Guild of Natural Science Illustrators – Biruta Akerbergs Hansen; site specific and large scale murals, scientific illustration, pop up book design and production (DBA Heartsmith Press), fine art.

Biruta Akerbergs Hansen was a speaker at the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI) Semicentennial Conference in Washington, DC, 2018. Her presentation, “Murals: Minuscule to Monumental, My Journey” highlighted her career transition from microscopic scientific illustration in major natural history museums through other artistic endeavors, including producing pop-up books for National Geographic, to painting large scale murals, often reaching 5,000 square feet. Featuring examples of projects, she shared her experience and expertise in preparation, both conceptual and physical, and execution of large murals using traditional techniques.
In conjunction with the GNSI Conference, two of her juried pieces are on view at the prestigious Art gallery of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), downtown Washington, DC, the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and the publisher of such notable publications as Science magazine. The exhibit showcases the best in contemporary scientific illustration, and is on view from July 16 to October 16, 2018.