Friday 4th December 2026 The Sustained Gaze

Interdisciplinary perspectives, visual arts practice and the curation of ‘Cosmos: The Art of Observing Space’

Ione Parkin RWA

The main image is Dust – Gas – Light (oil on canvas) © Ione Parkin

Bath-based visual artist Ione Parkin RWA presents a richly-illustrated talk, discussing the curation of the art-science exhibition Cosmos: the Art of Observing Space at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol (Jan-April 2026), touring to Aberdeen Art Gallery (Nov 2026-April 2027). She will share insights into the themes and scope of the exhibition which includes work by over 30 contemporary artists and historical items loaned from public collections including the Royal Astronomical Society and the BRLSI. She will discuss her paintings relating to astronomy, cosmology and planetary atmospherics and her interdisciplinary dialogue with space scientists over a 10-year period.

 

Ione Parkin is an artist, curator and elected Royal West of England Academician (RWA).

She is an Honorary Visiting Fellow of the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, and co-leads the art–astronomy project Creativity and Curiosity www.creativityandcuriosity.co.uk. She has exhibited widely including New York, Baltimore, London, Berlin, Glasgow, Birmingham and the Outer Hebrides and has contributed to interdisciplinary conferences in the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. She delivered the John Brown Memorial Lecture at the Royal Astronomical Society in 2024. https://ioneparkin.com/about.

Tickets (£4 – £6, proceeds to the BRLSI) available shortly.