As 2018 comes to a close, we take a moment to look back at the outstanding work done this year. From spectacular machines, intricate tools and mesmerising performances and installations to the new mediums for artistic enquiry – so many great new projects have been added to the CAN archive! With your help we selected some favourites.

Questioning our notions of wellbeing to develop innovative tools in the intersection of medical and social sciences, Giulia Tomasello investigates the potential of biotechnology and living materials, proposing a biological and sustainable alternative for electronic textiles and more.

Created by AnneMarie Maes, Genesis of a Microbial Skin is a mixed media installations and a research project exploring the idea of Intelligent Beehives with a focus on smart materials, in particular microbial skin. The project is about predominantly growing Intelligent Guerilla Beehives from scratch, with living materials – just as nature does. 

Created by Stefan Schwabe in collaboration with Fraunhofer CeRRI and Sebastian Kletzander, Gutfather is a speculative design project comprising a capsule that traverses the human organism and changes its shape through the influence of microbes until it is secreted as an object-bearing imprint of the microbiome.

Strelka Institute for architecture, media and design launched the enrollment campaign for the postgraduate education program. The theme of the 7th academic year at Strelka is The New Normal.

Created by the MIT Media Lab’ Tangible Media Group, bioLogic project explores opportunities around developing new forms of interface using biology.