The Australian Institute of Art History (AIAH) at the University of Melbourne is collaborating with the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) on a new annual award. The aim is to foster new and innovative research and public engagement by early career professionals. The AIAH Early Career Research Award of $25,000 is granted to Mary McGillivray and Kirsten Banks for their project “ArtStronomy: Communicating Intersections Between Art and Astronomy Through History”.
GRANT RECIPIENTS
$25,000 funded by the Australian Institute of Art History
Mary McGillivray and Kirsten Banks, ‘ArtStronomy: Communicating Intersections Between Art and Astronomy Through History’
Project Summary
Join ABC TikTok/Instagram sensations, Wiradjuri Astrophysicist Dr. Kirsten Banks and Art Historian Mary McGillivray as they embark on a captivating journey unravelling the stories behind some of the most fascinating celestial artworks in history.
In the public’s imagination, art and science are often pitted against one another – art as subjective and emotional, science as objective and analytical. ArtStronomy is an interdisciplinary public communication project that challenges these assumptions by revealing the long-held connections between these fields.
Leveraging Dr. Kirsten Banks’ expertise in astrophysics and Mary McGillivray’s research into pre-modern visual culture, this series will explore history’s diverse depictions of the cosmos, from European Renaissance paintings to Aboriginal artworks tied to celestial phenomena. For example, in one episode of this series we will explore an Aboriginal carving of the sky emu constellation on Camaraygal land that marks key events in the seasonal cycle of emus – a powerful example of how Indigenous art encodes astronomical knowledge. And in another episode we will investigate the prophetic powers of Halley’s Comet (which appears in our sky once every 75 years 5 months and 19 days) and its many appearances in European medieval art – from the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry, to Giotto di Bondone’s depiction of the star of Bethlehem.
With Kirsten and Mary’s extensive experience in public communication, ArtStronomy invites the public to reflect on how we interpret the universe – past, present, and future – while bringing these two seemingly disparate disciplines together in unexpected and illuminating ways.