Science Theme
The theme for this workshop is Oceans & Ice: Exploring Icy Worlds with NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission. Dr. Robert Pappalardo from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will tell us about the upcoming mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, and we’ll be treated to a recording and animation of US Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s poem for Europa Clipper. Kim Abeles will share her work focused around geography, people, and the environment focused around social discourse and civic engagement, including collaborations with the CA Science Center, National Park Service, and others. See the agenda to learn more about others who will join with interdisciplinary perspectives on science, technology, space, and art. Speaker bios are included in the Agenda.
OTHER GUESTS:
Dr. Joseph Meier, ArtCenter College of Design – geneticist, space scientist, technologist
Michael Carroll – space artist, author, mission artist for Europa Clipper
Dr. Erin Leonard, JPL – planetary scientist, geologic mapper
Dr. Steve Vance, JPL – planetary scientist, ocean modeler
Schedule
This workshop will take place over a 3 day schedule, nominally from 10-6 pm Friday-Sunday. The optional virtual day will take place July 29/30th over a 2 hour block by participant vote. Participants are expected to attend all three in-person days. Deeper and more immersive experiences require time, and we recognize the length may be intimidating for some. However, the schedule is designed with plenty of breaks and the unstructured art-making sessions allow for people to move around, talk, work at their own pace, and take a breather.
The agenda is structured to intersperse the science, theme, and art talks with art-making and discussion activities. Day 1 is focused on the theme of Space & Society, with talks introducing the science theme as well as discussing art as a tool for inquiry and discourse. Day 2 is about half talks / half art-making, with the morning block focused on Science-Art Connections leading into the first lab session that afternoon. Day 3 is nearly all art-making, as well as a demo in the morning focused around accessing public data from space missions and another science demo from one of the guest speakers.
Workshop Agenda. Some small details are still in flux, but agenda is more or less complete.
Logistics
Registration for this workshop is capped at ~30 participants and has a $50 ($20 for students) fee to cover materials. The event will be held in person following all local and venue COVID-19 mandates.
APPLICATION: Fill out the application to attend this event here. You will receive an acceptance email within two weeks (typically shorter) if we are able to invite you to participate. This process is not intended to exclude individuals! However the number of slots is limited. If this event is already full, we would love to have you at a future event.
VENUE INFORMATION: The workshop will be held at Livery Studio, a historic building located in the heart of Old Town Pasadena (155 S Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105). The Livery is conveniently located to hotels, restaurants, and across the street from Pasadena Central Park. Parking Info is provided below.
APPLICATION DEADLINES & ACCEPTANCE: Applications for this workshop will be evaluated until the workshop is full, up until one week before the event (June 2). Participants will be notified by email of acceptance within two weeks (usually one) of submitting the application starting April 24.
REGISTRATION: This workshop is supported financially by the Project ESPRESSO node of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). The $50 registration fee ($20 for students) will go towards art supplies and other mundane costs. Since we accept people on a rolling basis, we are able to hold your spot temporarily for one week after sending your acceptance email. You may officially claim your spot in the workshop by paying your registration fee. For bureaucracy reasons, it’s simplest and cheapest for all parties to collect the money to a personal account. You may pay your fee via Paypal or Zelle (both using jmolaro (at) gmail.com). I will send you a receipt once received. If you need to arrange a different method, just get in touch. After one week, any unpaid spots may be offered to new applicants.
CANCELLATION: You may cancel your registration and receive a refund up until one month prior to the event (June 9). Registrations paid after this date are not eligible for refund.
COVID-19 VACCINATION: This event will be held in person following all local and venue COVID-19 mandates. If infection rates stay reasonably low during the time of the workshop, masks will remain optional since we will be a relatively small group. I will bring a large air filter for the main room to provide a little bit of added protection. However, masks could become required if rates significantly increase. With any event, this is a challenging choice to make. If you are concerned about this at the workshop, please feel free to reach out to me.
ACCESSIBILITY: If you have accessibility needs, please let us know and we’ll do everything we can to accommodate you. As workshop lead, I myself am disabled so I understand that needs can be diverse.
TRAVEL: For those of you traveling to attend, we do not provide any hotel room blocks or other accommodations. In general, hotels in Old Town Pasadena (Colorado Ave between Fair Oaks and Lake) will provide the most convenience in terms of walkable restaurants/stuff and will be within a 10 min drive to the venue. Though, you will find cheaper accommodations farther east on Colorado if you are willing to drive for food. On the upside, Old Town has many parking garages so you won’t be forced to hunt for street parking in that case. Feel free to get in touch with other questions. If anyone is interested in splitting accommodations with another traveling participant, let me know and I will send a request for interest to the group to connect people. If you’re flying, consider whether you want to fly into LAX or Burbank. LAX has direct flights almost anywhere and often can be cheaper. However, be prepared that it’s a beast of an airport and 45-90 min drive from Pasadena depending on traffic. If you aren’t renting a car, you’ll want to look up how the rideshare system works. I’ve never rented a car there, but you may still have to transfer via shuttle bus to the rental car service. The advantage to Burbank is that it’s tiny, takes 10 minutes to get through security, super easy to navigate and get rides from, and only a half hour from Pasadena. However, you’re likely to need a layover which many people dislike. So you’ll have to choose your poison.
PARKING: The Livery doesn’t have dedicated parking, but there are a few lots and garages very close by. See map! The surface lots ($10/day) aren’t huge, so if they look full just head for a garage ($12/day). I don’t recommend street parking for participants, but it’s an option for speakers only coming for a short time.
EATING: There is an hour and a half schedule for lunch each day, and lots of options within walking distance. I recommend taking a look on Google Maps for the types of food you like! A few places I enjoy are: Dog Haus, Amara’s Cafe, Edwin Mills, Barney’s Beanery, and King Taco. But honestly there’s a ton of options. For coffee, there’s the 85 Degrees C Bakery Cafe and Amara’s Cafe just up the street.
WHAT TO BRING: For the Meet & Greet, I’m asking everyone to bring something that represents you in some way (a piece of art, paper you’ve written, family photo, favorite book, etc) to help introduce yourself to others. The only other thing you need to bring is yourself! A computer or internet-enabled smart phone is definitely helpful for a couple of the art labs, but not usually required. If you don’t have one, a way to do it without is provided, you can partner with someone else, or you can choose a different activity. Basics like pencils and paper are helpful if you want to take notes. We will provide an array of art supplies for all the art activities, including paints, pens, paper, clay, etc. That being said, they aren’t anything fancy so you are also welcome to bring your own!
AVAILABLE FACILITIES: The space will be set up with large tables and chairs for use throughout the weekend, as well as scattered tables, couches, and armchairs throughout the facility. There are all a few breakout areas we can use to spread out during lab sessions. There is a kitchenette in the main space we can use with a sink, microwave, and other both art and food related amenities. There are all-gender restrooms on the same floor.