Virtual art-science festival registration is open: The Illuminated Universe, April 23-25

Creativity is an essential ingredient in both the sciences and the arts, and a growing movement across the U.S. is exploring the fertile and often surprising intersection of the two. At Illinois Physics, Professor Smitha Vishveshwara has taken a leading role in creating opportunities for the public and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) students to experience and celebrate the fusion of arts and science through course offerings, student exhibits, and live performance arts.

Now, Vishveshwara and her colleagues at Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe (ICASU) and Illinois Physics are putting on a virtual arts and sciences festival entitled The Illuminated Universe, featuring the work of scientists and artists. The multidisciplinary event taking place April 23 through 25 is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required.

The presentations will span multiple themes, starting with “Cosmic Flights” on Friday night at 6:00 P.M. The second session’s theme, “When Art and Science Collide,” kicks off Saturday at 11 A.M. Then Saturday afternoon, the theme “Quantum Enchantment” will start at 2:00 P.M. The festival’s final theme “Art of Life” starts Sunday at 12 P.M. (all times are in Central Daylight Time CDT). Each session will run about one-and-a-half to two hours long.

Working scientists and professional artists from UIUC, Brown University, Fermilab, and Montana State University will present in different media, including music, photography, visual arts, performing arts, poetry, and creative writing. Some presentations have been prerecorded and some will be live. The format is interactive, and the audience will have the opportunity to chat with and pose questions to the presenters.

The festival is an opportunity to come together and be inspired, after more than a year of COVID-19 social distancing.

Vishveshwara comments, “We're so excited to be doing this and how it's all coming together. We began playing with the germ of an idea for this festival in the Fall as a way of offering light for the times. It has taken flight through the convergence of magnificent scientists, artists, and communicators who have been so gracious, diverse, and creative in their contributions. The Illuminated Universe dissolves traditional boundaries in exploring who we are from the fundamental quantum building blocks to life, to the human spirit, to the Earth and cosmos we live in.

“It’s worth mentioning, in these times and in virtual space, our intent was to make it low effort to contribute, either by having people share creative works (or excerpts thereof) that were already available, or by having people give short presentations or participate in a panel discussion. Yet, we received beautiful new pieces and people spent significant time and effort on creating them—it has been moving to watch this process! We are both excited and grateful to be premiering them.”

Outreach coordinator Jessica Raley notes, “We are probably all getting Zoom fatigue, for lack of a better term. Here is a chance to participate in a virtual festival that will offer beauty, excitement, mystery, and inspiration, through the Zoom platform. People need art right now. It's been a tough year, but we can still celebrate the joy of creativity and discovery. That's the purpose of this event."

In addition to Vishveshwara and Raley, the organizing committee includes Lindsay Olson, Rebecca Wiltfong, Patrick Snyder, and Taiya Tkachuk.

The Illuminated Universe virtual art-science festival is supported in part by donations from Illinois Physics alumni and friends to the Excellence in Physics Fund.

For more information and to register for the event, please visit the event website at https://art-science-festival-2021.physics.illinois.edu.