sci16005 — Announcement

Our Place in Space exhibition

9 June 2016

Our place in Space is a travelling exhibition designed to get people thinking about where humanity fits in the grand scheme of our Universe. Astronomers and artists will present their own interpretations of where we are, where we belong, what our past might have been and what our future might look like. For this images made by Hubble — one of the most ambitious and successful space astronomy missions ever flown and a great example of a successful international partnership — artworks and installations are used.

Not only has Hubble transformed our knowledge of the Universe — it has also greatly impacted culture, society and art for more than two decades. Hubble has broadened the reach of astronomical research and brought the Universe to our homes. For more than two decades, Hubble’s images have inspired artists all over the world. They have provided a stunning pictorial landscape to the deep existential questions that we all share: where do we came from, where we are going? Are we alone? These are questions that are of great interest to professional astronomers but also have deep meaning for each one of us inhabitants of planet Earth.

The objective of this upcoming exhibition is to ponder the theme Our place in Space: Where does humanity fit in the grand scheme of our Universe? In the exhibition astronomers and artists alike give their interpretation of where we are, where we belong, what might have been our past and what will be our future. The exhibition will also take a look at the adventure of humans in outer space, and how we have expanded our travel horizons to break out from the boundaries of our planet's atmosphere and explore our space neighbourhood.

The goal is to articulate each theme of the exhibition by showcasing the images that Hubble has contributed to that field and, in parallel, showing the artistic interpretation of the same theme. We expect the exhibition to be internationally portable, and at each location connections will be made with the local artistic community, so that while the scientific content of the core themes will remain the same, the artistic interpretation will evolve to reflect the culture and interpretation of each local art community.

Our Place in Space will be launched on 1 February 2017 in Venice, Italy, where it will be on display until 17 April 2017 in the Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti. The next confirmed locations will be in autumn 2017 in the ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre in Garching, Germany and in summer 2018 during the IAU general assembly in Vienna, Austria. Several more stops are currently under consideration.

Our Place in Space is curated by Antonella Nota and Anna Caterina Bellati and supported by the ESA/Hubble public outreach team.