Microbial biodiversity has been harnessed for the dizzying array of natural colors they produce when placed in different environments. In sunlight they activate chromophores that convert light energy into chemical energy and result in red, green, pink, and yellow pigments with shades ranging across the spectrum. These natural pigments found in the wild have been used for textile dyes, food coloring, face paint and more. More recently, scientists have engineered a harmless and non pathogenic strain of E. coli with genes from other species to produce bacteria displaying fluorescent colors and those that can be seen by the naked eye. GenSpace is a community lab space located in Brooklyn and has brought science out of the academic lab and into the public domain. The American Society for Microbiology has partnered with GenSpace to host a free workshop using these genetically engineered bacteria as part of their annual Agar Art Contest.
Sunday October 9th 11am- 1pm : RSVP at Painting with Microbes: ASM Agar Art Contest
For more on this topic, see these resources:
- Microbial Art
- TedTalk Video: May 13 2016. Bacteria is Beautiful | Maria Peñil Cobo. Link
- Review Article: Goodchild Van Hilten. June 2015. Forget Paint- bacteria can bring art to life (literally). Elsivier Connect. ( has links to 6 projects) Link
- Artist’s Statement: Dumitriu, A. Sept 1, 2014.The Challenges of working with bacteria as an artistic medium. Artlink. Link
- Review Article: Liu, G and Nizet V. September 1, 2010. Color me bad: microbial pigments as virulence factors. Trends in Microbiology. 17(9): 406-413. Link
- Artist Statement: Chieza, N. 2013. Faber Futures. The Rhizosphere Pigment Lab. Dublin Science Gallery. Link
- Art Science Biodiversity Research Article: Wightman, Jennifer. December 2008. Winogradsky Rothko: Bacterial Ecosystem as Pastoral Landscape. Journal of Visual Culture, Volume 7(3): 309-334. Link
- Slavery, Science, and Biodiversity
- Review Article. Kean, D. April 5, 2019. Science’s debt to the slave trade. Science. 364, (6435) pp. 16-20. Link