Ariel Garten (born September 24, 1979) is a Canadian artist, scientist and intellectual known for her work in integrating art and science. She is the co-founder and former CEO of InteraXon.

Early life and education

Garten was born in Toronto. She is the daughter of Irving Garten and visual artist Vivian Reiss, who is known for her large scale oil on canvas works. Her brother is

Joel Garten Joel Garten (born 1981) is a pianist and improviser known for his innovative improvisations. His music is influenced by classical music and jazz, but mostly by modern composers such as Morton Feldman, jazz improviser Keith Jarrett and modern arti ...

. Her grandmother was a

holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

. Garten attended

Northern Secondary School Northern Secondary School is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grades 9 through 12. It is a part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Prior to Amalgamation of Toronto in 1998, it was within the Toronto Board of ...

in Toronto and completed the school's biotechnology program. In 2002, she graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

with a degree in biology and psychology with a neuroscience designation.

Career

Garten began designing and selling t-shirts when she was 17. After graduating university, she opened Flavour Hall, a clothing store on College Street. She designed clothes for her

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

clothing line, Ariel, which debuted at Toronto Fashion Week in 2003. Garten closed Flavour Hall in 2005 to open a private

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

practice. While running Flavour Hall, Garten began working with Steve Mann on an idea that would eventually become The Muse headband. Through Mann, she met Chris Aimone, with whom she would later co-found InteraXon. In 2009, Garten, Mann, and Trevor Coleman teamed up to work on their first contract. The trio founded InteraXon, a Canadian company specializing in software for Non-invasive Brain-computer interfaces. She served as the company's CEO until stepping down in 2015 due to her pregnancy. Garten lectures about interdisciplinary neuroscience topics, such as "The Neuroscience of Morals" (on TVO's Big Ideas televised lecture series), "The Neuroscience of Molecular Gastronomy" and others), as well as psychotherapy and mental health. Garten is also a psychotherapist trained in

Neuro-linguistic programming Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's book ''The Structure of Magic I'' (1975). NLP ...

. She has performed in many venues, including

The Power Plant The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian public art gallery located at Harbourfront Centre in the heart of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Gallery is a registered Canadian charitable organization. Initially established in 1976 as ...

, and shown at the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

and

Banff Center for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the performing and fine arts, as well as leadership training. It was established in 193 ...

. She gave a TEDx Talk in Toronto in 2011. She has sold her fashion across North America, including

Holt Renfrew Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (Trade name, doing business as Holt Renfrew and Colloquialism, colloquially Holt's) is a Economy of Canada, Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. The original William Ashton ...

in Toronto, and lectured in North America and Europe.

Personal life

In 2016, Garten gave birth to her first child with Chris de Castro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garten, Ariel Living people Canadian fashion designers Canadian neuroscientists Canadian women neuroscientists Canadian performance artists Canadian women performance artists 1979 births Artists from Toronto Canadian people of American descent Canadian women fashion designers University of Toronto alumni Northern Secondary School alumni