Renaissance Banff II: Mathematics, Music, Art, Culture (09w5134)

Objectives

(i) Introduce participants to innovative and integrative techniques that promote interdisciplinary work in the fields of mathematics and art.
(ii) Allow mathematicians and artists who are crossing the mathematics/arts boundaries opportunities to present their work, meet each other, and exchange ideas.
(iii) Offer encouragement and inspiration to teachers of mathematics at all levels by revealing relationships between mathematical subjects and their artistic/aesthetic presentations.
(iv) Engage the public (both the Banff Centre community and the town of Banff) in the conference through a public lecture and the conference art gallery.
(v) Provide opportunities for hands-on experimenting with model building (including opportunities for the young people who may be around).
(vi) Provide participants with an opportunity to improve their understanding of fields and disciplines outside their primary area of study.
(vii) Offer visual displays and performances of mathematics related art.
(viii) Produce a beautiful lasting record and resource book, which will be available at the meeting, documenting all of the presentations and art presented there.

After the 2005 Renaissance Banff, this will be the second time a mathematics/arts event of this magnitude will have been brought to Canada and, in particular, to the western Canadian community. Bridges at the Banff Centre matches the Banff Centre's mandate as a meeting place and centre for the arts. Furthermore it continues the expectations of the founders of the BIR-Banff Centre partnership that it would foster a new era for drawing the worlds of the arts and the sciences closer together. The value of such a conference for teachers of mathematics in providing new ideas and methods for conveying the beauty, relevance, and ubiquity of mathematical ideas to their students cannot be overstated. The Bridges Proceedings themselves are fascinating and highly approachable by teachers and students alike. As with Renaissance Banff I, the opportunity exists to distribute these books widely in high schools, colleges and universities at very low cost.