On 25 June 2025, the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) was pleased to host its first-ever art talk that featured our Artist-in-Residence, Kyriaki Goni, and Marlies Wirth, Curator of Digital Culture and Head of the Design Collection at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). The public discussion explored Earth Observation, digital infrastructures, emerging intelligences, climate care, and planetary futures.
The event convened guests from both the space sector and the art world, at Vienna’s historic MuseumsQuartier, connecting the value of space with art, culture, and community.
Ms. Goni had the chance to speak about her ongoing project within ESPI’s S+T+ARTS EC(H)O Residency Framework, “Sensing the Heat“, which responds to the fourth challenge of the residency programme, “European Space Policy in the Age of Sustainability“. Her project will integrate satellite imagery and AI with non-human intelligence into narratives of sustainability and resilience to explore the critical issues of climate change and population growth.
Moreover, the discussion underlined:
- The important role of artists, curators, and art institutions in bringing the value of space to communities outside of the space sector.
- The opportunities to leverage art and storytelling to better understand climate care.
- The utility of space technologies, data, and services in addressing the existential questions posed by the climate crisis.
Considering the increased human access of space and the intensification of space exploration in our solar system, the foremost challenge at ESPI lies in elevating space exploration in the eyes of policymakers and illustrating how space technologies can contribute to solving pressing societal and environmental challenges, topics that will be explored within ESPI’s recently established Centre of Sustainability and Resilience (CSR).
