The Astronomical Imagination

The Astronomical Imagination is a project to examine what happens when we bring artistic methods into relation with the scientific method.

The project begins with a series of conversations and experiences to bring artists and scientists together to begin exploring scientific inquiry meets artistic inquiry. Together we’ll explore the methods and preoccupations of the two fields of practice, as well as the specificities of individual practises.

Applications of this exploratory research might include: Where do creativity and imagination fit within the scientific method, and how does astronomy promote this in practice? How does higher education in astronomy build a creative mindset? How might we do art and astronomy next? What does emergent scientific research have to offer artists and their self-directed inquiries and inventions? How might the two disciplines couple and decouple in an interchanging song and dance of leading, listening, and being led?

This is a collaborative project in development with Dr. Gurtina Besla at the Department of Astronomy and Physics at the University of Arizona.