Join Space Center Houston for a special Film Screening in collaboration with the Space For Art Foundation!
Space for Art” is an extraordinary documentary film on the power of hope, courage, and healing. Featuring astronaut and artist Nicole Stott, the film follows her on perhaps her most important mission of uniting a planetary community of children through the awe and wonder of space exploration and the healing power of art. Meet the Space for Art team who bring this mission to life, and some of the young children who are wise beyond their years. In addition to the screening itself, there will be a short panel discussion with Space Center Houston’s President and CEO William T. Harris and three of the Space for Art team – astronaut and artist Nicole Stott, ILC Dover spacesuit fellow David Graziosi, and artist and founding director Maria Lanas; and an exhibit of two art spacesuits – BEYOND and INFINITY, Postcards to Space art collection, and an interactive experience, We Are Stars, created from the children’s artwork.
Program begins at 6:45pm
Doors open for general public at 6:30pm
Panelists
Astronaut Nicole Stott
Founding Director, “Space for Art”
Nicole is an astronaut, aquanaut, artist, author of Back to Earth ~ What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission To Protect It, and most importantly a mom. Nicole is a veteran NASA Astronaut with two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space as a crewmember on both the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. Personal highlights of her time in space include being the 10th woman to perform a spacewalk, first person to operate the ISS robotic arm to capture a free-flying cargo vehicle, painting the first watercolor in space (on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum), working with her international crew for the benefit of all life on Earth, and of course the life-changing view of our home planet.
Nicole was invited to join the Spacesuit Art Project when it first began in 2015 & since then it has been an amazing journey of space, art, & healing. She knows that the time she spent in space has led her to the work she’s blessed to do now as a founding director with the Space for Art Foundation.
David Graziosi
Fellow, ILC Dover LP
Founding Director, “Space for Art”
David Graziosi is an ILC Dover Fellow located at their Houston operation. He holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering & Minor in Mathematics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has more than 26 years of experience in the development of spacesuits & spacesuit components including Shuttle EMU Enhancements, Phase VI EVA spacesuit gloves, MkIII Suit Enhancements, all versions of the I-Suit Advanced Planetary EVA suits, several recent launch & entry (LEA) spacesuits, StratEx Space Dive suit, & NASA’s Z-1 & Z-2 spacesuits.
David holds three US patents that include spacesuit technology & inflatable wing structures. He has authored more than 20 peer reviewed technical papers on spacesuit development. David has also received the NASA Silver Snoopy Award, numerous NASA Group Achievement awards & was a 2007 NASA Space Flight Achievement Honoree & NASA Stellar Award finalist.
After a conversation with Gordan Andrews (NASA ISS Program Communications) & Ian Cion in October 2015 about Ian’s vision for a spacesuit made from the art of pediatric cancer patients, David was all in. The subject hit close to home, as it does for many, as the daughter of a close friend fought & overcame her battle with cancer at just 2 years old. When he discussed the Space for Art projects with others at ILC Dover, including senior management, the company was also committed to this important cause.
Maria Lanas
Artist, Founder, “Projekt Postcard”
Founding Director, “Space for Art”
Maria is an artist, & for the past twenty years has also worked as an executive within the Telecom Industry. She earned a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art & Design. As an artist, her work has exhibited in group shows & solo exhibits around the world. She is the founder of a global art & culture initiative called Projekt Postcard. The project’s mission is to expand children’s vision beyond the limits of their own cultural boundaries & to promote unity through art. In 2016, Projekt Postcard’s “One World” installation at Dulles airport caught the attention of astronaut Nicole Stott.
After their initial meeting, Maria & Nicole began to work together & created the “Postcards to Space” Project, which resulted in a collection of over 1000 children’s space-themed art on postcards from nine countries, which were collected & displayed in an electronic art piece, brought to life by our partners at ABlok Interactive Experiences, that was projected inside the International Space Station. The “Postcards to Space” project was followed by two more space-inspired art and healing projects, “Earthrise” & “Sky|Space.”
As a founding director of the Space for Art Foundation, Maria has taken an active role in the development of all projects & the organization, & has helped expand the foundation’s outreach by introduction to hospitals, refugee centers & schools in the US, Latin America, & Europe. During the implementation of these projects, Maria created & taught space-inspired art and healing workshops in hospitals, schools, & refugee organizations, locally & abroad.
Learn more at https://www.spaceforartfoundation.org/
