A Sign in Space - WRETI: Writing in Response to ETI

Co-Hosts: Daniela de Paulis, Gregory Betts

Panelists: Tracie Morris, Jaap Blonk, Christian Bök, and Luigi Serafini

The implications of A Sign in Space by Daniela de Paulis, using a wealth of literary experience to engage with the cultural resonances of this artwork. The four established writers on the panel (including Tracie Morris, Jaap Blonk, Christian Bök, and Luigi Serafini) all plan to offer their productive impressions of this project. How might we write about aliens? How to respond to alien writing? What are the limits of our language in the face of radical Otherness?

These events will be recorded and shared wholly or in part on social media and other public platforms. Participants agree to have their videos and voice recorded and shared.

About A Sign in Space
A Sign in Space is a multidisciplinary art project conceived by artist Daniela De Paulis. De Paulis is leading a global team to send an encoded message from the European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) back to Earth, simulating a signal an advanced extraterrestrial civilization could eventually send to Earth. The message was “detected” by four radio astronomy observatories on Earth: the SETI Institute’s Allen Telescope Array (ATA), The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT), the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Medicina Radio Astronomical Station observatory managed by INAF (the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics). De Paulis and her team developed the encoded message, but its contents remain unknown, even to most of the collaborating partners.

The message was transmitted from the TGO on May 24 at 19:16 UTC/12:15 pm PDT.

The A Sign in Space team is hosting a series of Zoom-based discussions open to the public around topics that consider the societal implications of detecting a signal from an extraterrestrial civilization. The discussions will take place over 6-8 weeks after the transmission.

REGISTER HERE