Baltimore nonprofit science lab to showcase unique ‘living art’ at Artscape
Artwork comes alive at Baltimore Underground Science Space
Updated: 2:45 PM EDT May 13, 2025
Many people have dabbled in painting or illustration, but how about art that lives and grows?The mission of the nonprofit Baltimore Underground Science Space is to make scientific exploration accessible to all students, young and old, regardless of formal training or lab experience.”Our goal really is to democratize science, to make it more accessible to people of all ages, so that people who don’t do science during their day job, but still are interested and want to engage, have a place to come and to learn and to engage and to talk with others about science,” BUGGS CEO Lisa Scheifele told 11 News.One way that BUGSS reaches people is through classes and programs with a creative focus. At this year’s Artscape, its team of scientists and volunteers will bring a unique activity to artists of all ages: Art made from living organisms.”Agar art is living art. So, essentially, we take microorganisms like bacteria or yeast — in this case, it’s yeast — and we make them have colors,” said Sterling Arjona, the volunteer coordinator at BUGSS.The microorganisms are sustained by agar, a canvas of nutrients on which the yeasts and bacteria feed and grow. “So, things that we see all the time — living plants and animals — have color. Carrots are orange, tomatoes are red and leaves are green. And, those colors are actually proteins. So, what we do is we take those proteins that have a color, and we put it into things like yeast and bacteria to create our sort of paint palette,” Arjona told 11 News. Artscape visitors will have the opportunity to make agar art themselves at the BUGSS booth, where petri dishes and protein palettes will be on hand. They will also have access to design templates of popular logos and characters, like the Baltimore Ravens or Pikachu. “We’ve been to Artscape a few times, and we’ve done agar art every year because we think it’s an activity that really beautifully blends art with science. And, in fact, what we are doing is using living organisms as our palette, as our artistic medium,” Scheifele told 11 News.Although visitors can’t take the agar home, the BUGSS team will stay in touch. As the yeast and bacteria grow, the team will send photos of each design’s transformation into a unique, living piece of art.”Unfortunately, this art, because it is living, it needs to stay with us, so you can’t actually take that home, but we will grow it. It will be clear,” Arjona told 11 News. “Once you draw your image, you aren’t going to be able to see the colors. What happens is the yeast then develops overnight and over a few days, and then, those colors sort of expand and start to be expressed in beautiful ways.”For BUGSS, Artscape is also a place to connect with Baltimoreans about the lab’s work and its volunteer opportunities.”I definitely encourage people who have the time, who have some off time, who really want to just get in the lab and tinker with things and get some experience, like using microscopes and things like that, encourage them to volunteer with BUGSS because not only will you be able to bring that to people, but you’ll also be able to learn a lot yourself,” said Alyssa Alston, who volunteers with BUGSS.People can meet the BUGSS team and learn more about the summer class offerings both days of Artscape on May 22-26.WBAL-TV, 98 Rock and WBAL NewsRadio are proud to be the exclusive media partners for Artscape 2025.
Many people have dabbled in painting or illustration, but how about art that lives and grows?
The mission of the nonprofit Baltimore Underground Science Space is to make scientific exploration accessible to all students, young and old, regardless of formal training or lab experience.
“Our goal really is to democratize science, to make it more accessible to people of all ages, so that people who don’t do science during their day job, but still are interested and want to engage, have a place to come and to learn and to engage and to talk with others about science,” BUGGS CEO Lisa Scheifele told 11 News.
One way that BUGSS reaches people is through classes and programs with a creative focus. At this year’s Artscape, its team of scientists and volunteers will bring a unique activity to artists of all ages: Art made from living organisms.
“Agar art is living art. So, essentially, we take microorganisms like bacteria or yeast — in this case, it’s yeast — and we make them have colors,” said Sterling Arjona, the volunteer coordinator at BUGSS.
The microorganisms are sustained by agar, a canvas of nutrients on which the yeasts and bacteria feed and grow.
“So, things that we see all the time — living plants and animals — have color. Carrots are orange, tomatoes are red and leaves are green. And, those colors are actually proteins. So, what we do is we take those proteins that have a color, and we put it into things like yeast and bacteria to create our sort of paint palette,” Arjona told 11 News.
Artscape visitors will have the opportunity to make agar art themselves at the BUGSS booth, where petri dishes and protein palettes will be on hand. They will also have access to design templates of popular logos and characters, like the Baltimore Ravens or Pikachu.
“We’ve been to Artscape a few times, and we’ve done agar art every year because we think it’s an activity that really beautifully blends art with science. And, in fact, what we are doing is using living organisms as our palette, as our artistic medium,” Scheifele told 11 News.
Although visitors can’t take the agar home, the BUGSS team will stay in touch. As the yeast and bacteria grow, the team will send photos of each design’s transformation into a unique, living piece of art.
“Unfortunately, this art, because it is living, it needs to stay with us, so you can’t actually take that home, but we will grow it. It will be clear,” Arjona told 11 News. “Once you draw your image, you aren’t going to be able to see the colors. What happens is the yeast then develops overnight and over a few days, and then, those colors sort of expand and start to be expressed in beautiful ways.”
For BUGSS, Artscape is also a place to connect with Baltimoreans about the lab’s work and its volunteer opportunities.
“I definitely encourage people who have the time, who have some off time, who really want to just get in the lab and tinker with things and get some experience, like using microscopes and things like that, encourage them to volunteer with BUGSS because not only will you be able to bring that to people, but you’ll also be able to learn a lot yourself,” said Alyssa Alston, who volunteers with BUGSS.
People can meet the BUGSS team and learn more about the summer class offerings both days of Artscape on May 22-26.
WBAL-TV, 98 Rock and WBAL NewsRadio are proud to be the exclusive media partners for Artscape 2025.