Artists, scientists (and aliens?) meet up at HAYP 10.0: CETI Lab

Humanity has been pondering the existence of life on other planets for a century, and actively searching for and sending out messages in space since the 60s.

This fall, through an artists residency, a collective exhibition, and an event week at the Byurakan Observatory, HAYP Pop Up Gallery is bringing together creatives and astrophysicists to imagine communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence. HAYP 10.0: CETI lab was inspired by the historical CETI conference that took place in 1971 – on that occasion, scientists from the US and the Soviet Union gathered at the Byurakan Observatory for a week-long discussion on extraterrestrial intelligence (you can read about it here).

Yesterday morning, four visual artists, one sound artist and a writer took their quarters in Byurakan. Karen Mirzoyan, photographer; Sona Manukyan, Photographer & Architect; Manan Torosyan, Sculptor & Visual Artist; Samvel Saghatelian, Painter & Architect; Arto Vaun, Writer; and VHSound, Sound Artist will be in Byurakan for a one week residency program where they will have the chance to explore the many facilities of the observatory, interact with researchers and learn about their process. The HAYP team worked with the Byurakan Observatory to organize several events, from scientific talks and brainstorming to star-gazing nights and tours so that the artists deepen their understanding of astrophysics, the history of Byurakan, and find inspiration to develop artistic concepts.

Intrigued? Don’t worry, you’ll get to see the results. HAYP 10: CETI Lab will open to the public on September 16, 2017. For ten days, the Byurakan observatory will be transformed with a site-specific exhibition taking place throughout its gardens, telescope towers, conference halls and satellites. After a week of intense research with the Byurakan scientists, the artists in residency will have explored the possibility of life in space and ways of communicating with it, through audio installation, photography, writing, painting, and sculpture.

Throughout the exhibition week, visitors will be able to attend diverse events and participate in interactive activities: guided tours of the exhibit, star-gazing nights, musical and dance performances. The full program is coming soon, but here’s a sneak peek in the meantime:

• Berlin-based sound artist Lvis Mejia decided to release his upcoming album at the Byurakan Observatory, on September 16. You read that correctly- Byurakan is now cooler than Berlin.
• We’re organizing a space-inspired al fresco dinner in the Observatory’s gardens, in partnership with Zulal, Keush’s new sister bubbly. We’re hoping that those delicious bubbles will facilitate conversations between the guests, and outer space. (More info on how to get your exclusive tickets soon!)

If you want to know more about the residency, the exhibit, and be the first to sign up for the events at HAYP 10: CETI Lab, sign up to our newsletter here, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Love,
The HAYP Team