Star Dreaming- Same Stars, Different Stories

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19th Apr 2024, Friday, 6:30pm
Science Café
Omni-Theatre, Science Centre Singapore

Star Dreaming: Same Stars, Different Stories.

Every culture has gazed upon the stars and woven distinct narratives, revealing the profound connection between the cosmos and human creativity. Beneath the expansive skies, countless stories wait to be told.

Celebrating diversity and the beauty of the universe, this special event begins with the screening of Star Dreaming at Science Centre’s Omni-Theatre. Star Dreaming is a collaboration between Curtin University, the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Yamaji Art, Prospero Productions, and Last Pixel.

Following the screening, astrophysicist Professor Steven Tingay from the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy will share about the process of making Star Dreaming with artists from Yamaji Art. After which, artist Isabella Ong and curator Seet Yun Teng from Lucy in the Sky with Debris – a multi-disciplinary research and visual art project investigating the visibility of orbital debris – will engage in conversation with Professor Tingay. The night will end with stargazing.

Buffet dinner will be served.
Ages 18 and above only.

Star Dreaming

About the film, Star Dreaming is a collaboration between Curtin University, the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Yamaji Art, Prospero Productions, and Last Pixel. The production is an immersive, 180-degree dome show, exploring Indigenous sky stories as seen through the eyes of Yamaji artists from Western Australia’s Mid-West region, and the science behind them with the assistance of the world’s largest radio telescope – the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) – located on the land of the Yamaji people.

Star Dreaming: The Making Of

Professor Steven Tingay

Professor Radio Astronomy, Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA)
Consultant for Star Dreaming

Since 2009, astronomers from Curtin University in Perth and artists from Yamaji Art in Geraldton have explored the night sky from different points of view. The Universe of Australia's First Nations people has met the Universe of science, coming together due to a project called the Square Kilometre Array, a multi-billion Euro radio telescope being built on the lands of the Wajarri Yamatji in the Murchison region of Western Australia. Over the last 14 years we have learned about the similarities and differences between the Indigenous and non-indigenous stories our Shared Sky tells us. We have produced exhibitions of art that have travelled the world, we have engaged First Nations artists in other countries and we have built a deep relationship and collaboration that has persistence and trust. Star Dreaming is a film that conveys what we have learned from each other, intertwining science and culture, technology and art, to convey the beauty of our Universe and our connection to it. Prof Steven Tingay talk about our journey together and what it was like making the movie.

Lucy in the Sky with Debris

Speakers (1)

Isabella Ong, Artist Seet Yun Teng, Curator

The planetary issue of outer space debris is one that, while distant from public consciousness, is emerging to be an urgent environmental concern. Dead satellites, spent rocket stages, and fragments from collisions circle the Earth in rings of debris, where even the smallest paint chip, travelling at astonishing speeds in zero-gravity, bears destructive capabilities. Humanity has always looked to the night sky to make sense of the universe we live in. We observe patterns in its complex tapestry, imagine fantastical characters, and tell stories to guide us through time. How do we, then, see and relate to a sky in which today, a dense, orbiting web of manmade machines overlaps our vision of the cosmos?

Lucy in the Sky with Debris takes this, among other intersecting threads, as a starting point. A research and visual art project merging astronomy, cartography, mythology, and material culture, it aims to generate a layered reframing of the space debris issue, exploring alternative ways to visualise and communicate the environmental problem that parallels the ecological crises on Earth. An exhibition running from 4 to 28 April 2024, at Objectifs Lower Gallery 1 (155 Middle Road), presents a kinetic installation Errant Stars and a research showcase. It marks the culmination of an 18-month research and artistic development process that serves as the first phase of a multi-year project.

We invite you to join us as we explore the manifold ways to visualise and recognise our cosmos, its glittering diamonds of stars and debris alike.

Lucy in the Sky with Debris is initiated by artist Isabella Ong and curator Seet Yun Teng, and supported
by National Arts Council Singapore. For more information, visit www.lucyintheskywithdebris.com

PROGRAMME

6:30 pm	Cocktail and Buffet Dinner
7:30 pm	Screening of Star Dreaming
8:30 pm	**Star Dreaming: The Making Of Professor Steven Tingay** Professor Radio Astronomy, Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA) Consultant for Star Dreaming
8:50 pm	*Lucy in the Sky with Debris* Isabella Ong Artist
9:00 pm	Discussion and Q&A Moderated by Seet Yun Teng Curator, Lucy in the Sky with Debris
9:20 pm	Stargazing
10:00 pm	End

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