sci18001 — Announcement

Our Place in Space on display in Garching and Vienna

12 July 2018

If you missed the previous installations, this summer you all can visit the Hubble art & science exhibition Our Place in Space in two different locations: at the brand new ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre in Garching, Germany, (until 2 September) and at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria (until 2 November). Both versions are based on the original formula designed by Antonella Nota and art curator Anna Caterina Bellati, in collaboration with an international executive committee of outreach experts which include Ken Carpenter (NASA), Lars Lindberg Christensen (ESO), Mathias Jäger (ESA/Hubble) Carol Christian (STScI), Roger Davies (Oxford, UK) and Hussein Jirdeh (STScI).

Garching and the ESO Supernova in particular was chosen to host the exhibition not only to let German citizens see the exhibition, but also to honour the longstanding and fruitful cooperation between the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory. Vienna was picked as it hosts this years General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.

Sponsored by the European Space Agency in collaboration with NASA and STScI, Our Place In Space is a traveling exhibition that has the goal to inform, educate and inspire the general public about the mission of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and of space exploration in general. Based on stunning Hubble imagery, it invites national artists to present their own interpretations of where we are coming from, where we belong, what our past might have been, what our future might look like, as well as if we are alone in the Universe.

Our Place In Space is a journey from our starting location — be it in Venice, Garching or Vienna — through the known Universe, to its very edge, to witness the first initial moment, the origins of all things. The exhibition features iconic Hubble images and videos — such as the Jupiter Aurorae, star formation regions as seen by Hubble, the largest image ever taken of the Andromeda galaxy and the new Frontier Fields — alongside imaginative artworks and installations from contemporary artists who have been inspired by Hubble’s view of the cosmos. In Garching, the artworks range from alabaster-sculpted nebulae to planetary spheres encrusted with glass mosaics, and include a spacecraft built from recycled wood, plastic, and toys. This fusion of art and astronomy encourages visitors to think about humanity’s place in the grand scheme of the Universe.

First shown in Venice and in Chiavenna, Our Place In Space received accolades from both the public and critics, demonstrating that there is great interest in the community for initiatives that merge science and art, and provide an opportunity for deep thinking about humanity and the cosmos. At those two locations, Our Place In Space was visited by approximately 40 000 people, and we expect the numbers will greatly increase in Garching and Vienna.

While in Venice, Chiavenna and Garching, Our Place In Space displayed artwork from prominent Italian artists, Our Place In Space Vienna showcases the Austrian artists Monica LoCascio, Michael Bachhofer, Margit Busch & Solmaz Fahang, Anna Lerchbaumer & Eleni Boutsika-Palles, Daniela Brill, Yunchul Kim, Markus Reisinger, Payer Gabriel, Steinbrenner/Dempf, and Nives Widauer. The selected artworks provide a mixture of works from established artists and aspiring art students from the university of Applied Arts.

Curated by astronomer and artist Ulrike Kushner, Our Place In Space Vienna provides novel and different artistic interpretations of age-old cosmic questions. In installations, paintings and movies the artists demonstrate the connection between art and science by demonstrating cosmic rays through flashes of light and exploring the fovea. The artists also show our origin in the Universe in demonstrating the origin of the elements and show the legacy of Hubble in a potential future.

From the vantage point of myself and Anna Caterina Bellati, we could not be prouder. This is exactly what we had originally envisioned for Our Place in Space and how we had hoped it would evolve. The exhibition was designed to create a connection with the local art community at each location, to showcase how local culture has influenced our thinking and our approach to both art and science. In our wildest dreams, we had hoped to see Our Place in Space in many different countries, showcasing the work of the local art community, and to allow us to marvel at the amazing impact that the Hubble Space Telescope has had on science and society in its splendid 28 years in orbit.