Culture, Art

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Chair: Pat Eliason - 318-8336
Members: Email Chair plus ALL Members & Liaisons or individually through links below

Cognizant Community Contacts:

Description: Identify and pursue opportunities that would address astronomy, the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Tohono O'odham culture, and Tucson and its connections with astronomy, the observatory, and art and culture of the southwest.

Schedule: DONE

Tasks: Item / Deadline / Status / Responsible person / Comments
Three items were selected for further pursuit. They're described in detail below and then on their separate wiki pages for that event.

  1. Co-sponsor an Artists' Workshop on Kitt Peak: This is happening and is described on it's own wiki page.
  2. A poetry and storytelling event that would focus on astronomy and Tohono O'odham culture: This is expected to happen, but not within the Anniversary period.
  3. Promote/sponsor a juried art show: This is not happening in the Anniversary period due to lack of resources (funds and personnel time). Letizia Stanghellini is very interested and might lead a future effort to enable such a show.

Costs: Budgeted in FY '10

Remarks:

Issues:


Please add your suggestions for topics this committee might consider.

  • A poetry and storytelling event that would focus on astronomy and Tohono O'odham culture.

RE: TON Writer’s Workshops: Writing related to the landscape above us

Concept: An intergenerational group (adults & youths) involved in a single or series of writing workshops; TO members as primary participants.

Guidelines and some notes…

We are proposing three one-day workshops as the target. Venues would include the TO Cultural Center in Sells and two other areas on the reservation (Santa Rosa, San Xavier, etc.). The venue would most likely be a satellite campus site or a high school.

The workshops would be scheduled for summer, fall and winter, approximately 4 months apart.

A “core team” would be established to act as workshop moderators. This group would consist of up to six professionals from the fields of literature and astronomy (Ofelia Zepeda and Steve Strom would head up the core team). The core team would participate in all three workshops. For the workshop, the core team would be supplemented with people from the venue site, for example teachers from the satellite campus.

A “theme” would be decided for each workshop. The stimulus for the theme would be motivated by traditional and scientific literature as related to the landscape above us. “Traditional” could include language in TO songs, poems, and stories. “Vocabulary” would be discussed as part of the discussion, to help clarify TO-specific concepts and expressions as well as scientific terms and meaning. The seasonal impact (summer, fall, and winter) is also important, because some TO stories and poems can only be shared in specific seasons, so this can impact the theme.

The format would be a full day workshop. The first part, perhaps two hours, would be an open discussion led by the team of moderators, mostly sharing stories. The second two-hour session would be an extension of the first discussion, but would include participation by the participants. There would be a break for lunch, then a several-hour session for writing.

A bookmaking workshop would be held sometime after the writing workshops, perhaps early spring 2010. This would be a wonderful compliment to the writings sessions and would be a way to capture the results. The original book would be on display as part of the culminating celebration. Copies could be provided for all the participants, an estimate would be $20.00 per copy.

>>>END


  • Co-sponsor an Artists' Workshop on Kitt Peak with the International Association of Astronomical Artists [1].

RE: Artist’s Workshop on Kitt peak

We are proposing to co-sponsor, with the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA), http://iaaa.org/, an Artist’s workshop on Kitt Peak. The IAAA is an organization of artists inspired by scientific discoveries about the cosmos. Styles range from scientific realism to abstract. Our committee has been communicating with Dirk Terrell, IAAA President, and Kara Szathmary, in order to understand the potential results of an on-site workshop and the associated logistics. The IAAA has sponsored 25 workshops since 1982. Most of the attendees are professional artists of national, and even international, status, known for cover art and illustrations in magazines such as Scientific American, Natural History, and Sky and Telescope. The following are excerpts from the website (http://iaaa.org/workshops/).

“The legendary IAAA workshops are what it means to be an IAAA member. They are so much fun and are so pivotal in our careers that they are remembered fondly for the rest of our lives… Our workshops are usually held in "planetary" locales, chosen for their resemblance to other worldly formations and features. The artists live and work together for up to two weeks, learning from each other and feeding off each others' creativity, exchanging ideas, clients, technique, and establishing lifelong friendships and professional bonds…. The IAAA workshops are typically inexpensive, with the major expense being airfare to the destination.”

Workshop parameters

1. Number of artists – typically 10 to 30 artists; 15 is a good target for the Kitt Peak workshop, due to the constraints on dorm space.

2. Workshop duration - from 7 to 12 days, including arrival and departure days; 4 -5 days on the mountain and perhaps 1 -2 days in Tucson.

3. Logistics – • Workshop Fee - The IAAA requires a workshop fee of $100 per artist to participate. Funds are used to support workshop activities. • Transportation - Artists pay their own fares for air flights and/or surface transportation to and from a designated major airport location. A van will carry the group to their accommodations and will be used during the workshop for the itinerary and designated field trips in the area. • Accommodations - Artists are responsible for their accommodations; however, IAAA arranges the accommodations collectively and generally pays a reservation fee to secure dates for workshop participants. • Meals - Each artist is responsible for their meals (breakfast and dinner), though they plan to eat together in most cases. The workshop fees provide food and drinks while participants are in the field during the day. • Meeting space - At night, participants get together at some common room either to finish their work from that day and/or to host speakers (artists) who showcase their art work through a presentation (usually PowerPoint with artwork images). AV equipment needed

4. Organization – • The IAAA requires four to six months to organize the workshop. They would be responsible for soliciting their members and organizing the event. • IAAA would be responsible for selecting and prioritizing three possible timeframes for the workshop; KPNO would be responsible for selecting workshop dates. • KPNO would be responsible for designating dorm spaces on the mountain. Fees (if any) to be determined. • KPNO would be responsible for providing on-site meals. • KPNO would be responsible for finding exhibit space to present the art work at the end of the workshop.

