The En Foco judging panel consists of enthusiasts of Science Communication and Photography. We are very grateful to all of them for making our contest possible: their professionalism, commitment, and support mean the world to us. Keep scrolling to get to know them better and… THANK YOU!
President of the judging panel
Amaia Salazar Rodríguez is a visual artist, PhD in Fine Arts and lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. She has completed postdoctoral research stays at the Basque Center of Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, and at the New York University (NYU), USA. She has been a postdoctoral visiting academician with a Margarita Salas UCM Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Spanish Government and the European Union (NextGeneration) for a two-year stay at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, and a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College. Her line of research focuses on the visual representation of experiences originating between the body and the environment as an understanding of cognitive processes (embodied cognition). She uses artistic practice as a tool to approach our collective imaginary, through the creation of artistic experiences that allow us to enter into the understanding of metacognition. Her work as an artist has been shown in more than 60 national and international art exhibitions, most notably at the ABC Museum (Madrid), Collège d’Espagne (Paris), Casa América (Spain), Miami Art Fair (USA), Círculo de Bellas Artes (Spain), Edinburgh Art Fair (UK), among others.
Members of the judging panel
Juan Aballe started working in the darkroom while studying chemistry at the universities of Madrid and Berlin. After graduating as a chemist, he decided to fully devote himself to photography and visual media. He studied at the school of the International Center of Photography (NYC), and obtained his Master in Photography at EFTI School (Madrid). His personal work has been published and exhibited internationally and he has been awarded grants from institutions such as the Spanish Ministry of Culture, EFTI or Fundación Botín. He has lived several years in the U.S.A and Germany and is currently based in Spain.
Social Media:
Lara Llera graduated in Journalism and in Sociocultural Anthropology, both at Complutense University of Madrid, with one full academic year in Nova University of Lisbon. Since 2008 she works at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in scientific culture, where she coordinates and manages the social networks of CSICdivulga (see below for social media links) and develops outreach and divulgation projects, including traveling exhibitions, the annual scientific photography contest FOTCIENCIA or the CSIC blog ‘Ciencia para Llevar’. Also performs editing and reviewing texts, and translating (Portuguese-Spanish). Arts, poetry and photography lover. She participates as a jury in multiple initiatives.
Social Media:
Gem Toes-Crichton is a visual artist and lecturer in Photography at Falmouth University. Gem uses photography, art and practice-led research to explore the intersection between art and science, focusing on plants, botanic illustration, curation and women’s contributions throughout history. Before this, Gem worked at the University of Oxford for 15 years supporting research, teaching and outreach. Gem is based in Oxford, UK and divides her time between photography, botany and ecology and can often be found in a field identifying, monitoring and surveying threatened flora and protected fauna.
You can view some of Gem’s work and research: here.
Clara Novo has a PhD in Molecular Genetics. She is a researcher at the Francis Crick Institute, where she studies the principles of genome regulation during embryonic development. Outside the lab, she has been exploring the synergy between art and science and has been involved in several Art meets Science events, including the organization of the first “Creative Reactions” festival in Cambridge, in 2015.
In previous editions
Daniela Riva Rossi boasts more than ten years of experience in the arts sector, having worked in Argentina and England. Currently, she coordinates exhibitions and manages participation in international art fairs at a contemporary art gallery with headquarters in Buenos Aires and Pueblo Garzón. She has held administrative positions in private and public institutions, assisting directors and curatorial teams. Additionally, she has worked in the Education sector leading tours of museum collections. Daniela’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History and Management from Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Caitlin Griffiths is a visual artist and Lecturer in Photography at the University of Salford. Formerly Artistic Director of Hereford Photography Festival her interests in photography span curating and practice – with her current arts practice being interested in Quantum Physics and Observation Theory. In 2018 she undertook a research trip to the Bohr Archive in Copenhagen and her work continues at the Rutherford Room in Manchester.
Helena González Burón who graduated in Biology and Biochemistry and is a Doctor in Biomedicine, has always combined her science studies with an intense activity in performing arts. In 2013, She founded Big Van Science, a non-profit organization that aims to communicate science using drama-based activities, humor, and storytelling. In this sense, her job includes being a scientific comedian, a science educator, a public communication skills trainer, and a science writer.
