Big news this month: @setiinstitute.bsky.social launched two new projects! We announced six phenomenal artists nominated for the Planetary Futures public art residency, and Cosmic Chronicles, a new literary prize for emerging writers and poets. More in our newsletter: www.seti.org/news/seti-ai...

Great @setiinstitute.bsky.social article about how the creation of bioart can help to visualize biogenesis, the study of the origin of life. Read about how artist Jennifer Willet brought the scientific work of Drake Award winners David Deamer and John Baross to life: www.seti.org/news/dreams-...

Just launched: @setiinstitute.bsky.social's Planetary Futures, a public art residency that explores planetary science, with a focus on climate research. Six nominees have been invited to submit a project proposal for the SETI AIR Planetary Futures residency: www.seti.org/news/seti-in...

Two powerful solo shows by indigenous women right now at the National Gallery of Canada: Nadia Myre and Skawennati. Reflecting on colonial pasts and projecting into Indigenous Futures. Poignant, lyrical, funny, and uplifting.

In this edition of SETI AIR News, we feature Julie-Michèle Morin, one of our Cosmic Consciousness Residency recipients, whose technofeminist research into robotics and theatre challenges conventional narratives around machines and performance. 🧪 👩‍🔬 🐡

Looking forward to my chat with artist Jennifer Willet about the wonderful animated collage she created that illustrates two opposing theories of biogenesis. How does life begin? Join me for the next SETI Live this Thursday, July 3, 2025, at 2:30PT / 5:30 ET www.youtube.com/live/z0Qb62g...

This is a fantastic opportunity for writers and poets interested in the questions of life, intelligence, and consciousness. Deadline is September 1st, so you can get some writing done over the summer.

My friend's mom (and my "quasi-adoptive mom") Helen is running a half-marathon to raise funds for a senior's home. 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ Helen is 85 years old - and just unstoppable! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ If you'd like to support her cause, here's the link: shorturl.at/GOgPe She started running marathons - and winning medals - at age 70

My first Jane’s Walk! And I got roped in to marshal the crowd. What a wonderful way to honour visionary activist Jane Jacobs, whose ideas about urban planning, liveable cities, and “third spaces” shaped much of contemporary design and architecture. #janeswalk

Back alley poetry

Look what I found during my stop-over in Toronto: Kim’s Convenience! This is the location where the TV series was filmed. Of course, I went in and bought a few things. Sadly, Mr Kim was not behind the counter. Oh well. Ok, see you!

Every Easter, I make a card and treats for my neighbours in the building, typically with a nod to current events. This year, it’s Elbows Up Bunny. Chocolate eggs are a decent antidote to news-induced nihilism. #HappyEaster

Decisions, decisions...

Words of wisdom spotted on a parking meter

The latest @setiinstitute.bsky.social Artist in Residence program newsletter is out! www.seti.org/seti-air-new...

The irony is, that only selecting from a talent pool of white men is positive discrimination. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Billionaires in Space! Loving my new t-shirt. I've been a fan of Icelandic cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson ever since I spent a month in Olafsfjordir for an art residency. His humor is pretty dark, and I find myself laughing despite my better judgment...

Congratulations, Domenica! The Beyond Silos STEAM Education residency is now officially launched. This residency aims to disrupt disciplinary silos and create meaningful learning situations that foster innovation, risk-taking, and creative problem solving. #STEAMEducation #ArtEd #sciart

Happy International Women's Day! A few years ago, I got a guided tour of the Women’s Library of the London School of Economics. The curator showed me original banners from the Suffragette movement, dating back to 1907 - 1917, that women carried during the Women’s marches.

Phenomenal set by the Thievery Corporation last night in Montreal. They are on tour - my recommendation is to grab tickets if they show anywhere near you! Also loved Flamingosis' opening set, especially the (all too brief) dance number he threw in. thieverycorporation.com/tour/

Anyone? Anyone? youtu.be/uhiCFdWeQfA?... #tariffs

Goodbye Audible, Hello Libro.fm! I love supporting local bookstores, and @dandq.bsky.social is one of my faves. Should have made the switch earlier... And to mark the occasion, I left a snarky comment on Audible's feedback page. For what good it'll do. But hey, I feel better. Take that, #tariffs.

A special treat at Montreal’s Nuit Blanche: a free Philip Glass concert by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. My friends had their young kids with them, and they were absolutely hypnotized. What a fantastic way to introduce contemporary classical music to new audiences. #Montreal #Canada

It’s “tire” time: pour maple syrup onto fresh snow, let it solidify a bit, and then roll it up to make an extremely deciduous snack! One of the highlights of last night’s Nuit Blanche in Montreal. The sugar rush helped me fight the cold while partying outside in winter at -15*C 🍭❄️🍭❄️🍭❄️ #Canada

Such a great conversation with Martin! My favourite remark of his was “Consciousness is a spectrum.” This was in relation to AI and the bilateral analysis between him and ChatGPT.

