THE ANNUAL LEONARDO SPACEART WORKSHOPS

Under the title "Rencontres du 13 avril," a series of small, one-day workshops on Space and the Arts were co-organized by Leonardo/Olats, the OURS Foundation and the International Academy for Astronautics and took place between the years 1997 and 2002. Held in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb near Paris, these workshops attracted leading space scientists, engineers and artists on specific themes chosen to generate exchanges between artists and scientists concerning the cultural impact of space activities. Since 2004, the workshop has become nomadic and is held in different countries in partnership with other organizations.

PAST WORKSHOPS

Expanding the Space
Meeting & Workshop on Space & Art
October 4-6, 2006
El Segle building, Sant Ferran, 12. Valencia, Spain
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First IAA International Conference and 8th Leonardo/Olats Space and the Arts Workshop
Budapest, 16-19 March 2005
Theme: The Impact of Space on Society: Cultural Aspects
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9th Leonardo/Olats Space and the Arts Workshop
Chateau d'Yverdon, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
19-21 May 2005
Theme: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts
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Space: Science, Technology and the Arts
The "Space: Science, Technology and the Arts" workshop provided a unique opportunity for professionals in the space and the arts communities to meet, discuss and exchange new ideas related to the cultural exploration of space. Discussions were held about how artists and other cultural professionals could work together with space scientists, engineers, technologists and administrators in developing new concepts, projects and strategies.for the International Space Station (ISS) as a platform both for scientific experimentation as well as cultural exploration and expression

The Collaborative Process in Space Art
The Sixth Space Arts Workshop examined dialogues between artists, scientists, and engineers, presenting examples of results produced by interdisciplinary collaboration in space art. Past as well as future space art projects were presented and discussed with an emphasis on promoting new collaborations between artists, scientists, and engineers.

Outer Space - Cyberspace
The Fifth Space Arts Worshop explored the ways that artists and scientists are using the internet both to extend human presence in outer space, but also to bring access to the results of space exploration to earth. The first interplanetary internet nodes are being planned, and the international space station will be connected to the Internet. Space agencies are now using the Internet to enable broad access to the results of space exploration; future missions are being planned to allow live webcasts of images. Simulated exraterrestrial worlds have been created by artists in virtual space, and artists and scientists have used the Web to create scenarios of the future of space exploration. This workshop explored how outer space and cyberspace are becoming interconnected, and how concepts and approaches that have been developed in outer space activities can be related to the concepts and approaches of cyberspace.

Life in Space
Is there sentient life "out there?" Or indeed, any life at all? The workshop examined the different searches for life: their scientific basis and methodologies and their myths and "silent background." There are projects that concentrate on looking for "ones-like-us" (intelligent life, with the SETI/Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence activities), and projects that lean towards "ones-different-from-us" (astrobiology) who might even be non-carbon-based-lifeforms.

Cultural Perspectives on Space
The workshop addressed cultural issues surrounding the increasing presence of humans and machines in space. Several subjects were covered, such as:

• Space habitat, space architecture
• Human engineering: medical and psychological questions
• Design of environments for machines in space.