Exploring the Beautiful Universe

Curiosity and creativity are fundamental to scientific progress. Crafting the Cosmos is an initiative at the University of Colorado Boulder that aims to cultivate new spaces for creative expression in astrophysics, to make and share artwork connected to astronomical concepts, and to discover new ways of learning about the Universe by observing it as an artist might. Our foundational belief is that everyone has a right to explore the Cosmos and brings their own valuable perspectives to learning about the Universe.

Two images side by side. Left, an image of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) where light is produced by glowing gas, stars, and dust. Right, an image of a sculpture by Bruce Nauman that says 'The true artist helps the world by revealing mystic truths.' in a spiral shape and where light is produced by excited neon and argon gas inside glass tubes.

In general, our goals are to craft exhibits and visualizations to share with public audiences, to design effective pedagogical modules for astrophysics learning, and to create more paths for young scholars with diverse strengths bring their whole selves to astronomy. We will use whatever techniques we need, ranging from painting to prose to photography to Python.

If you are a curious, hard-working student interested in practicing your creativity and learning new technical skills related to astrophysics research, please consider applying for a paid research position as a Colorado Scholar of Astrophysics and Art.