On Saturday 4th October 2014, marking the anniversary of the launch of Sputnik Flight I, European Space Agency and World Space Week 2014, RadarWorks will be taking over Manchester’s iconic and newly refurbished Central Library to host SpAcE~LiFe – an extra-terrestrial adventure.

Comprising of avant-garde flautist, Gavin Osborn and Nominated British Composer of the Year Michael Mayhew, who is cited as ‘one of the most original and searching artists currently working in the UK’ (John E McGrath, Director National Theatre of Wales), RadarWorks are proponents of a notation system for composing Music Art Performance called Hyper-Graphic Score.

In the Reading Room, you will be able to take a trip to the moon and back on board the Apollo 8 flight through Michael Mayhew’s Mechanical Air, whose electro-acoustic score will fill the room with the mechanised sound of an industrialised atmosphere, complemented by Gavin Osborn breathing life into the electronic sound through his live flute performance. Vocalist, Nina Whiteman, will be joining RadarWorks to provide vocals for this unique sensory experience.

Mayhew has been nominated and awarded on a National & International level as a writer, choreographer, performer and composer, his work being cited as something that “changes lives”.

Mechanical Air: Out in space we float and watch our world spinning in the vastness of space.

Motion Graphic artist, Johny Byrne, is the creator of the accompanying animation to the piece which will be projected onto the grand dome of the Reading Room by Mat Birchall & Tao Lashley-Burnley.

The Archives+ space will also be taken over by SpAcE~LiFe, where you will be able to view 0point3recurring’s dynamic installation, ‘The Sun at Night’. Here, you will have the opportunity to view a 30 minute film comprised of thousands of High Definition images of the sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which have been compressed into one year’s worth of footage to create this impressive piece about our most important star. Accompanying the visual, you will also hear a re-mix by DJ Entropy, of the famous ‘Golden Disks’, which were placed on Voyagers 1 & 2 by Carl Sagan in 1978.

There will also be lots of opportunities to learn more about space life:

  • Manchester’s oldest Astronomy Observatory Group Godlee, will be on hand to take you through the patterns and structures of the universe.
  • Meet Professor Donald Kurtz who is based at the University of Central Lancashire teaching Astrophysics, but spends much of his time researching the skies from locations all over the world. Professor Kurtz will take you on a quest of questions across the Universe, “Are we Alone?” “Are we the only living species in the Universe?” “Is there a music of the Spheres? Do stars sing? What do they sound like?”.  He will also guide you through the Kepler Space Mission, providing a revolutionary take on how we perceive, hear and experience space, stars and planets – from every angle!
  • Meet Andy Newsam from the European Space Agency, who are celebrating 50 years of Space exploration.

This inter-galactic evening voyage will be drawn to a close by a special guest (to be announced), who will draw you towards the end of your SpAcE~LiFe journey, with a DJ set featuring classic re-mixes of sounds, songs, and the beats of space.

Supported by Arts Council England & Library Live
Image credit: Mechanical Air: Michael Mayhew

SpAcE~LiFe
Central Library, Manchester
Reading Room
4th October 2014
18:30-23:30
 
Cost £20.00
£15 (early bird) /£12 (student) /£10 (student early bird).
Buy Tickets: https://billetto.co.uk/en/events/spacelife/tickets