Highlights from the IEEE VIS 2016 and 2017 Arts Program (VISAP'16 and '17)

This special section highlights artworks and design projects featured in the IEEE VIS 2016 and 2017 Arts Program, VISAP'16 and VISAP'17. The IEEE VIS Arts Program is a forum that encourages dialogue about the relationship between aesthetics and visualization and discussion of the potential roles of artists, humanities scholars and designers in foundational research in information visualization.

The IEEE VIS conference is the premier venue for advances in visualization, bringing together researchers and practitioners from academia, government and industry to explore shared interests in tools, techniques and technology. VISAP provides an opportunity for artists and scholars to interact with the various IEEE VIS communities and to learn about the latest developments in visualization while exposing visualization researchers to current topics and trends in design and media arts.

VISAP'16 presented the Metamorphoses exhibition, featuring artists and designers who investigate how data is transformed into interpretable artifacts and how experience is transmuted into meaning. Additionally, VISAP'16 included a series of artist talks, peer-reviewed paper presentations and a panel discussion on the topic of Critical Visualization, which featured Marian Dork, Jessica Hullman, Dietmar Offenhuber, Adam Trowbridge, Jessica Westbrook and Angus Forbes. VISAP'16 took place in Baltimore, Maryland, 23–28 October 2016. It was organized by Angus Forbes, Fanny Chevalier, Jeremy Boy, Samuel Huron and Heather Bradbury. More information about VISAP'16 can be found at https://visap.uic.edu/2016.

VISAP'17 presented the Sustain & Decay exhibition, showcasing artworks and design projects that explore pragmatic and provocative ways to represent interdependencies within and between the complex systems (ecological, sociotechnical, political, urban, biological) that govern and define our lives. Additionally, VISAP'17 included lectures by a range of artists, researchers and scholars, as well as the Dear Data Studio, a live participatory visualization session led by Giorgia Lupi of Accurat Design. VISAP'17 took place in Phoenix, Arizona, 1–6 October 2017. It was organized by Angus Forbes, Jeremy Boy, Yoon Chung Han, Esteban Garcia Bravo, Byron Lahey and Hilary Harp. More information about VISAP'17 can be found at https://visap.uic.edu/2017.