Noche Zero – Our time to embrace darkness
16th – 18th October 2012
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Noche Zero is an inspirational event about the role of darkness in life, lighting design and the modern city.
From October 16-18th, in a world first, astronomers, environmentalists, lighting designers, film-makers, and healthcare professors are meeting in the Atacama Desert in Chile to celebrate the benefits of dark skies and to work together to re-establish our connection to darkness.
Mark Major, lighting designer and founding partner of Speirs + Major, will be speaking at Noche Zero about his views on the problems inherent in proliferation of artificial light, hoping to provoke debate on the careful use of light and also the value of darkness.
Lectures will be filmed and will be streamed at a later date.
As the world population keeps expanding and the migration from rural areas contributes to the explosive growth of cities, there is more need than ever to consider the importance of darkness regarding light pollution and its impact on human health, ecosystems and energy. How to manage the balance between light and nightfall within the future city becomes a key issue in urban design.
Organised by DIAV (Chile), Light Collective (UK) and UCN (Atacama), Noche Zero is an educational summit and dark night experience in San Pedro de Atacama. This collaboration is targeted at an international multidisciplinary group of influential people linked to lighting design, culture, art and heritage, astronomy, neurobiology and biology. The aim is to connect design and science, celebrate darkness and create a joined methodology for lighting and urban design in order to preserve the dark sky.
Program
Tuesday 16th : Seminar + Valley of the Moon
Wednesday 17: Seminar + Night Event
Thursday 18: The Atacama Manifesto at Salar de Atacama + Night observation
Running alongside, Noche Zero Public events in San Pedro de Atacama
Tuesday 16: “Viaje a las Estrellas” (Stars Trek) – Astronomy workshop for kids
Wednesday 17: The Light Box - Lighting Design Workshop for kids
Noche Zero Share
Thursday 16th until Saturday 21st: Public Photograph Exhibition: 50 pictures of the Universe. ESO 50th Aniversary
Monday 15th: Star Film Festival, San Pedro de Atacama main square: “Nostalgia de la Luz” a film by Patricio Guzmán
Tuesday 16th: Star Film Festival, San Pedro de Atacama main square: “The City Dark” a film by Ian Cheney. Ian will be presenting the film himself.
The Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth with the clearest sky on the planet making it one of the most important areas for astronomical observation worldwide. The most impressive starry skies will make the perfect backdrop to this unique opportunity to hear the multiple viewpoints of leading experts and to contribute to a new way of seeing and understanding the role of darkness in our world.
For more information: www.nochezero.org