EARTH to SPACE festival hosts Foster + Partners and Cai Guo-Qiang
Foster + Partners’ lunar habitats and Cai Guo-Qiang’s fireworks show up at the EARTH to SPACE Festival in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. From March 28th to April 20th, 2025, the center hosts musicians, astronauts, poets, physicists, visual artists, and engineers. The event invites visitors to explore perspectives on the natural world, including architecture on Mars and the Moon. Foster + Partners and Cai Guo-Qiang present their exhibition and interactive installations, respectively.
Aside from them, the festival hosts the U.S. premiere of The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks, a film presenting the Apollo moon missions and future crewed surface missions. It comes with a 360-degree projection that runs through April 20th in Studio K at the center. Then, the festival brings together experts from different fields to exchange ideas and perspectives that extend beyond the Kennedy Center.
all images courtesy of Foster + Partners, unless stated otherwise
From Earth to Space and Back exhibition
For Norman Foster as well as Foster + Partners, they host the US premiere of their exhibition From Earth to Space and Back. It opens on March 28th during the EARTH to SPACE Festival. The show includes scale models, 3D-printed structures for the Moon, and films that explore the potential of building on Mars. Visitors can also see the model of Spaceport America in New Mexico, designed as a base for space tourism.
There’s also the research on 3D-printed habitats for the Moon and Mars by the studio. They aim to contribute to new construction methods using advanced metal and concrete printing. These models also explore how habitat designs for Mars and the Moon can be ideal for use on Earth. The show demonstrates works by Brendan Murphy, Jitish Kallat, and Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm alongside the installation Wave: From Space to Ocean. In other parts of the center, other artists, including Cai Guo-Qiang, present their installations and performances.
NASA Lunar cutaway model showing outfitting | photo by Aaron Hargreaves, courtesy of Foster + Partners
Interactive firework installation using AI model
Artist Cai Guo-Qiang also presents his work during the EARTH to SPACE Festival in the John F. Kennedy Center. It’s Interspecies Love Letter, an interactive exhibition at the center’s Skylight Pavilion. He collaborates with his custom AI model, cAITM, to realize the project. It features a glass and mirror gunpowder painting, resembling fireworks on display. The exhibition focuses on the creative process behind Interspecies Love Letter: Sky Painting for EARTH to SPACE festival. The artist even demonstrates an animation by cAITM as well as a documentary video of sky painting.
Visitors can view Cai Guo-Qiang’s creative sketches and gunpowder painting studies produced by a cAITM-powered robotic arm. These include a self-introduction video, a participatory fireworks co-creation installation, and documentary videos of cAITM’s previous works. EARTH to SPACE is the third installment of the Kennedy Center’s decade-long initiative focused on arts and nature. Inspired by President Kennedy’s efforts that led to the first moon landing in 1969, the festival brings together artistic and scientific exploration at the Center.
view of NASA Lunar cutaway model showing outfitting at the present time | photo by Aaron Hargreaves
In other programs, the festival includes a launch performance by the STARMUS All Stars band, astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, STARMUS cofounder and astrophysicist Garik Israelian, and quantum mind reader David Zambuka. There’s also the Kennedy Center’s Youth Ambassador for the Arts & Environment, Aneeshwar Kunchala; the Capitol Hill Chorale; and after that, a dance performance by the Debbie Allen Dance Academy with Debbie Allen. Other STARMUS programs include Nobel Laureate speakers, astronaut talks, and film screenings. The Kennedy Center commissions MOON, a world premiere dance performance by Mark Morris Dance Group on April 4th and 5th.
Then, Aneeshwar Kunchala showcases his documentary, which follows his visit to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Physicist Brian Greene presents Starry Night: A Voyage Across Space and Time from April 9th to 12th. On April 5th, poet Chief Moomen gives a solo performance. Former astronaut Karen Nyberg exhibits quilted portraits of Valentina Tereshkova and Sally Ride. The National Symphony Orchestra performs on March 30th, led by conductor Emil de Cou. Lastly, the MOON ROCK CLUB hosts discussions and performances with space food expert Vickie Kloeris, composer Ihab Darwin, Nikolaj Hess & Spacelab band, José André Quartet, and pianist Margaret Leng Tan.
lunar outpost so far, consisting of a small hard shell | image courtesy of ESA and Foster + Partners
3D printed lunar habitat as a result of autonomous robots’ work | image courtesy of ESA and Foster + Partners
Mars habitation concept for NASA as an illustration