Welcome

Welcome to the website for the Bridges 2020 Virtual Conference! Bridges is an annual conference that explores intersections between art and mathematics. In 2020, we've moved a big part of the conference online. To learn more, please watch this welcome video from Bridges president George Hart.


On this site, you'll find online content prepared by Bridges contributors who wish to share the spirit of the conference as much as possible in a virtual setting. Many papers include prerecorded video presentations and links to other websites with additional information. You'll also find links to some of our annual arts categories: the Visual Art Exhibition, the Short Film Festival, and the Poetry Reading. And this year, we're offering a small selection of live workshops, where you can explore art/math ideas in real time over a video link. Finally, throughout the site, you'll be able to interact with authors, ask questions, and engage in discussion with Bridges participants and visitors, using a forum system at the bottoms of most pages.

We hope you enjoy the ideas you find here, and we'll see you next year in Finland!

Wrap Up

As of August 5th, we've run through all the events we had scheduled for this virtual conference. The website will remain available, though we'll disable commenting in a few weeks. To commemorate the end of Bridges 2020, we're happy to share this video of Doug Norton's tribute song, which premiered at this year's Informal Music event. Thanks for joining us, and see you in 2021!


2020 Contents

When you're ready to start exploring, select one of the categories below, or use the menu in the sidebar.

  • Regular Papers
    Reports presenting new scholarly research in connections between mathematics and the arts. Typically six to eight pages in length. Also includes a small selection of invited papers from planned 2020 keynote speakers.
  • Short Papers
    Reports presenting new scholarly research in connections between mathematics and the arts. Typically two to four pages in length.
  • Workshop Papers
    Workshop papers describe hands-on activities that lie at the intersection of mathematics and art. Some are suited to classroom use, others for inspiring crafts, and others as training for research or pedagogical development.
  • Social Events
    We are promoting a few live social events that will take place during the time of the originally scheduled conference, and we encourage you to organize additional events.
  • Live Workshops
    We'll be hosting four hands-on math-art workshops by live videoconference. Anybody can participate for free, as long as you register in advance and supply your own materials.
  • Informal Gatherings
    The joy of Bridges is the spirit of mutual exchange and inspiration that takes place on site. We offer a space where individuals can propose a live get-together or share work they might have brought to the conference.

  • Art Exhibition
    A gallery exhibition of 2D and 3D mathematical art, ranging from computer graphics to quilts to geometrical sculptures. All works can be viewed online.
  • Short Film Festival
    An annual reel of invited and juried short films exploring mathematical themes. All works can be viewed online.
  • Poetry Reading
    A collection of poetry with strong links to mathematics, a great variety of topics, and a wide range of poetic styles. This year marks the 10 years anniversary of poetry readings at Bridges. Watch live videos of poets reading their work, and see the published anthology.

Books and Support

Many Bridges participants enjoy collecting the books we produce every year. We can't hand out books in person at the conference, but we are still offering three printed books this year. They can be purchased from Lulu by following the links below.

Because of the unusual circumstances, this year we have waived all conference registration fees. However, the Bridges Organization still has ongoing operating expenses throughout the year. Please consider making a donation to the Bridges organization.

In Memoriam

With sadness, we remember the recent passing of three noted members of the Bridges family: John Conway (plenary speaker 2015), John Sharp (local organizer 2006), and Nat Friedman (co-organizer 2003). Each contributed in iconic ways to the Bridges community and each is deeply missed.

Discussion