Netherlands treated to ancient astronomical knowledge in art

Just like people in many countries, the SKA Observatory’s indigenous art astronomy collection is venturing out into the world once more. The Shared Sky artworks last left the SKAO headquarters in April 2018, making their way to the European Commission Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Shared Sky: Canvases of the Universe opened in middle October in the Netherlands at Leiden University’s Old Observatory, the oldest remaining university observatory in the world. Together with the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and the SKAO, the Old Observatory is sponsoring this exhibition of artworks by Aboriginal Australian and South African artists.

During its first two weekends on display more than a thousand people came to admire the collection, said the exhibition coordinator of the Old Observatory’s visitor centre, Aiofe Taylor. In total, 20,000 visitors are expected to view the exhibition before it ends in May 2022.

Shared Sky: Canvases of the Universe, an exhibition of Indigenous astronomy artworks by South African and Australian artists that are on display until May 2022.

CREDIT: Leiden Observatory/Elinoor Veldman Photography

“Visitors responded very positively to the exhibition,” she said. “One person was interested in the link between culture and the narratives applied to the patterns of the night sky that the exhibition presented. A group of young people who visited the exhibition were curious about the celestial mechanics that cause the ‘Emu in the Sky’ [an Aboriginal Australian constellation] to appear to change position throughout the year.”

“Questions such as these show how valuable art is in sparking people’s interest in astronomy,” said the Old Observatory’s education and community engagement manager, Sanne van Gammeren.

“Our aim is to get the public to wonder about the wonders of the Universe. We were therefore so excited to host the Shared Sky exhibition as it is a very approachable way of connecting people with astronomy.”

By Anim van Wyk (SKAO)

CREDIT: Leiden Observatory/Elinoor Veldman Photography

CREDIT: Leiden Observatory/Elinoor Veldman Photography

In Leiden over a weekend?

Visit the exhibition by using the entrance through Hortus Botanicus Leiden every Saturday and Sunday until 15 May 2022.