jump!star

Due to a slow wobble in the planet’s rotation known as axial precession, Earth’s “guiding light” is not fixed; Polaris has not always occupied this position, and in the future other stars will eventually take its place.

Like everything else—in our bodies, our environments, and our relationships—our North Star changes.

At the center of this project are collaborative gatherings called Constellates, where artists, scientists, musicians, chefs, and local communities work together to invent the songs, dances, foods, ceremonial objects, and other traditions future generations might use to commemorate this change. Over the last decade, the project has unfolded at cultural institutions across the United States, where these dreamstormers have gathered to imagine ways to say goodbye to Polaris and welcome a new North Star.

These explorations culminated in Super!Giant!Jump!Star!, a large-scale public ceremony presented in partnership with 1708 Gallery’s annual InLight event in Richmond, Virginia. It featured collectively built illuminated sculptures representing future North Stars, newly commissioned symphonic and choral works, a Future Foods tasting menu, and a concluding Supernova Ceremony in which the sculptures were ritually dismantled.

For more information about the initiative and its collaborators, visit Jump!Star.