Makowa: The Worlds Above Us

Makowa takes an expansive view of the worlds above: constellations, birds, eclipses, clouds, astronauts, and more, over day and night and throughout the seasons and eras. The exhibit will juxtapose artistic renderings of celestial events with cutting-edge telescopic imaging. It will draw together stories about how stars came to be where they are and how stars help people know where they are. The exhibit asks us to participate in a long lineage of observers who have made sense of the worlds above us. 

Night photography, pottery, textiles, interviews, and maps are among the exhibit components. A small plantarium experience will allow visitors to immerse themselves in a changing sky. Interviews will highlight the first Indigenous astronaut John Harrington (Chickasaw), along with a range of Indigenous astrophysicists, skywatchers, and artists. 

Throughout the exhibition, we ask the questions: What do you see? What are the stories? What are the sciences? Through these lenses, traditional ecological knowledge, storytelling, art, physics, and meaning come into conversation. Join us to find your own answers in the worlds above us.