Date: May 20th-24th, 2024
Place: Corfu, Greece
Conference theme: Thirty Years of Astronomy, Art and Inspiration

Welcome to the Twelfth Conference on the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena

INSAPXII

The ‘INSAP’ meeting in Corfu marks the twelfth in the series of Conferences on the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena and will explore humanity’s fascination with the sky by day and by night - which has been a strong and often dominant element in human life and culture. It provides a meeting place for artists and scholars from a variety of disciplines (including Archaeology and Anthropology, Art and Art History, Classics, History, the Physical and Social Sciences, Mythology, Philosophy, and Religion) to present and discuss their studies on the influences that astronomical phenomena have had on humanity.

The first meeting took place in 1994 as the brainchild of three leading figures: Professor Ray White (from the University of Arizona), Fr. George Coyne, S. J. (then Director of the Specola Vaticana), and Professor Rolf Sinclair (then at the US National Science Foundation). The interdisciplinary conference series has continued for thirty years and is held every two-three years. For more details about the conference series and its origins, see the main INSAP website: www.insap.org

Previous INSAP conferences have successfully brought together people from a wide range of disciplines to address topics of common interest. The main theme and avowed aim of the conference series is to stimulate interdisciplinary debate and to attempt in some measure to break down the barriers between subjects, disciplines and cultures – across institutions, media and conventional chronological periods. Many of the sessions therefore cut across not only science and the humanities but also across subject disciplines, and national boundaries, bringing together scholars from areas of activity that are often maintained as distinct and separate. 

The particular goals for INSAPXII are:

• To celebrate the history of INSAP during ‘Thirty Years of Astronomy, Art and Inspiration’, at the same time as looking to the future and featuring ongoing activities in this area - appealing to and informing both specialists and non-specialists alike
• To provide an opportunity for scholars from various, disparate disciplines – astronomers, scientists, artists, historian and art historians – to meet together in order to help them interact, gain new perspectives, and develop common interests, thereby contributing to cultural ideas and ambitions more widely
• To include the general public in debates on matters of current interest for our planet, including some activities, with an ‘outreach’ approach

Few other areas capture the imagination as do the explorations of the universe and our place in it. Speakers are to be included from a wide range of countries and from varying academic, professional and institutional backgrounds. Sessions are to range from the ancient world to the present day, and even carried into the future. Geographically, the themes can be global, rather than Western or Eurocentric – and also reaching to some of the furthest points of the universe, as befits the nature of the conference. The programme will include a variety of speakers and some specially organised additional events. It is hoped that connections can be established that may lead to future events and projects. Proceedings of the conference are intended to be published online in due course.