Celestial Bodies is a multicultural creation of animated media that tell ancient astrological stories, exploring the belief systems that make up Canadian and Indigenous society’s diverse fabric. The multimedia projection shows animated images of star stories— alongside world-class cross-cultural music.
For Celestial Bodies, the artists have re-interpreted the cosmological stories and oral histories from their own cultural heritages — Greek, Chinese, African, and the Indigenous Haudenosaunee culture — exploring the meeting of cultures in their collaborative process with community members, where unique stars signifying individuals’ heritage were made. Each story is connected to a season, and characters from the heavenly world travel through time and space as the night unfolds, highlighting diverse cultural beliefs.
“I’m confident that Celestial Bodies is going to be a massive hit! With rich storytelling, talented artists and a unique urban canvas in downtown Kelowna, this is the night sky as you’ve never seen it before. Ditch the couch and Netflix for an evening and join us safely and from a distance to enjoy Celestial Bodies while standing beneath celestial bodies. I’m grateful to all the skilled artists who have contributed to this project and I hope you’ll come to see the projections from Feb 5-28!”
Research Team & Partners
Media Artist and UBC Okanagan faculty Aleksandra Dulic and Miles Thorogood with UBC Graduate Students Jacen Dennis, Amberley John, and Emerald Holt created a multimedia presentation of animated images.
Aleksandra Dulic, Ph.D., a media artist, is an Associate Professor in Creative Studies and Director of the Centre for Culture and Technology. Miles Thorogood, Ph.D., a media artist, is an Assistant Professor, composer-performer, interaction designer, and audio producer. Aleksandra’s and Miles’ collaborative creative practice explores the use of technology to enable media performances and installations rich in aural, visual, and cultural nuances.
Artist Jacen Dennis acted as lead animator and coordinator. Indigenous artist Amberley John tells and illustrates the story of the Three Brothers and Giant Bear.
Lan Tung told a Chinese tale and composed music for this section. African narrative is told by storyteller Comfort Ero. Emerald Holt animated and composed sound for this story. Keith Hamel composed music for Greek Section. Frazer Sundown’s composition “Season Change” was used in the Haudenosaunee narrative.
The animation and illustration team also included UBCO undergraduate students: Ardanna Semeschuk, illustrating the Greek heroes; Dianne Schnieders, illustrating the Weaver Woman story; Cassidy Mckenzie animated and illustrated African story, Sarah Polak and Charles Landa, providing animation; with additional drawings by Taiwanese artist Li Tung.
Community Partners: Lightup Kelowna, Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Museums Society, Rotary Centre for the Arts, Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society, Kleos Open Learning, UBC Okanagan
Communication Assistance: Rosaleen McAfee, & April Liu
