Erecting powerhouses Powerhouse Parramatta will open its first major exhibition, Task Eternal, in the lead-up to Australia Day next year. Art, design and technology converge in this outdoor exhibition to illuminate humankind’s daring journey into the future of space exploration. It will be one of five signature exhibits at the western Sydney museum. Liz Havilah, CEO of Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, stressed the urgent need to inspire humans’ capacity for innovation. Her lively remarks beautifully captured our nation’s timeless yearning to go to the stars.
Task Eternal looks to be an incredible experience, using the most advanced technology to immerse visitors in the work. It will include a wide variety of artifacts from the actual space ship to the deep and colorful history of mankind’s exploration of the cosmos. Among the highlights is the spacesuit worn by Australian-born astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, which is on public display for the first time. A prototype of the Roo-ver lunar probe will be featured. This probe, designed in collaboration with the Australian Space Agency, would fly to the moon as part of a mission planned for the end of the decade.
A Journey Through Space Exploration
Task Eternal has a very far-reaching goal of trying to bring that immersive experience. As guests journey through the exhibition and wind through a three-story tower. Along the way, they’ll discover numerous narratives, artifacts and pieces of art.
“You’ll move through the exhibition, but you’ll also move through and up and around a tower and experience stories and objects and artworks along the way.” – Liz Havilah
Beyond that, the exhibition hopes to inspire a sense of curiosity about where we fit into space and what our greater impact is. Through immersive installations and first-person stories, Task Eternal will take a look at the problem as well as the solutions involvement in space travel.
Perhaps the most eye-popping artistic feature is a kinetic sculpture by Torlap Larpjaroensook. This large, alien-looking outdoor sculpture takes its cue from the Voyager 1 space probe. Art and science intersect. This unique intersection of art and technology is designed to spark direct, thoughtful reflection along our continuing journey into the cosmos.
Future Exhibitions at Powerhouse Parramatta
Powerhouse Parramatta will open its doors with five major exhibitions, each offering unique insights into different facets of culture and innovation. Task Eternal is only the beginning! Speaking at last week’s launch, Ms. Havilah teased that even more exciting projects are in store to be announced over the next year.
“We open with five major exhibitions and so we’re just announcing the first one today, which is really exciting, and so over the next year we’ll share the other projects and exhibitions that are coming up.” – Liz Havilah
Each exhibition will be dynamic, guaranteeing that visitors will never see the same show twice through successive visits. Ms. Havilah, Executive Director of the International African American Museum, communicated her vision for the museum to be a lively place for education and collaborative engagement.
“Some will go for a year, some will go for two years, but there’ll always be new exhibitions and new stories.” – Liz Havilah
Anticipation Builds for Task Eternal
Task Eternal doesn’t currently have an opening date. That hasn’t stopped it from being predicted to make its debut by the end of next year. The excitement about this upcoming exhibition reflects a larger curiosity about what space exploration has to offer society as a whole.
“We don’t have a date as yet, but it’ll be in that very end of next year.” – Liz Havilah
In the meantime, Task Eternal is part of a more recent trend recognizing human ambition and our very fundamental quest to learn and understand more about our universe.
