Yerkes Exploration Institute with Eighth Blackbird

Join Eighth Blackbird, Yerkes staff, and Blackbird Creative Lab alumni for a behind-the-scenes look at how science inspires sound and how music gives voice to the vastness of space. Through a blend of live music, discussion, and multimedia, you'll get a curated window into works-in-progress.

The Exploration Institute is a new initiative of the Blackbird Creative Lab that brings together cutting-edge artists and astronomers for a week-long residency at Yerkes. The culminating public presentations at Yerkes Observatory (June 26) and Athenaeum Center in Chicago (June 27) are not formal sit-down concerts but immersive "snapshots of process" that invite audiences into the evolving intersections of creative inquiry and scientific research. We'll explore:

~ The chemical makeup of stars
~The sounds of planetary rotation
~Glass plate archives and historical star photography
~Indigenous star mapping traditions and a reflection on land and legacy, particularly in relation to the Potawatomi people

Each artist in the 2025 cohort (Molly Herron, Christian Quiñones, Noel Holloway, and Noelia Cruz) brings a unique trajectory to the table. Some have been shaping their work for over a decade; others are launching new collaborations sparked during the Yerkes residency. Some carry ancestral connections to the stories they are now translating into sound.

Audiences are invited to witness the rich, layered process of arts-meets-science collaboration, from research questions and raw material to emergent sound and dialogue. It’s a celebration of curiosity, discovery, and the profound ways we make meaning together.

Presented by four-time Grammy winners and sound pioneers Eighth Blackbird in collaboration with Yerkes Observatory's Deputy Director and Head of Science & Education Dr. Amanda Bauer, Yerkes Summer Research Institute, Lab Director Garrett Obrycki, and Eighth Blackbird members Aaron Wolff and Lina Andonovska.