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To celebrate World Space Week, the United Nations Office on Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna organized a world premiere of a live music / video performance entitled "Space and Time" in the Vienna International Centre on 5 October 2009. The performance which was also co-sponsored by the Austrian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Vienna was created and performed by Cidadania, an experimental troupe from Darmstadt in Germany.
In 1999, the General Assembly declared the period from 4 to 10 October World Space Week (WSW), marking the anniversary of the launch of the 1st human-made satellite Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957 and the entering into force of the Outer Space Treaty on 10 October 1967.
The "Space and Time" performance, which combines live music with video projections, took the audience of diplomats, astronaut, staff members, students and general public on a "mind boggling" 60-minute journey through the world of astronomy, space and time. Questions projected on the screens during the performance reflected on issues of human existence, climate change, environmental degradation, space debris, asteroids and the future of our planet and life as we know it.
The coordinator of the play, Pedro Aibéo, explained that they aimed to "show the big picture of human self-perception and help the audience to place earthly issues in the context of the infinite universe". He added that they have decided to dedicate the play to World Space Week and the International Year of Astronomy 2009 because astrophysics can "drive people and societies to pose big questions and seek grand answers".
Following the performance, guests and Cidadania troupe members engaged in a lively discussion during a reception hosted by UNOOSA. Guests particularly appreciated the incorporation of live music into the performance which many agreed raised "valid" questions about how fragile our existence is compared with the enormity of the universe.
Two more performances of "Space and Time" were held on 6 and 7 October for an audience of school and university students, staff, members of the civil society and general public.
Experimental group Cidadania (f.l.t.r.):
Jonas Ritter, Sound Engineer; Nico Petri, Drums; Denise Frey, Saxophone; Martin Sadowski, Bass guitar; Pedro Aibéo, Video Engineer
