When art asks the questions science cannot
The exhibition combines historical objects with newly commissioned artworks created in dialogue with stem cell researchers. It invites visitors to reflect on how society navigates the opportunities and dilemmas posed by stem cell research.

“While science often asks ‘how,’ art asks ‘why’ or ‘what if.’ That’s why we need both art and science when discussing the future of the body”

– Pernille Lystlund Matzen,
Curator at Medical Museion

“New stem cell technologies are fundamentally about who we want to become—and, by extension, what it means to be human”

– Louise Whiteley,
Associate Professor in Medical Science Communication
at Medical Museion and CBMR.

Building blocks of the body
Stem cells are the body’s basic building blocks with the ability to develop into many different cell types. They play a crucial role in forming, repairing, and maintaining tissues, making them a major focus for medical innovation.

Experiments with the living
New stem cell technologies allow the growth of 3D structures in the laboratory that mimic key functions of organs, such as the brain, kidney, or heart. In the future, these technologies could enable drug testing outside the body and the design of cells and tissues to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or type 1 diabetes. While the potential is enormous, the path from laboratory to patient remains long and filled with scientific, ethical, and practical challenges. In the meantime, a growing number of private clinics are already claiming to use stem cells to help, but with little evidence that what they are selling is safe or beneficial to patients.

Both hope and concern
These technologies open doors to new treatments but also fuel sci-fi-like visions of genetic engineering, spare parts on demand, and blurred boundaries between the “natural” and the “artificial.” Stem cell technologies spark hope, unease, and sometimes disappointment when reality falls short of expectations.

“Stem cell research has always stirred strong emotions. It is a field full of hope, controversy, and media attention, where science, ethics, religion, and commercial interests intersect. I believe the exhibition will provide a sensory, thought-provoking, and informative experience that shows what is truly at stake — and allows visitors to reflect on their own lives in relation to research shaping the future”  

– Professor Melissa Helen Little,
Principal Investigator and CEO at reNEW.

For the exhibition, four artists are creating new works about stem cells in close dialogue with stem cell researchers.
The four artists are:

• Charlotte Jarvis (UK)
• Davide Hjort Di Fabio (IT/DK)
• Jens Settergren (DK)
• Cecilie Falkenstrøm (DK)

Read more

Curator: PhD Pernille Lystlund Matzen, Medical Museion

A worldwide partnership
The exhibition is a part of an international research and public engagement project called Hope Springs Eternal, which is grounded in the social science research group (PREPARE) at reNEW, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine.

Partner Institutions in Hope Springs Eternal
Hope Springs Eternal has supported the development of an international collaboration between Medical Museion and Politikens Forhal in Copenhagen, Science Gallery Melbourne, Museum of Science Boston, and Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden. Each institution is creating a unique exhibit on stem cells, developed through dialogue between commissioned artists, researchers at reNEW, historians, and more. The exhibits will be on show during 2026 and 2027. Core funding comes from reNEW, with in-kind support from the museum partners.

Funding support for Medical Museion and Politikens Forhal
Core funding for the joint exhibition in Denmark comes from reNEW. Additional in-kind support has been provided by Ny Carlsbergfondet and 15. Juni Fonden. Furthermore, Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm’s work is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

 

 

   

Julie W. Tovgaard, Press Coordinator, Medical Museion
julie.tovgaard@sund.ku.dk / +45 5189 5258

PhD Pernille Lystlund Matzen, Curator, Medical Museion
pernille.matzen@sund.ku.dk

Louise Whiteley, Associate Professor in Medical Science Communication at Medical Museion and CBMR.
lowh@sund.ku.dk

Martin Gertser Johansen, Head of Program and Communications, Medical Museion
magj@sund.ku.dk / +45 93 56 35 82

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW, is a unique global collaboration focusing on stem cell research, involving three leading research institutions: the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia. reNEW strives to advance a new generation of effective and safe stem cell-based therapies, built on this global collaborative network of excellence in targeted biomedical research. Its funding is provided by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, an international philanthropic foundation based in Denmark. The 300 million euros grant runs over a 10-year period from 2022. The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine is supported by a Novo Nordisk Foundation grant number NNF21CC0073729.