The World at Night Exhibitions on Six Continents
2009 March 22
Europe:
Italy is hosting a new major TWAN exhibition comprising 100 large images from The World at Night in Turin. Organized by Mirafiori Art Gallery, Photography Association of Turin and TWAN, the exhibition is on display at Mirafoiri Motor village March 20 to 26. The opening event of the exhibition featured TWAN-Europe coordinators Gernot Meiser and Pascale Demy presenting large-screen public programs about The World at Night and their own adventures chasing eclipses around the world.
The exhibition was widely promoted in the Italian media with feature articles and advertisements in several magazines, including Focus. Interviews with The World at Night Director Babak Tafreshi were carried by several newspapers including the widely-read Repubblica. The exhibition will travel to other venues in the region throughout the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The next stop for the exhibition after the Mirafiori Gallery is Clizia Museum – palace of Luigi Einaudi in Chivasso, 20 km northeast of Turin, where it will be housed from April 4 to September 6.
A TWAN traveling exhibition in Germany, coordinated by TWAN-Europe representatives Gernot Meiser and Pascale Demy, opened at the Communication Museum of Berlin in February 2009. The exhibition travels next to Cologne where it will be hosted by Globetrotter, one of the Europe’s largest camping and trekking stores, beginning March 27 to April 14. TWAN photographer Gernot Meiser will provide a presentation on March 26, and TWAN photographer Bernd Proschold will present some of his work in time-lapse videos of cosmic motions during the exhibition and starting on opening day, March 27.
The very popular Stuttgart Planetarium in southern Germany is the site of yet another TWAN-Germany exhibition, with images on display from March 31 to May 17. A large-screen show will also be presented in the planetarium’s lecture hall. The coordinator of this event, TWAN photographer Gernot Meiser, will give a special presentation about TWAN at the planetarium on April 3.
North America:
The University of Mississippi will be the site of the first North American TWAN exhibition with 33 images displayed in the university’s charming public library beginning March 31. The exhibition’s opening day events include a special presentation by TWAN photographer Wally Pacholka in the historic Barnard Observatory. The exhibition continues throughout April and will be integrated with the university’s special events for 100 Hours of Astronomy, a cornerstone project the International Year of Astronomy 2009 taking place from April 2 to 5.
South America:
The second Astronomy and Astronautic International Meeting in Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil is the starting point for a new TWAN traveling exhibition beginning April 17. Organized by Astronomers Without Borders’ coordinator for Latin America, Marcelo Souza, the meeting will host a large TWAN exhibition throughout its four-day run and will feature a day-long TWAN night sky photography workshop held by TWAN director Babak Tafreshi. Astronauts and well-known Brazilian astronomers will attend the meeting, and Tafreshi and Astronomers Without Borders president Mike Simmons will be invited speakers. The exhibition will travel to various education and art centers in the region through the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, a country famous for spectacular dark skies, will have more stars on display in the form of a traveling TWAN exhibition created by TWAN photographer Stephane Guisard. Opening in early April as part of the 100 Hours of Astronomy cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, the exhibition begins in Antofagasta, a port city in northern Chile. The exhibition is expected to continue to several other cities throughout the year, possibly including the Chile’s capital city, Santiago.
Africa:
The South Africa national node of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) has organized a exhibition that will travel around that country from late March to the end of the year. Consisting of 40 TWAN images, the exhibition will travel to various educational and public venues around the country in conjunction with the national node’s other IYA2009 outreach programs. Astronomy education and popularization in under-served areas of the country are a special focus of the national nodes programs. South Africa becomes the first sub-Saharan country to host a TWAN exhibition. Algeria in north Africa hosted a TWAN exhibition in 2008.
Asia:
As the first TWAN exhibition in East Asia held in Seoul, Korea from March 1 to 22, a second TWAN-Korea exhibition has just been arranged. The new exhibition of more than 40 The World at Night artwork photographs will be on display in the National Science Museum in Daejeon from April 1 to 26. These exhibitions were coordinated by TWAN photographer Kwon O Chul with support from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (National Observatory) and the Korea national node of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
Australia:
April 2009 will see Australia’s first look at TWAN with an exhibition of 20 TWAN images in the Horizon Planetarium of Scitech, the leading science museum in Perth, Western Australia. The opening of the exhibition will feature a special presentation about the project by TWAN photographer John Goldsmith of Western Australia. Scietch will also feature TWAN images in their interactive exhibition “Out There” during May in collaboration with the University of Western Australia as part of their school outreach programs for the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
The World at Night exhibitions, shows, and educational events are thus for ongoing or planned in more than 30 countries during the International Year of Astronomy 2009 and beyond. To learn more about TWAN world-wide events please visit our Events page.
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