ISF in Poland
The ISF + Przemiany Festival collaboration in Warsaw
Imagine Science Films created daily programming for the Przemiany festival at the Copernicus Science Center this past week.
Photography by Wojciech Surdziel/wosu.pl
For the first time, Imagine Science Films set a partnership with the polish Przemiany festival in Warsaw and it was a success. If you want to discover an effusive East Europe city while seeing an impressive art-science festival, be there for the next edition!
This year, under the slogan "Who will own Space?", the festival focused on the topic of space exploration.
The programme of this festival is highly heterogeneous: conferences, workshops, art science exhibition, open labs, live concerts but also movies coming from Imagine Science Films selection!
Since 2011, the Przemiany festival is organized by the Copernicus Science Centre (the largest science centre in Poland). This year, under the slogan "Who will own Space?", the festival focused on the topic of space exploration in the context of new economic models and technologies that lay the ground for projects such as raw material mining on asteroids and establishing human settlements on Mars. Encouraging a critical reflection on the changes happening around us, science and technology are presented in a credible way. The festival wants to help notice and analyse the changes around us, which can have a big impact on our lives in the future.
This edition was really intense, it is impossible to describe everything but here a selection of the best moments of the festival!
Since 2011, the Przemiany festival is organized by the Copernicus Science Centre (the largest science centre in Poland). This year, under the slogan "Who will own Space?", the festival focused on the topic of space exploration in the context of new economic models and technologies that lay the ground for projects such as raw material mining on asteroids and establishing human settlements on Mars. Encouraging a critical reflection on the changes happening around us, science and technology are presented in a credible way. The festival wants to help notice and analyse the changes around us, which can have a big impact on our lives in the future.
This edition was really intense, it is impossible to describe everything but here a selection of the best moments of the festival!
Mark McCaughrean opening lecture
The entire opening night of the festival was intense and perfectly represents the will to be eclectic and experimental.
It started with an inspiring and hypnotic opening lecture made by the charismatic Prof Mark Mccaughrean from the European Space Agency (ESA), where he is the Senior Scientific Advisor in the Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration. Using analogies, videos from telescope, satellites and research laboratories, he reviewed the current situation of space exploration.
It started with an inspiring and hypnotic opening lecture made by the charismatic Prof Mark Mccaughrean from the European Space Agency (ESA), where he is the Senior Scientific Advisor in the Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration. Using analogies, videos from telescope, satellites and research laboratories, he reviewed the current situation of space exploration.
Charlotte Salvatico, Paris Coordinator
Then, our Paris coordinator, Charlotte Salvatico, who was present during the festival, promoted the 21 selected movies - these movies, selected by Nate Dorr, were showed once a day during the entire festival - and Imagine Science Films.
The exhibition Going back to the Moon then opened to the public. Dance in microgravity, cosmic drill, shooting stars on demand, vegetables grown on Martian soil, and speculative project of breeding fruit fly on Saturn's moon – these are just some of the elements of the multi-thread narrative of the exhibition. In parallel, there were two separate installations accompanying Going back to the Moon, located in different places within the Copernicus Science Centre.
Many artists coming mainly from Europe were present to showcase their work and meet. It was possible to walk around with a glass of wine or a beer while listening to a live set of electronic music made by the young Polish DJ Bartosz Zaskórski.
The exhibition Going back to the Moon then opened to the public. Dance in microgravity, cosmic drill, shooting stars on demand, vegetables grown on Martian soil, and speculative project of breeding fruit fly on Saturn's moon – these are just some of the elements of the multi-thread narrative of the exhibition. In parallel, there were two separate installations accompanying Going back to the Moon, located in different places within the Copernicus Science Centre.
Many artists coming mainly from Europe were present to showcase their work and meet. It was possible to walk around with a glass of wine or a beer while listening to a live set of electronic music made by the young Polish DJ Bartosz Zaskórski.
One of the most exciting moments was the lecture of the very creative Joe Davis in the planetarium.
It is hard to describe Joe Davis. Briefly: this is the pinnacle of a person who is dealing with several lives in parallel. To be succinct, he is a research affiliate in the Department of Biology at MIT, and in the George Church Laboratory at Harvard Medical School. His research and art includes work in the fields of molecular biology, bioinformatics, "space art", and sculpture, using media including centrifuges, radios, prosthetics, magnetic fields, and genetic material. Joe believes that creativity and craziness are closely linked. While spreading a more general message about the importance of art in the scientific laboratory, he spreads a more personal message about having the strength to explore ours ideas despite external pressures. Indeed, his pride is to be now able to publish and be cited in scientific papers while doing his free art.
It is hard to describe Joe Davis. Briefly: this is the pinnacle of a person who is dealing with several lives in parallel. To be succinct, he is a research affiliate in the Department of Biology at MIT, and in the George Church Laboratory at Harvard Medical School. His research and art includes work in the fields of molecular biology, bioinformatics, "space art", and sculpture, using media including centrifuges, radios, prosthetics, magnetic fields, and genetic material. Joe believes that creativity and craziness are closely linked. While spreading a more general message about the importance of art in the scientific laboratory, he spreads a more personal message about having the strength to explore ours ideas despite external pressures. Indeed, his pride is to be now able to publish and be cited in scientific papers while doing his free art.
Last but not list, two very different live music events happened on Friday and Sunday night.
On Friday night - outside, a huge scene with a big screen behind, sun loungers everywhere - a berlin atmosphere was in the air. The line-up featured - Andy Stott (UK), Demdike Stare (UK), HMOT (RU), Astma (PL) and FOQL (PL) !
On Friday night - outside, a huge scene with a big screen behind, sun loungers everywhere - a berlin atmosphere was in the air. The line-up featured - Andy Stott (UK), Demdike Stare (UK), HMOT (RU), Astma (PL) and FOQL (PL) !
On Sunday night, a completely different musical experience was taking place in the planetarium: eyes and ears were this time treated to an audiovisual performance of Stefan Wesołowski - composer, violinist, record producer - 's band and VJ Robert Bęza in the Planetarium.
Deeply lyrical and neoclassic in form, a musical reinterpretation of dreams of the Universe was accompanied by a graphical performance inspired by film and art of 1940s and 1950s, showing space travel from the perspective of then-existing technological possibilities.
Deeply lyrical and neoclassic in form, a musical reinterpretation of dreams of the Universe was accompanied by a graphical performance inspired by film and art of 1940s and 1950s, showing space travel from the perspective of then-existing technological possibilities.
We are so glad about this collaboration and look forward to many more!
Interested in bringing ISF to your city? Check out our Satellite page and see where else we've been.
Interested in bringing ISF to your city? Check out our Satellite page and see where else we've been.
