From the Cosmos to the Commons

From the Cosmos to the Commons is a constellation of projects reflecting the human need to look up to the stars in order to understand life on Earth. It examines how we have constructed our orientation and navigation systems both through myths and grids, and how we make sense of them. Exhibitions at the Planetarium Hamburg, Stadtpark and Kunsthaus Hamburg trace the ancient ways in which humans have read the night skies via astrology and astronomy all the way to recent navigation and surveillance technologies.

In the dire state of the world today, we seek to orient ourselves in a planetary way, where both the magical and the rational, the spiritual and the political are necessary for us to thrive and to rethink our relation with our host, the Planet. This series of exhibitions along with the symposium at the Warburg-Haus guide us through new paths of planetary thinking – as an invitation to look at the cosmos in order to reimagine our commons.

The project marks the beginning of the five-year programme conceived by City Curator Joanna Warsza. Since 2024, the project City Curator Hamburg has been hosted by Kunsthaus Hamburg.