Cost-related issues… Dorm rooms Van Meals Exhibit space (associated advertisement?) ??? Notes…

The proposed dates of the workshop are still undefined. Fall 2009 seems to be the first choice. Early summer 2009 or early spring 2010 could also be possible times. We have requested three possible timeframes and the corresponding priority from IAAA. 2009 is an odd year and the IAAA generally would select an international geological site for their workshop; even years, like 2010, workshops would be within the US continent. However, the extra-ordinary event of Kitt Peak's 50th anniversary may just trump an international venue. There will be an eclipse of the Sun and best viewed in China this coming summer and some members will most likely go to that event, as the eclipse will be extra long, however, outside of the eclipse week (July 22, 2009), KPNO has some flexibility in scheduling.

Interest on the TON Reservation about an outreach/educational children’s program or seminar and/or O'odham artist participation has yet to be explored. There is interest from IAAA for example in a demonstration or teaching session with young artists at a site on the reservation, to be chosen by the TON.

Artists would like to have access to the different telescope areas for some daytime renderings and some photography during the night. They do not intend to disturb the astronomers from their research.

A day trip off the mountain during the workshop would be part of the final program, with the intent of visiting other spots of interest in terms of planetary analogs, astronomy, or natural history.

Artists could stay 1 – 2 days in Tucson after the workshop to participate in the local gallery exhibit if timing could be arranged to coincide with the workshop. They could possibly participate in a program at NOAO.

>>> END


  • Promote/sponsor a juried show for art inspired by telescopes and the celestial objects.

RE: Juried Art Show

Astronomy and the exploration of the sky have always inspired artists; as a part of the 50th birthday celebrations, we want to promote a juried show for art inspired by telescopes and the celestial objects.

The call would be open to all artists resident in Arizona, New Mexico, and Chile, encompassing all regions where NOAO has an official site. A jury composed of art critics and astronomers will select the 50 more evocative pieces from the submission. The selected artwork will be shown in Tucson in connection with the anniversary celebrations, in early spring 2010. Selected pieces from southern Arizona artists will be also shown at the Tucson International Airport during January to March, 2010. A special purchase award will be issued for the piece that will be showcased at the NOAO site in Tucson.

Guidelines and some notes…

A “Call to Artists” would be advertised and published through various avenues, local and outside, and would need to be translated into Spanish. This “call” would need to be posted by late Spring 2009. A deadline for submission would be in the Fall 2009, 4 to 6 months after the posting. Advertising needs and subsequent costs will need to be determined.

Artists are requested to submit a maximum of 3 digital images of their work inspired by celestial explorations. All media and sizes are accepted. Art work (i.e., digital images for the art work) would be submitted via e-mail to a secure (PW access) NOAO/Tucson website (TBD). Resources will be needed to setup a website for the art submission. The jury members will need access to the site to evaluate the art. The website will need to be secure with PW access.

A fee of $20.00 for each entry will be assessed. Payment method (TBD) (could be handled at the same site or via a web-based payment system).

The jury will select 50 art pieces. The art work will need to be shipped to Tucson for the gallery exhibit. NOAO will incur shipping charges. Arizona artists will also have the opportunity to display their art at the Tucson International Airport (between Jan – Mar 2010). There may be costs associated with the gallery opening.

The winner will receive a cash award that comes from the entry fees; $1000.00 has been suggested. The top-prize piece will remain on display at Kitt Peak.


The committee discussed producing a “catalog” that would contain photos of the 50 selected art pieces along with title an artist’s name. The cost is estimated at $30.00 per copy. We would solicit an “introduction essay” from a local curator. 50 copies for the artists and 50 additional commemorative copies would be produces costing about $3000.00.

>>> END


  • Commission an enduring piece of art, statue, monument, ... to commemorate the National Observatory in the Tucson area. A strength of this idea would cross over into local community relations and the awareness, recognition, and support of the local community to astronomy here.
    Grant support may be available for certain projects from Tucson Pima Arts Council (TPAC). Leia Maahs, TPAC Community Arts Development Coordinator, will participate as a community liaison.
    Here are a couple of ideas:
    Solar observatory and calendar [2]
    A monument on Kitt Peak that would replicate the large format tiles along Broadway's entrace to downtown using photos/images of Kitt Peak's history.



  • Tucson schools art competition. Judged with prizes for top three in each category (to be defined), e.g. a telescope for first place, art supplies, etc.


  • Indian craft fair on Kitt Peak.


  • Art project that includes all the NOAO/NSO/KPNO employees (e.g. a list of all the names or a montage of photos of current employees that, from close-up, looks like their photo's, but from a distance, blends to represent some larger image)




Main 50th Planning Page

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