CNIO Arte was born in 2018 as an initiative to raise awareness about the research being done at the CNIO, by establishing a bridge between science and contemporary art. Its aim was to promote the dialogue between internationally renowned scientists and artists, inspiring the creation of artistic works based on scientific research. The program received funding from the Banco Santander Foundation.

The program is currently cancelled. The CNIO Board of Trustees decided to discontinue it on December 17, 2024.

The first edition featured a work by visual artist Eva Lootz, produced after her meetings with biochemist Margarita Salas and in which she reflected on the origins of molecular biology.

In 2019 conceptual photographer Chema Madoz worked with quantum physicist Ignacio Cirac, exploring the role of chance in human existence.

In 2020 artist Carmen Calvo collaborated with paleoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga, addressing memory and human evolution.

In 2021 digital artist Daniel Canogar was inspired by the research of computational biologist Sarah Teichmann to create works exploring cellular complexity.

In 2022 sculptor Susana Solano drew on the work of epidemiologist Pedro Alonso to develop a montage that highlights the importance of the fight against malaria.

In 2023, photographer Amparo Garrido contacted Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn to create a short film about the impact of stress on health.

In 2024 artist Dora García collaborated with macroecologist David Nogués-Bravo, to produce an audiovisual focused on climate change and biodiversity loss in the Arctic.

The CNIO Arte works were exhibited at the CNIO and also, each year, at ARCO contemporary art fair. Since 2023 they also gave rise to a traveling exhibition, displayed in various renowned cultural institutions both in Spain and abroad.

Specifically, the works of CNIO Arte were exhibited in Washington, D.C., at the Spanish Embassy in the U.S., and at the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in New York, Chicago and Warsaw.

The program also gave rise to several encounters between scientists, artists and the general public. In 2023 the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum exhibited the piece End (two prologues) by Dora García on the occassion of International Earth Day. In 2024 the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía hosted the round table Thinking the world from art and science, with great public success.