S+T+ARTS Prize Jury 2023

Mónica Bello (ES/CH) is a Spanish curator and art historian. In her curatorial practice, she focuses on the crossovers between disciplines. Since 2015 she is the Curator and Head of Arts at CERN at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva. At CERN she designs and directs the laboratory’s art strategy and coordinates the art programs: the artistic residencies, the art commissions, and the exhibitions. She is currently working in the exhibition Exploring the Unknown, the opening art exhibition for the CERN Science Gateway, with works by the artists Julius von Bismarck, Chloé Delarue, Ryoji Ikeda, and Yunchul Kim. Recently she curated the Icelandic Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale represented by the artist Sigurður Guðjónsson. In October 2022 she curated the exhibition Transits at the Reykjavík Art Museum, a solo exhibition of Guðjónsson. In 2018 she curated Quàntica/Broken Symmetries, a touring exhibition of works of Arts at CERN. In the same year she was invited to be the Guest Curator of the prestigious Audemars Piguet Art Commission, presented at Art Basel. Prior to her arrival in Switzerland she held the position of Artistic Director of VIDA (2010-2015) at Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, a pioneering award that fostered cross-cultural expressions around the notion of life. She initiated and ran (2007-2010) the Department of Education at Laboral Centro de Arte, Gijón (Spain). She curated exhibitions, events, and publications internationally supporting creators and researchers from different fields and backgrounds. As an internationally recognized figure within art and science networks, Bello is a regular speaker at conferences and participates in selection committees, advisory boards, and mentorship programs.

Francesca Bria (IT) is the President of the Italian National Innovation Fund and a Board Member of the Italian public media company RAI. She is Honorary Professor in the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL in London and she is part of the High-level Roundtable for the New European Bauhaus set up by the EC President Ursula von der Leyen to accelerate the EU Green Deal. She is the former Chief Digital Technology and Innovation Officer for the City of Barcelona in Spain. In this role, she was leading the smart city Agenda and she was one of the founders of the United Nations Cities Coalition for Digital Rights. Francesca Bria is leading the EU flagship DECODE project on data sovereignty in Europe, and is a Senior Adviser on the EC programme STARTS (Innovation at the nexus of Science, Technology and the Arts). Francesca has a PhD in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Imperial College, London and MSc on Digital Economy from University of London, Birbeck. As Senior Programme Lead at Nesta, the UK Innovation Agency, she has led the EU D-CENT project, the biggest European Project on digital democracy and crypto platforms. She also led the Digital Social Innovation EU project, advising the EU on digital innovation policies and mission-driven innovation. She has been teaching in several universities in the UK and Italy and she has advised Governments, public and private organizations on technology and innovation policy, and its socio-economic, geopolitical and environmental impact. Francesca has been nominated Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. She has been listed in the top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes Magazine. Francesca is also Culture Persons of the Year 2020 according to the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), and is in the World’s top 20 most influential people in digital government by Apolitical.

Bernd Fesel (DE) has experience in the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries for over 30 years and is currently the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the forthcoming EIT Culture & Creativity, a new Innovation Community supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology that brings together 50 partners from 20 countries to create new innovation opportunities for Europe’s 3 Mio. cultural and creative players. Prior to this role Bernd has been the director of the European Creative Business Network (ECBN), a not-for-profit organization of over 170 members from 44 countries that supports and develops the cultural and creative industries in Europe. Before that, he was a serial entrepreneur within the CCSI sector, held the role of vice director of the European Capital of Culture in the Ruhr Region and was senior advisor to the legacy institute of RUHR.2010 til 2018: the european centre for creative economy in Dortmund. He played a key role in EU initiatives such as like JRC-Creative City Monitor, Voices for Culture program and ENTACT and setup a European Research Alliance on Spillover-Effects of Culture and Creativity. Since 1990 Bernd is founder of startups, architect of novel public organisations, inspirator for programs and policies for CCSI, friend and connector of acclaimed artists as well as influencer and publisher.

Jun Inada (JP) is Head of Department at RICOH Co.LTD Tokyo, Japan. Experienced Director Corporate Planning with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. Tackling organizational culture change and new vision/business creation in large companies with strong ambition. Professional experience: Associate, RICOH Co.LTD, Tokyo (2005-2009): Japan domestic Field Sales, Trading operation, Supply Chain Management. Manager, RICOH Europe SCM, Bergen op Zoom (2009-2012): Supply Chain Management in European central warehouse in the Netherlands. Introduce/design Oracle system as new SCM operational core system. Specialist, RICOH Europe PLC, London (2012-2015): European headquarter budget planning, Operating company business support, developing emerging market in UK where European headquarter located. Board of Director, RICOH UK PLC, London (2015-2017): Japanese client business development, new business development. Head of Department, RICOH Co.LTD, Tokyo (2017-current): Engaging with CEO direct project to generate talent and value to make the creative business pillar.

Univ. Prof. Dr. Meinhard Lukas (AT) has held the office of Rector at the JKU since October 2015. He is a Professor of Civil Law and has held numerous academic positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Law (2011 to 2015). Furthermore, Meinhard Lukas is an expert at the Ministry of Justice for legislative procedures, an Austrian representative in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), an Advisory Board member of “Linz Cultural Development Plan New” and a corresponding member of the Medical Society for Upper Austria. During his term as Rector at the JKU, Meinhard Lukas has advocated pursuing stronger dialogue between art and technology by partnering with Ars Electronica to support the Ars Electronica Festival and to initiate the Festival University, as well as by promoting the development of the Art x Science School for Transformation, an interuniversity program offered jointly by the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the JKU.