Solstice 2016: It's a Global Solstice Party and You're Invited

June 21, 2016 6:37 AM

Solstice 2016 will be a multi-stream, twenty-four-hour event, covering all of Earth’s time zones, to celebrate the summer solstice. Participants will perform their Solstice art in whatever medium they choose, between the hours of 17:00 and 18:00 in their time zone or create the performance in advance. The program will be finely curated. Viewers around the world will be able to catch individual or simultaneous feeds of the various performances throughout the Solstice period.

Sound Artist Charlie Morrow organized artists and scientists from around the earth to celebrate the solstice. Smithsonian article with more on Morrow and the event.

posted by gudrun (18 comments total)

Wasn't the Solstice yesterday?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:51 AM on June 21, 2016 [8 favorites]

The idea of following the solstice ‘moment’ around the globe including all kinds of peoples experiences, what they see and what they hear and how they celebrate the solstice..

I'm not sure I understand. The solstice "moment" is the same moment for everyone on the globe. It doesn't travel around the globe in the same way that 'midnight' does.
I guess this is more art/poetry than science so perhaps my comment is too nit-picky?
posted by vacapinta at 6:56 AM on June 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

Ain't no party like a Solstice party 'cuz a Solstice party was yesterday.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:01 AM on June 21, 2016 [8 favorites]

Yeah it's artists and scientists doing things inspired by it being the solstice; best not to take it too literally.

Here's more from the press release:
The stream features art, music, and poetry from each timezone, sounds and videos of the earth from NOAA, indigenous and international poetry curated by Jerome Rothenberg and Bob Holman, music from 24 times curated by RIP and Adrian Hayman with Marc Nasdor and much more. The Arctic Studies Center of the Smithsonian contributes materials from their archives and current research from the Arctic and Subarctic and video from the Museum of the American Indian. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Solar Lab provides high intensity sun streaming from 14 satellites. Other partners include: International Planetarium Society, Aalto University Media Lab, Society for Art and Technology (SAT), The TerraMar Project .... After the even the website will feature highlights of the program. It will be an assembly of world music and historical solstice materials for each time-zone as well as poetry, stories and event listings.
posted by gudrun at 7:12 AM on June 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

So... party like it's 1999? I'll show myself out...
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 7:18 AM on June 21, 2016

I believe it's called Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere.
posted by namret at 7:22 AM on June 21, 2016

Don't forget the Solstice Snakes.
posted by griphus at 7:33 AM on June 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

The program will be finely curated.

So does that mean my naked interpretive dance around a burning Yugo is in or out?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:37 AM on June 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

"I'm not sure I understand. The solstice "moment" is the same moment for everyone on the globe. It doesn't travel around the globe in the same way that 'midnight' does. "

But it's not. Wikipedia defines "solstice" as:

"A solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year (in June and December) as the Sun reaches its highest or lowest excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere."

So it does follow the timezones since sun's position in the sky is different from location to location.
posted by I-baLL at 7:46 AM on June 21, 2016

1984 is coming!
posted by kozad at 7:48 AM on June 21, 2016

ZenMasterThis: naked interpretive dance around a burning Yugo,<--- but will it be streaming?
posted by gudrun at 7:56 AM on June 21, 2016

Let's all get drunk and go naked!
posted by GallonOfAlan at 8:45 AM on June 21, 2016

If this is a global event, framing it (and tagging it) as the 'summer solstice' is exclusionary and northernhemispherist. 10% represent!
posted by signal at 8:50 AM on June 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

This is pretty rad. I'm in favor of weirdos playing their weird bell machine in the wind for some sheep to celebrate the time of year.
posted by moons in june at 8:55 AM on June 21, 2016

I believe it's called Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere.

Indeed. And for the second year running, I have been forced to abandon my naked midnight Solstice dip in the local swimming hole because a day's steady rain has raised the river to an unsafe level. Grrr.
posted by flabdablet at 9:00 AM on June 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I believe it's called Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere. (My bad, I try not to have a northern hemispherist "bias", really I do :-) --- that "summer solstice" just slipped out; probably because local news has been saying it non stop for at least a week.)
posted by gudrun at 9:07 AM on June 21, 2016

So it does follow the timezones since sun's position in the sky is different from location to location.

No, the celestial sphere is defined relative to the stars, so (ignoring slight effects from parallax) the sun's position is exactly the same no matter where you are.
posted by teraflop at 1:58 PM on June 21, 2016 [2 favorites]

So does that mean my naked interpretive dance around a burning Yugo is in or out?

That idea is abnormal and bad. What are you people, P.A.G.A.N.?!?
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 2:20 PM on June 21, 2016