Tuesday, May 4, 2021 
at the National Organisation of Research Professionals 2021 Congress

‘The Gift’ is an accessible installation that animates contemporary astrophysics research to open up metaphorical space for grief, loss, renewal, and care. It is co-created by Janani Balasubramanian and Dr. Natalie Gosnell, with creative producer Andrew Kircher. The Gift consists of an all-ages book—with illustrations by Amy Myers—and an original musical score by Tina-Hanaé Miller. It is designed as a largescale museum installation, a classroom teaching tool, and a private at-home experience. The work has been created with the generous support of The Public Theater, the Sundance Institute, the Guild of Future Architects, MAP Fund, Stanford University, Brooklyn College, Creativity & Innovation at Colorado College, The University of Colorado—Colorado Springs, The Tow Foundation, and the New York Community Trust. In this presentation for NORDP, we will discuss how opportunities for open research were crucial to the development of the work and how institutions can make space for—and resource—such innovations in authentic and mutual art-science co-creation. We will also facilitate a Q&A, where participants reflect on how our co-creation process (and 'The Gift' itself) might impact their own research development practice.

See the project page on the Guild of Future Architects site for information on plans for The Gift in 2021 and 2022.