BLACKROCK CASTLE OBSERVATORY – THE WALLS PROJECT
I was very happy to get back to Cork and this time to get a big 16meter by 5.5 meter painting of Spacer. This one is an extension of the loves me loves me not painting presented initially for the European Space Agencies Living Planet Symposium in Milan earlier this year.
After chatting with the guys in the ESA and Blackrock Castle Observatory we deicided that we would do another version of Spacer plucking a daisy. Again, this one is about climate and the choice we make with nature and the environment so its great to continue that message and also as part celebration for the Moon landings 50 years ago.
This project wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the Edel and Gabe at the Walls project and is Commissioned by CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory, it is funded through Cork City Council’s new City Centre Placemaking Fund. In February 2019, Cork City Council issued an open call for submissions which would “enhance, improve, and enliven people’s experience of Cork city centre” through this fund and ten projects were successful.
The team at The Observatory also used new mural as an anchor for City Centre outreach activities, including as a stop on a new walking trail, “The Moon Walk” that chronicles the events of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, using Cork City landmarks as milestones. The walk was launched earlier today as NASA Astronaut Dan Tani paid a visit to The Observatory.
For more information see : https://www.bco.ie/events/cork-moon-walk/
CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory lead celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. While RTÉ are broadcasting a live commemorative show from the observatory itself on Saturday the 20th July, the BCO observatory team will bring the space experience to the heart of the city by transforming Nano Nagle Place and St Peter’s Cork into The Moon and The Earth respectively for the whole weekend.
“These celebrations are an important reminder of humanity’s most daring and impressive achievement” says Dr Niall Smith, Head of CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory. “I know that seeing this event live had a deeply profound impact on me, and here at the observatory, we’re hoping that these anniversary celebrations will serve to rekindle that inspirational spirit for a generation that wasn’t lucky enough to see this incredible moment first-hand”.
In honour of the iconic anniversary, the observatory will host a brand-new exhibit from July 22nd, on all things Apollo. They will also open up a whole new area that allows visitors to observe some of the real-time research taking place in their labs.
To find out more about the celebrations in Cork, visit www.bco.ie/events/cork-moon-walk/
To find out more about the RTE broadcast live from CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/1061059-the-day-we-landed-on-the-moon
