I am delighted to have been appointed co-curator of the arts programme for the Centre for Space Environmentalism alongside esteemed colleagues including John Barentine, Paul Bogard, Angelina Reddy, Aparna Venkatesan, Salvador Bará, Rewa Clark Bush, Magnus L'Argent, Samantha Lawler, James Lowenthal, Jonathan McDowell and Anna Struthers.
Find out more about the organisation here.
CSE Manifesto
”We are the product of individual protons and electrons left to Nature’s devices for billions of years. In only the last half century, humanity splashed back into the wider cosmos, across Earth’s orbit and beyond the edges of the Solar System. From accelerating discoveries in science to exciting engineering breakthroughs, we became a more connected society. But this came at a high cost due to the environmental destruction such progress dragged in its wake. As humanity begins to anchor itself more permanently in outer space, concerns regarding the degradation of nature are playing out on a new stage — the space environment. The lessons of environmental history on Earth are manifold, and it is more important than ever that humanity learn them in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
In response, we hold that outer space is a human environment, and, alongside the terrestrial environment, is worthy of our respect, consideration, and long-term stewardship. For this reason, we established the Center for Space Environmentalism to inspire, inform, and guide the preservation and protection of the space environment.
Traditional space stakeholders are large entities with larger-than-life capabilities: nation-states, militaries, and more recently, billionaire-owned corporations. We rise up to the same scale as a grassroots collective whose power is in its numbers and diversity – we do not concede ground. We amplify the voice of the global public, as well as the peoples who have historically endured the consequences of outsized actions of traditional actors. We further give voice to Nature on and off the Earth’s surface as well as to intangible potentialities, such as scientific discovery, social justice, and cultural significance.
We balance the differing views of the multitude of stakeholders with the intention, above all, to create action that manifests a future that realizes our vision outlined below. We are a group of people that braves exploring uncomfortable questions and steps into action, advocates for an outcome, and moves onto the next challenge. We set our sights not solely on a theory or horizon, but also towards individual objects along the way by adopting the spirit of the “Yes, if” ethos of the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance safety culture.”