja Onkologiczna (Upper Silesian Oncology Foundation) believes that filling this visual gap and showing the real images of cancer cells can help patients deepen their understanding – and, above all, achieve the acceptance that is so essential in therapy. “As Marie Skłodowska-Curie used to say: ‘Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.’ We hope that Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) will make scientific communication more accessible, improve understanding between patients and physicians, and help make illness, treatment, and its consequences more bearable – and less frightening,” concluded Dr Elżbieta Wojarska-Tręda, MD, PhD.

I. zwrotnikraka.pl
On 7 November 2023 – the birthday of Marie Skłodowska-Curie – the National Research Institute of Oncology in Gliwice opened the exhibition Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) – At the Crossroads of Science and Art, accompanied by a popular science conference. The project was organised by the Górnośląska Fundacja Onkologiczna (Upper Silesian Oncology Foundation).

Read the full article on ZWROTNIKRAKA.PL

II. rynekzdrowia.pl
Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation). Exhibition with a Panel Discussion
National Research Institute of Oncology, Gliwice – 7 November 2023
Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) – At the Crossroads of Science and Art – an exhibition combined with a panel discussion – took place on 7 November 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at the Gliwice Branch of the National Research Institute of Oncology.

Read the full article on RYNEKZDROWIA.PL

III. nowiny.gliwice.pl
On 7 November 2023, the birthday of Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the National Research Institute of Oncology in Gliwice hosted the opening of the exhibition Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) – At the Crossroads of Science and Art, accompanied by a popular science conference.

Read the full article on : NOWINY.GLIWICE.PL

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Selected moments from the “Nowotwórczość (Onco-creation) – At the Crossroads of Science and Art” conference