Space Messengers: Weaving Indigenous Knowledge, Astrophysics, and AI

LASER Talks: Space Messengers: Weaving Indigenous Knowledge, Astrophysics, and AI to Explore Collective Futures with Artist Agnes Chavez, Astrophysicist Julia Blue Bird and special guest Nancy Conrad of the Conrad Foundation
Interdisciplinary artist Agnes Chavez, founder of STEMarts Lab, and NASA engineer and astrophysicist Dr. Julia Blue Bird come together in this inspiring presentation to explore how sci-art collaborations deepen our understanding of the universe.

Through immersive sci-art installations, Agnes Chavez demonstrates how art, science, and technology merge to create powerful experiences that engage audiences in new ways of thinking about space, time, and our place in the cosmos. She will share Space Messengers, an immersive and interactive installation that invites participants to explore the universe through the lens of particle physics, astrophysics, cultural cosmologies, and futures thinking.

Dr. Julia Blue Bird, an astrophysicist, Lakota educator and STEMarts colaborator, will share how she brings youth leaders into contact with the Cosmic Web and how galaxies grow & evolve within this underlying structure of the Universe. She will share Indigenous perspectives, discussing how traditional knowledge aligns with and enhances modern astrophysics.

Together, they will examine how exploring Indigenous and Western scientific traditions through art provides complementary ways of understanding the cosmos, inspiring new generations to look at the stars through multiple lenses.

A former teacher, Nancy Conrad has become a recognized leader in transformative education and named one of the top 100 leaders in STEM education, serving as a featured speaker at national and international conferences. Her presentations include TED, MIT, and the Global Diversity Leadership Conference at Harvard University. Nancy has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology detailing how the Conrad Foundation exemplifies the use of partnership to improve STEM education. She is the wife of late astronaut Pete Conrad, who during the Apollo 12 mission became the third man to walk on the Moon.

This presentation is for all who seek to deepen their connection to the universe through an intercultural lens.

In addition to this presentation on May 25th in Santa Fe, Agnes and Julia will present at the Chaco Canyon Visitor Center at dusk on Friday May 23rd in conjunction with a Chaco Star Party. If you are interested in attending and would like more information email c2NpYXJ0c2FudGFmZSB8IGdtYWlsICEgY29t

In conjunction with the exhibition Woven Skies: SciArt from Air to the Cosmos, SciArt Santa Fe is hosting a series of these presentations called ‘LASERs’. LASER stands for Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous and take place around the world in more than 40 institutions in 4 continents. SciArt Santa Fe represents New Mexico in this prestigious international Leonardo Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology initiative. Woven Skies LASERs feature exhibiting New Mexico artists and sciart experts from across the state.

Presented in coordination with Leonardo/International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology (ISAST); the University of New Mexico (UNM), College of Fine Arts; sponsored by Santa Fe Art Institute (SFAI), and supported in part by New Mexico Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Featured Artists in Woven Skies: Established and emerging artists from across the state using a variety of traditional and experimental media featured are: Kirsten Angerbauer, Colin Barker, Fiona Bell, Paul Biagi, Natalie Christensen, Shirley Crow, Jim Eyre, Marianne Hornbuckle, Susan Latham, Andrea Polli, Alyce Santoro, Zuyva Sevilla, Joan Stango, Dora Tass and Isabel Winson-Sagan.

This event is free and accessible to all. If you need more information, contact with questions related to access and accommodation.

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