ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part describes early relationships between the fields of art and science, discusses both the correlations and the existing divergences between the two worlds. It shows how art and science are products of biological as well as of cultural evolution. The part focuses more on the specific object of the publication, describing the cultural landscape of the 1960s, the concurrent birth of the science centre movement, and the more recent foundation of a number of transdisciplinary spaces. It introduces the panorama, in which traditional institutions are questioning their role in society and new types of hybrid institutions are gradually emerging with the intent of enriching cultural conversations while reflecting and embracing a complex view of reality.
