Volunteers sought for major new space project in Derry

Nerve Centre, producers of Our Place in Space, are seeking volunteers to take up a range of positions when the major new installation comes to Derry in April.

Our Place in Space, part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, is an epic scale model of the solar system designed by artist and children’s author Oliver Jeffers, incorporating a 10km three-dimensional sculpture trail in Northern Ireland and Cambridge, an interactive AR app, and major learning and events programmes.

The Our Place in Space sculpture trail will open to the public at Bay Road Park and the River Foyle from 22 April to 22 May and is free and accessible to everyone.

Executive Producer at the Nerve Centre, David Lewis says: “We really want as many people as possible to become involved in Our Place in Space not just to enhance the experience for others but to have an unforgettable experience themselves. 

"We have a variety of volunteering positions available across lots of different areas in each of the places where the Sculpture Trail will exhibit with commitment requiring as little as two hours a week.”

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Volunteering positions include Local Legends to help welcome and inform visitors, Backpack Heroes to support school and community group tours of the interactive planetary experience, and Green Team to take on litter picks and clean-ups before and after the trail is installed.

Those interested in becoming a volunteer guardian for Our Place in Space should email p.larkin@nervecentre.org. 

From creating a star to writing a symphony for the universe, inventing a new form of transport, building a Minecraft planet or connecting with space watchers around the globe, Our Place in Space invites participants to consider how we might better share and protect our planet in future. 

It brings our solar system down to Earth and sends us soaring into the stars to find new perspectives and reconsider what it means to live life on Earth.

Our Place in Space has been designed by artist and children’s author Oliver Jeffers with support from leading astrophysicist Professor Stephen Smartt, and features music by award-winning sound artist Die Hexen.

From April 2022, the trail will travel from Derry to Divis and the Black Mountain, Belfast and to the Ulster Transport Museum and North Down Coastal Path in Northern Ireland, as well as a riverside location in Cambridge.

The Our Place in Space app will be available on Apple and Android devices and will allow users across the world to take a walk through our solar system, experiencing the planets in augmented reality and considering 10,000 years of human history. Users will collect space souvenirs, including characters from the world of Oliver Jeffers, as well as launching a personalised star into space.

Oliver Jeffers says: “For centuries, we’ve defined ourselves by who we are and who we’re not. Which side we choose, on what ground we stand, who and what we fight for.

"A human story, that lives merely in human minds. But with distance comes perspective – and what happens to our perspective on everything when we look back at Earth from space? 

"Our Place in Space is a playful experiment that asks: What is the difference between ‘us’ and ‘them’? Which side are we on, and if we look back at ourselves from vastness of outer space – alone on our tiny planet, the only one that can harbour life – should there be any ‘sides’ at all?”

Our Place in Space is one of 10 major creative projects commissioned by UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, a celebration of creativity taking place across the UK in 2022, designed to reach millions and bring people together.

It features free large-scale events, installations and globally accessible digital experiences in the UK’s most ambitious showcase of creative collaboration. 

Martin Green CBE, Chief Creative Officer of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK says“Our Place is a fabulous collision between art, science and tech, with the opportunity to experience something really huge – our solar system – right here on earth.

"What’s more, it’s a wonderful opportunity to explore our beautiful landscapes with family and friends, as you discover more about the planets that in galactic terms are our neighbours.”

Our Place in Space is produced by Nerve Centre Collective, led by arts organisation the Nerve Centre and commissioned by UNBOXED with Belfast City Council.

The collaboration behind the project includes the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, National Museums NI, NI Science Festival, Big Motive, Taunt, Microsoft, Jeffers & Son, Dumbworld, Live Music Now, Little Inventors, Cambridge University, the National Trust and Urban Scale Interventions.

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is funded and supported by the four governments of the UK and is commissioned and delivered in partnership with Belfast City Council, Creative Wales and EventScotland.

Listings information

Our Place in Space

Bay Road Park and River Foyle, Derry-Londonderry: 22 April – 22 May 2022

Divis & Black Mountain, Belfast: 11 June – 10 July 2022

Midsommer Common and River Cam, Cambridge: 30 July – 29 August 2022

Ulster Transport Museum and North Down Coastal Path: 17 September – 16 October 2022

info@ourplaceinspace.earth 

https://www.ourplaceinspace.earth/ 

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