Always stand up to bullies. #slavaukraini

Looking forward to my chat with artist and psychoanalyst Martin Wilner at today's SETI Live. Martin invited @setiinstitute.bsky.social scientists to send him daily messages, which he turned into drawings. Martin even put AI "on the couch" for analysis. Join us: www.youtube.com/live/sZMC4m0...

Just installed Flashes and I'm conflicted: should I connect it to my existing Bluesky account or set up a new one? What are your thoughts?

Reading the news, I often feel overwhelmed by frustration and disbelief, and I wonder what I can possibly do to stem the tide of awfulness. Right now, my small contribution is to buy Canadian. It's actually super easy to find local products, and I'm not spending more. US groceries are canceled.

Your moment of Zen. Lovely little Moon game right now if you click on this month's Google Doodle.

Please pick up after yourselves. Thanks.

Happy Flag Day! I painted this maple leaf after I broke my wrist a couple of years ago and started practicing to paint with my left hand (that’s a sketch of my X-ray on the right). It was soon healed and good as new. Just a speed bump. A reminder that we can get through anything. Stay strong! 🍁🍁🍁

Roses are red, But that's not quite true, They absorb every wavelength of the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, *Except* for that hue.

My prediction: the animals at San Antonio Zoo will be absolutely stuffed this Valentine's Day. Love this fundraiser idea! (Also, I have a few names in mind...)

But, of course, women were allowed to pose in the nude…

Trade war stressing you out? “51st Cherished State” joke wearing thin? Here’s a little something to cheer you up. Ms Fluffypants when she was 12 weeks old, toying with her first chew stick.

“Trump never wanted to be president, he wanted to be king. If we believe he is already king and he already has that power, then it becomes likelier that we will let him govern as king. Don’t believe him. Trump is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president.” Ezra Klein

Oh please, oh please, do this!!

Snapped this with my phone. What a lovely sight!

DEI policies promote excellence. They guard against inherent prejudices that cause highly competent people of colour, LGBTQ folks, women, and the differently-abled being overlooked and excluded from well deserved opportunities.

ME: *sits at desk and works* Just focus. Just focus. Don't look around. Do NOT look around. THE NEWS:

“We are caught in our own creation: the industrial, technological sublime.” Wonderful (if somewhat rambling) talk by artist Edward Burtynsky yesterday at Concordia University. His epic photographs capture humanity’s intervention in nature: both beauty and tragic destruction.

Okay - done. My Twitter/X account has been scraped clean, save for my one "viral" post from 2020, a data visualization illustrating red vs blue states voting in the US. Deleted all likes, whom I follow, and replies while I was at it. And changed my Twitter username to bettinaforget.bsky.social 😏

How do you imagine the perfect future? Theatre Mitu's "Utopian Hotline" collected moving, funny, & thoughtful answers. Visit their virtual archive as an adorable robot floating past tiny phone booths and listen to the recordings. Magical & inspiring 🌟 utopianhotline.com/archive

Is the Moon a "Man's World"? @drspacejunk.bsky.social proposes six feminist perspectives that allows us to re-imagine/re-image the Moon. (Thanks for the shout-out to Women With Impact!)

Looking forward to speaking at the Canadian Space Conference about the intersection of art, science, and space exploration! Get ready to hear about aliens, Moon craters named after women, and how fusing art and science leads to new ideas and insights. Tickets at csc.seds.ca#book-tickets

Art is irrepressible, even in countries with autocratic regimes. In Communist era Poland, modernist abstraction was unacceptable. In response, artists circulated postcards of fashion models bearing modernist designs. Polish artist Paulina Olowska’s paining celebrates this creative subversion.

Discovering extraordinary species on our own planet really messes with your perception of what's "normal." Like the lifespan of this glass sponge, which can get thousands of years old. Reminds me of Rachel Sussman's wonderful project "The Oldest Living Things in the World" www.rachelsussman.com/oltw

https://buff.ly/4gILDLn This year has been a milestone for the SETI AIR program, with three of our five new residencies successfully launched. In September, we announced the winners of the Cosmic Consciousness Literary Arts Residency, and today, we’re thrilled to welcome Laurent Grasso... 🐡

Three works by Laurent Grasso from his OttO exhibition (2018), shot in Yuendumu, Australia. Congratulations on becoming the new SETI Institute AiR resident in Algorithmic Imaginings Art. "artists, create interesting ways of seeing the world" @setiinstitute.bsky.social @bettinaforget.bsky.social