Wednesday, 06 September 2023
People are being invited to imagine life on an exomoon as part of a new immersive space experience that launches today.
Dr Ulrike Kuchner, astrophysicist, artist, and curator from the University of Nottingham is part of the international art and science collective SEADS (Space Ecologies Art and Design) who are collaborating with Zurich’s Theater Neumarkt for their new production, Mimikry: Exomoon, An immersive Space Experience.
Audiences of all ages are invited to embark on a journey to explore a speculative future settlement on an exomoon orbiting a distant star.
Between the 6th and 19th of September, Theater Neumarkt will open its doors for their third interactive Mimikry format challenging the audience to question what it’s worth loving, playing and fighting for.
The backdrop of a new space race combined with exciting scientific discoveries of planets in distant star systems provide the breedingground for a multi-layered and multi-sensory experience which confronts the audience with a glimpse into an imagined future scenario beyond planet Earth.
By immersing themselves in Exomoon’s world, audiences experience the speculative diaspora of a settlement in space. Each visitor will create their own narrative and role, and together with Neumarkt’s ensemble and international experts in astronomy, astrobiology and space research, co-create a vision of the future that will grow, shift and deepen throughout the duration of the production.
Artists taking part in the Exomoon experience. Image copyright: Philip Frowein.
Dr Kuchner has helped to develop the concept and commented: “Through this creative experience we want the audience to really engage with the idea of space travel and want them to ask themselves questions like; What will it look like when humankind leaves Earth to travel and settle in space? What values, identity, and knowledge would we choose to send and who should carry this legacy?Will human settlement in space replicate that of humans on Earth, or might it generate new structures, relationships and ways of being, What is essential to humanity, and under different circumstances, how might we live differently.”
SEADS (Space Ecologies Art and Design) is a transdisciplinary and cross-cultural collective of artists, scientists, engineers and activists. SEADS is actively engaged in deconstructing dominant paradigms about the future and develops alternative models through a combination of critical inquiry and hands-on experimentation.
Artistic Concept und direction: SEADS (Pieter Steyaert,, Ulrike Kuchner, Mary Pedicini, Pim Tournaye, Jorge Guevara and more). With Jo Verwohlt, Signe Heinfelt, Mona Nasser, and the CHAMELEON Exoplanets Research Network.
Images copyright: Philip Frowein.
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Ulrike Kuchner on Ulrike.Kuchner@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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