Space to Earth

Actually, it is. NASA named one of Mars’ craters after the Kent town back in 1976. And here on Earth, it’s sent our students’ imaginations racing. We joined forces with Maidstone Area Arts Partnership and Baltic Art Form to challenge students in Ashford to create original, space-inspired artworks to display in Maidstone’s first International Arts Festival.

We had a stellar team supporting the mission

Space artist, Helen Schell, scientist, NASA associate and founder of Sci-Art Exchange, Dr Jancy McPhee, and our managing director and UK space ambassador, Heather MacRae, encouraged students from four schools to go where no artist has gone before. No ideas or mediums were off limits, and we were blown away by the fashion designs, fine art and poetry our students created for the exhibition.

It doesn’t stop there.

Project Mars is looking for intergalactic artwork until 31 August 2018.

If you’d like to shoot a film or design a poster for the competition, here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Let NASA’s free image library inspire you
   Look at the colours, shapes and patterns in the pictures. What do they remind you of? Be as abstract, or as literal as you like.
2. Use all the senses in your work
   NASA’s photos are stunning, but don’t just think about the things you can see. What would it feel like in space? What would you hear? Can you imagine the smell or the taste of space?
3. Remember, there’s no ‘wrong’ answer
   So much of space is still unexplored, so who’s to say what’s possible and what’s not in your poster or film? What do you think life in deep space would be like? Forget what you’ve seen on SciFi shows. This is your story and your interpretation.

Good luck.

www.projectmarscompetition.com