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Monday, Feb 23, 2026
This month’s projects orbit a shared question: how do signals become meaning? Laurent Grasso’s forthcoming film follows a vehicle tuned to whispers from the sky, while our Cosmic Consciousness artists explore whether molecules from distant atmospheres can be translated into poetry and sensation. Across exhibitions, workshops, and conversations, artists in the SETI AIR program continue to treat technology, chemistry, and perception not simply as tools but as languages through which we understand contact. Each work offers a different receiver for the unknown, inviting us to consider how we listen as much as what we hope to hear.
As always, make sure to catch up on our SETI AIR news and events.
Clear skies,
Bettina
AIR Program Spotlight
Laurent Grasso: Cosmic Drive
Our Algorithmic Imaginings resident Laurent Grasso has entered the second year of his residency and has begun production on a new art film.
The work will premiere at MASS MoCA later this year and travel to ZKM in Germany in 2027. With filming scheduled for spring and summer, we look forward to following the project as it develops. Here is the synopsis of the film:
A lone driver crosses a vast, desert landscape, haunted by strange signals in the sky and spectral whispers on the radio. The car is more than a vehicle; it is a metaphysical vessel attuned to signals from other worlds. Blurring the boundaries between road movie and visionary meditation, the film transforms landscapes, machines, and living beings into receivers of cosmic forces. Through hypnotic imagery and uncanny detail, it explores the thresholds between the human and the non-human, the visible and the invisible.
Mark your calendars
Metaphysical Maze (Solo exhibition)
MASS MoCA
November 7, 2026–January 16, 2028
Current exhibition
Arjuna (Group exhibition)
Arduna Pavilion, AlUla, Saudi Arabia
February 1 - April 15, 2026
Watch SETI AIR
SETI Live: Exoplanetary Poetry: AI, Chemistry, and Alien Communication
With daniela brill estrada, Bart Kuipers, Julie-Michèle Morin
Our Cosmic Consciousness residency artists discuss an art-science collaboration that imagines how language might emerge from alien worlds.
Hosts: Bettina Forget and Cosmic Consciousness residency advisor Gregory Betts.
Recorded Live on February 19, 2026, 11 a.m. PST
SETI AIR Artist News & Events
Richelle Ellis
Open Studio + Reception
Richelle Ellis Studio
Los Angeles
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Bio-Plastic Beats: Building Living Musical Interfaces
Workshop
February 19, 2026
San Francisco
Journal article in Acta Astronautica
de Paulis, D., Mignone, C., Forget, B., Fabbri, I., De Vito, G., & Marchis, F. (2026). Global outreach and cultural impact of A Sign in Space, an interdisciplinary simulation of a First Contact scenario. Acta Astronautica, 242, 151–160.
News
Related News
May 19, 2026
SETI AIR Newsletter - May 2026
#AIR #SETI AIR Newsletter #Speculative Life #Bettina Forget #Xin Liu #Laurent Grasso #Daniela Brill Estrada #Jonathon Keats #Brittany Nelson #Daniela de Paulis
May 4, 2026
SETI Institute Announces Nominees for the Speculative Life BioArt Residency
Six international artists shortlisted for a new residency at the intersection of art, astrobiology, and biotechnology #AIR #SETI Institute #Speculative Life #Astrobiology #Danielle Siembieda #Nathalie Cabrol
Apr 22, 2026
SETI AIR Newsletter - April 2026
#AIR #SETI AIR Newsletter #Bettina Forget #Richelle Ellis #Laurent Grasso #Xin Liu #Daniela Brill Estrada #Jonathon Keats #Martin Wilner #Scott Kildall
Apr 15, 2026
2025 SETI Institute Carl Sagan Center Activity Report
#Activity Reports #Carl Sagan Center #Outreach #Education #AIR #Community
Apr 6, 2026
Women With Impact: Reclaiming the Moon's Missing Half
#Bettina Forget #AIR #Artemis II #Moon #NASA Missions and Observatories
Mar 23, 2026
SETI AIR Newsletter - March 2026
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May 19, 2026
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#Jonathon Keats
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May 4, 2026
SETI Institute Announces Nominees for the Speculative Life BioArt Residency
Six international artists shortlisted for a new residency at the intersection of art, astrobiology, and biotechnology
#AIR
#SETI Institute
#Speculative Life
#Astrobiology
#Danielle Siembieda
#Nathalie Cabrol
Apr 22, 2026
#AIR
#SETI AIR Newsletter
#Bettina Forget
#Richelle Ellis
#Laurent Grasso
#Xin Liu
#Daniela Brill Estrada
#Jonathon Keats
#Martin Wilner
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SETI AIR Newsletter - April 2026
Apr 15, 2026
#Activity Reports
#Carl Sagan Center
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#Education
#AIR
#Community
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Apr 6, 2026
#Bettina Forget
#AIR
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Women With Impact: Reclaiming the Moon's Missing Half
Mar 23, 2026
#AIR
#SETI AIR Newsletter
#Gregory Betts
#Cosmic Consciousness
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SETI AIR Newsletter - March 2026
Research
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SkyMapper • SETI • Citizen Science • Astronomy
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Virtual Planetary Laboratory
How can we best assess whether an exoplanet supports life? #VPL
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SkyMapper and the SETI Institute are connecting educators, students and the public to live astronomical observations through a distributed astronomical network.
#SkyMapper
#SETI
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May 5, 2026
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How can we best assess whether an exoplanet supports life?
#VPL
Apr 16, 2026
Discovery and Futures Lab
What happens if life beyond Earth is discovered? The Discovery and Futures Lab at the SETI Institute fosters novel and anticipatory research at the intersection of science, society, our planet, and the search for life beyond Earth.
#Discovery and Futures Lab
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