U sklopu Jelsa Art Bijenala 2. srpnja 2021. godine s početkom u 21 sat pod noćnim nebom Ljetne pozornice Venerade na Hvaru kustosice nizozemskog kolektiva Moon Gallery, Anna Sitnikova i Elizaveta Glukhova te prof. Bernard Foing idejni začetnik projekta održat će se predavanje Intergalaktički razgovori. Istovremeno, posjetitelji će moći razgledati pop-up video instalaciju Anje Leko i Andreja Beštaka, prezentiranu u kapelici na Venerandi.
Moon Gallery je projekt koji planira između 2022. i 2024. godine u suradnji s ESA (European Space Agency) na Mjesec poslati galeriju u obliku Petrijeve zdjelice. U ladici s mrežištem dimenzija 10x10 cm pohranit će se 100 odabranih artefakata kojima je cilj razvoj interplanetarne kulture budućnosti. U nastavku slijedi razgovor s kustosicom projekta Annom Sitnikovom.
Kada se i kako rodila ideja ambicioznog projekta slanja prve stalne umjetničke galerije na Mjesec?
Ideja prve galerije na Mjesecu javila se za vrijeme umjetničko-znanstvenog predavanja na Kraljevskoj umjetničkoj akademiji u Haagu (KABK). Tijekom jednog semestra profesorskom timu se pridružio prof. Bernard Foing – nekadašnji znanstveni savjetnik u Europskoj svemirskoj agenciji ESA ESTEC – kako bi podijelio neka saznanja o svemirskom istraživanju te predstavio koncept za Moon Village – platformu i multidisciplinarnu profesionalnu zajednicu (obuhvatila bi tehnologiju, znanost, kulturu i ekonomiju) koja bi zajedničkim snagama stvorila inspirativne i edukativne temelje za održivo istraživanje Mjeseca.
O formatu prve galerije na Mjesecu dalje su raspravljali studenti i profesori na akademiji i tako se oformio Moon Gallery Foundation tim: Elizaveta Glukhova, Anna Sitnikova, Bernard Foing, Charlotte Ten Holder, Smári McCarthy, and Mary Kuiper.
Koji su najveći izazovi kuriranja izvanzemaljske izložbe?
Jedan od najvećih izazova bio je pronalaženje načina kako dostaviti 100 artefakata na Mjesec pošto nas je to trebalo koštati oko milijun dollara po kilogramu. Ova prepreka ne samo da je činila projekt neostvarivim, nego nije bila u skladu s našim konceptom. Količina resursa potrebnih za realizaciju činila je projekt grotesknim i neodrživim. Veličina je bila jedan od najvećih izazova u istraživanju svemira, a nerazmjer između velikih ideja i resursa potrebnih za ostvarenje često stoji na putu ostvarenja mnogih eksperimenata. Htjeli smo pronaći način kako okrenuti ta ograničenja u našu korist. Konačno, te su prepreke oblikovale specifičan format galerije.
Nakon što je odabran format za Moon Gallery, susreli smo se s novim izazovom. Svemirska industrija je sverastući sektor vezan uz politiku, znanost i tehnologiju, ali je izolirana od svijeta umjetnosti. Traženje partnera i nekoga tko bi izveo samo lansiranje u početku nije bilo lako, ali povezali smo se s raznim disciplinama što je olakšalo situaciju.
Planirate li u budućnosti proširiti okvire djelovanja izvan Mjeseca?
Mjesec je glavno utočište galerije, ali ideja niti počinje niti završava tamo: naš rad je koncipiran na širenju ljudske kulturne djelatnosti izvan našeg planeta. Prva prekretnica je Zemlja: sudjelujemo u simulacijama lunarnog okruženja na Zemlji gdje astronauti mogu biti u interakcije s galerijom u izolaciji. Druga stanica je visoka altituda koju će doseći meteorološki balon, Rocket competition, Zero-G Flight i ostali uzbudljivi projekti. Točka u kojoj će se galerija prvi put susresti sa svemirom je niska Zemljina orbita na brodu Međunarodne svemirske postaje (ISS) 2022. godine. Moon Gallery će u konačnici doprinijeti osnivanje prve lunarne pošte služeći kao začetak nove interplanetarne kulture. Napomena za budućnost: kako će čovječanstvo napredovati dalje u svemir, tako bude i Moon Gallery!
Što sve posjetitelji Jelsa Art Bijenala mogu očekivati da će naučiti na predavanjima u Opservatoriju Hvar?
