As seen in Scene Magazine,
Have you found yourself staring through your laptop screen, just having read some jarring news feed discussing a shifting climate? Have you felt inspired by what you’ve read, but felt unsure about where to start making a difference? If you are looking for that push out of the house, the knowledge of where the world needs help, how to do it, and why, join New SCENE Magazine in our weekly series counting down to Off the Hook Arts SummerFest music festival: MISSION EARTH. This annual blending of art and science explores the depths of pairing chamber music and jazz with climate change and how we are impact the planet.
The idea behind this year’s SummerFest came about when visual artist Kate Doyle and Off the Hook Arts Artistic Director and composer Bruce Adolphe joined their skills into the audio/visual art installation Ouroboros. The piece honors the late Dr. Piers Sellers OBE – a British-American astronaut who flew in the Atlantis missions. Dr. Sellers passed away in December of 2016 after a lifetime of achievements that cultivated in three space shuttle missions, serving as Director of Earth Sciences at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and in his research on how the earth’s atmosphere and biospheres interact.
“Not only is what Earth scientists doing really good science, really interesting, but it doesn’t hurt that you get to save the world in the process…” – Dr. Piers Sellers, OBE.
Ouroboros will be displayed at CSU’s Lory Student Center Curfman Gallery in a Grand Opening event of the Festival on June 25th, where it will remain through September. SummerFest: MISSION EARTH events continue through July 20th, with numerous speakers ranging from the ostensibly unrelated fields of English, Arts, Economics, and Political Science, to members of NASA and atmospheric science researchers. There of course will be a plethora of musicians, including the world renowned Miami String Quartet, Triptych Jazz Trio, and Yo-Yo Ma’s SilkRoad Ensemble. In Off the Hook Arts STEAM style, there will also be a number of interactive family friendly events put on by the likes of CSU’s Little Shop of Physics and FORTCAST as part of their eight Academy Series for kids and their families.
As icing on the cake, a public (and undoubtedly private) reunion of Sellers’ fellow 20 member Goddard Space Center science team will take place in honor of their friend. A dying wish of Piers, this serves as perhaps the pinnacle of 2018’s already inspirational lineup.
Over the next couple of weeks, this series will introduce you to several of the event’s key coordinators, speakers, and performers. Stay up to date with what is happening and when, so when June roles around you’ll already know what events speak loudest to you.