The cultural imagination of the celestial and how important systems of knowledge have been passed down through literature, memory, and oral narratives, continuing to hold meaning as we imagine space futures.
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Co-curated by Australian Pavilion
This programme considers the cultural imagination of the celestial and how important systems of knowledge have been passed down through literature, memory, and oral narratives, continuing to hold meaning as we imagine space futures.
The Kamal is a simple celestial instrument, just a board and knotted string, that was used by Arab navigators from the 9th century. Sailors also used poetry as a mnemonic to record and pass on directions in the easily memorised ruttier form. In Australia and New Zealand, mapping of the sky remains alive through a new generation of astronomers. Bridging these systems of knowledge through literature and memory, we consider how the cultural imagination of the celestial have been constructed and understood, continuing to hold meaning as we imagine space futures
Participants: Nujoom Alghanem, Duane Hamacher, Mashhoor Ahmad Al Wardat, Rangi Mātāmua
Australian Pavilion, Mobility District, Expo 2020