About this Event
As part of REIMAGINE SPACE: NEW MEXICO, SciArt Santa Fe and STEMarts Lab are partnering to present a special Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) Talk exploring space through Indigenous knowledge, science, engineering, art, and culture.
SciArt Santa Fe and STEMarts Lab will host a watch party and virtual presentation with artist and KOSMICA Institute founder on November 7th.
Register and join a watch party at Santa Fe Community College or receive a link and join remotely.
KOSMICA: Before Rockets there were Artists
Speaker: Nahum Romero, artist, musician, and founder of the KOSMICA Institute
Location: Hybrid event: virtual presentation with watch party at the Santa Fe Community College Planetarium
Date: November 7, 2026
Time: 2PM (New Mexico time)
Admission: Free
Join Nahum Romero for a virtual LASER Talk exploring humanity’s cultural and creative relationship with the universe.
Long before humans reached space, artists, writers and cultural practitioners were already imagining our journeys beyond Earth, and honoring our relationship with the Cosmos.
Today, as the space sector is increasingly shaped by commercial interests and the ambitions of a small number of private actors, the work of cultural practitioners is more important than ever. Artists and cultural practitioners continue to question dominant narratives, propose alternative futures, and ask what kinds of relationships with space we want to create.
Through examples from his artistic practice and his work founding KOSMICA Institute, Nahum will explore how culture shapes our understanding of space, how artists can challenge the assumptions embedded in space activities, and why the cultural dimension of space matters for the futures we are building.About Nahum Romero
Nahum Romero is a Mexican artist and musician based in Berlin whose multidisciplinary work explores humanity’s relationship with the universe. Working across performance, installation, video, music, painting, and storytelling, he combines space technologies, illusionism, hypnosis, and sound to challenge perceptions and create new ways of engaging with the cosmos.
In 2011, he founded the KOSMICA Institute, a platform for critical, cultural, and poetic dialogue about space activities and their impact on Earth. KOSMICA develops initiatives that bridge the arts and humanities, the space sector, and broader society.
Nahum was the first artist to receive the International Astronautical Federation’s Young Space Leader Award and has developed artistic space missions with the European Space Agency, SpaceX, NASA, and Roscosmos. He previously chaired the International Astronautical Federation’s Committee for the Cultural Utilisation of Space and is a faculty member at the International Space University.
His work has been presented internationally at museums, theaters, festivals, and cultural institutions, including Ars Electronica, the Queens Museum, Museo Jumex, the British Library, the Humboldt Forum, and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.
The Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous program creates informal public exchanges among artists, scientists, engineers, humanists, and communities. These two LASER Talks extend that vision by bringing Indigenous knowledge and international artistic perspectives into conversations about space exploration and humanity’s collective future.
Presented as part of REIMAGINE SPACE: NEW MEXICO, the talks reflect STEMarts Lab’s commitment to creating opportunities for youth and communities to engage with space through art, science, technology, and culture.
Join us as we ask not only how humanity will travel farther into space, but how we can move forward with greater imagination, wisdom, cultural awareness, and responsibility.
SciArt Santa Fe supports the powerful exchange of ideas between the arts and sciences, encourages freedom of thought and imagination across disciplines, advances scientific and artistic literacy, and celebrates diverse perspectives.
STEMarts Lab empowers youth—particularly in rural and underserved communities—to become creative leaders through hands-on experiences at the intersection of art, science, and technology.
This event is free and accessible to all. If you need more information, contact [email protected] with questions related to access and accommodation.
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Event venue & nearby stays
The Planetarium at Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.