Over the last few decades, developments in biotechnology have allowed artists to expand their work toward natural sciences, thus positioning life itself as the main medium for artistic practices under the rubric of “bio-art.” Such practices require a transition in thinking and acting around art, pedagogy, and artistic experiences that exceed traditional divisions between inanimate art objects and their spectators. Although biological art can be already considered as an institutionally recognized part of the landscape of contemporary art, its relationship with arts education in all levels of education requires further critical attention and inquiry. Questions for art education at both the practical and theoretical level, including philosophical and ethical dimensions need to be addressed. For example, what is the impact on arts education of bio-art that uses living materials, such as bacteria or transgenic organisms as artistic media? What happens to the concept of life itself, both human and non-human, in contemporary art and education? How does the increasing interest toward bio-art reflect the current social, political, historical, and economical contexts of contemporary societies? And, what kind of new ethical questions about art, education, and science does biological art raise? This paper discusses theories and practices of biotechnologies and bioethics, within art and education. Issues such as of transdisciplinary research, the manipulation of life and biological processes, and new ways of understanding the concepts of media, curating, and actualization are examined. Examples of practice done at Biofilia, a fully equipped biological lab that is operated by an art school in Finland, based in an electrical engineering building, in Finland, are considered through post-humanist theory.

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