Marea Atkinson         

School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia 

Abstract

In Search of Starlight

In 2007, a small multifarious meeting The Starlight Initiative was held in La Palma, Spain to address the loss of the night sky. The series of INSAP conferences were cited as influential in broadening the field of new knowledge between culture and astronomy. Starlight was designed as the first in a series of catalyst meetings to address and establish the scientific, cultural and environmental impact of the night sky, with the 2007 meeting culminating in drafting the Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight.

Biographical Details

Marea Atkinson is Studio Head of Printmaking and Textiles at the South Australian School of Art. Her research field includes art and astronomy. In 2007 she was invited to participate in the Starlight Initiative, La Palma Spain, to address the cultural, scientific and environmental  impact of starlight on human culture. In 2007-2008 she received awards for her art work from the Jodrell Bank Observatory, University of Manchester, The Canadian Association of Physics and the University of Waterloo, Canada. In 2009 she exhibited in the exhibition Astronomical Aspirations, Salles Miro, UNESCO Paris, in conjunction with the launch of the International Year of Astronomy. She has participated in INSAP since 1999.