Kao dio programa umjetničke rezidencije, organizirat ćemo imerzivan vanzemaljski eksperimentalan program kombinirajući konferenciju, radionicu i umjetnički performans na kojima će rezidenti moći postati astronauti na jedan dan! Planiramo razviti analogne Protokole lunarnih habitata pomoću koji će rezidenti moći iskusiti život na Mjesecu: mjesečev raspored (alternativni zvjezdani dan i kalendar), održivo korištenje resursa, EVA (izvanverikularne aktivnosti) procedure i koreografiju. Život unutar Mjesečeve baze umjetnicima će omogućiti drugačiji pogled na Zemlju.
As a part of the Jelsa Art Biennial on the 2nd of July 2021 starting at 9 pm under the night sky of Veneranda Summer Stage on Hvar the curators of Moon Gallery collective, Anna Sitnikova and Elizaveta Glukhova, and prof. Bernard Foing the originator of the idea, will hold a lecture under the name Intergalactic Talks. At the same time, visitors will be able to take a look at the pop-up video installation by Anja Leko and Andrej Beštak, presented in the Veneranda Chapell.
Moon Gallery is a project that plans in collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency) between 2022 and 2024 launch on Moon a gallery in the shape of a Petri dish. In a 10x10 cm grid tray, 100 chosen artifacts will be integrated with a mission of creating new interplanetary culture.
The curator of Moon Gallery, Anna Sitnikova explained for Kulturflux how the idea of launching the first gallery on the moon started and talked about the problems of launching the out-of-the-Earth Gallery!
When and how did you think of the ambitious project of launching the first permanent art gallery to the Moon?
The idea of the first gallery on the Moon emerged during the art-science class in the Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague (KABK). During one semester, the teacher’s team was joined by Prof. Bernard Foing - former Senior scientist at the ESA ESTEC - to share some insights on the human space exploration and present the concept of the Moon Village - a platform and a multidisciplinary professional community (technical, scientific, cultural, economic) working together to provide a strong inspirational and educational foundation for sustainable exploration of the Moon.
The format of the first gallery on the Moon and possible inputs (art & science) were further discussed among the students and teachers of the academy and further developed by the Moon Gallery Foundation Team: Elizaveta Glukhova, Anna Sitnikova, Bernard Foing, Charlotte Ten Holder, Smári McCarthy, and Mary Kuiper.
What are the biggest challenges of curating the out-of-the-Earth exhibition?
One of the biggest challenges was to find a way to deliver 100 artifacts to the Moon when it would cost us approximately $1 million per kilo to ship our payload. This obstacle was not just making the project quite unlikely to happen, but it was compromising the concept itself. The number of resources required for its realization was making it grotesque and rather unsustainable. Size is one of the biggest challenges of space exploration and the disparity between big ideas and resources for their realization often stands in the way of many experiments. We wanted to find a way to turn those limitations to our advantage. Eventually, these constraints gave birth to the unique format of the Moon Gallery.
After finalizing the format of the Moon Gallery, we encountered another challenge. The space industry is a constantly growing sector linked to governments, science, and technology, but it’s rather isolated from the art world. Finding partners and launch providers has proved to be a challenge, but with our growing network across disciplines, it is becoming less of an obstacle for us.
Are there any plans of expanding the project further than the Moon in the future?
The Moon is the ultimate home of the gallery, but the idea neither starts nor ends there: our work is based on expanding humanity’s cultural dialogue beyond our home planet. The first milestone is the Earth; we participate in lunar simulation environments on Earth where astronauts can interact with the gallery in isolation. The second landmark is the high altitude which will be reached by a weather balloon, rocket competition, Zero-G Flight, and other exciting projects. The point where the gallery will meet the cosmos for the first time is the low Earth orbit on board of the ISS in 2022. Moon Gallery will ultimately contribute to the establishment of the first lunar outpost by serving as the seed of a new interplanetary culture. Note for the future: as humanity reaches further and further in the universe, so will the Moon Gallery!
What can Jelsa Art Biennial visitors expect to learn from the lessons that are going to be hosted in The Hvar Observatory?
As a part of the art residency kick-off program, we will organize an immersive extraterrestrial experimental program combining a conference, workshop and art performance. In addition, residents will be able to become astronauts for a day! We will develop analog Lunar Habitat protocols for the residents through which they can experience life on the Moon: moon schedule (alternative stellar day and calendar), sustainable use of resources, EVA (Extravehicular Activities) procedures and choreography. Life inside the Moon Base will give the artists an opportunity to take a very different look at the Earth.
