CMU brings Canada’s first female astronaut to campus for keynote lecture and photography exhibit
Beyond Boundaries: Science, Space, and the Art of Discovery: Dr. Roberta Bondar will present at CMU on September 11
CMU is pleased to bring Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut, acclaimed scientist, neurologist, photographer, and environmental advocate for a special Face2Face event on CMU's campus (600 Shaftesbury Blvd.) on Friday, September 11, from 7:00–8:30 PM in the CMU Chapel and via livestream.
In the keynote presentation, titled Beyond Boundaries: Science, Space, and the Art of Discovery, Bondar will share her reflections on what it means to bring together science, conservation, and art.
Drawing from her work as a photographer and environmental advocate, Bondar's presentation will explore how curiosity, observation, and creativity can change the way we engage with the natural world.
"I find Dr. Bondar to be a very inspiring person, in part because she has taken both her training in science and her passion for visual art and combined these in a powerful way to advocate for the planet and some of the other species that we share it with," Dr. Rachel Krause, Associate Professor of Biology at CMU, says.
The evening will also include a panel discussion following the keynote. Panelists include Chantel Mierau, a Winnipeg-based visual artist, and Asher Warkentin, an alumnus who graduated from CMU with a Bachelor of Science in Biology.
Much of Bondar's work focuses on birds and their habitats, using images to tell stories about migration, biodiversity, and the changes affecting the places these species depend on. As such, the event is also connected to the Winnipeg opening of Bondar's photography exhibition, Patterns & Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive, at MHC Gallery.
The travelling exhibition, which launched in 2023, features photographs of the Whooping Crane, Lesser Flamingo, and Piping Plover, highlighting their migration patterns and the landscapes they depend on.
"In this exhibit, she shares with us a kind of global view that few of us will ever have the chance to experience for ourselves. By seeing the fragility of global migratory bird patterns through her eyes at these massively different scales—from individual birds up to the view of flight paths from space—I think we will gain fresh perspectives on problems that we maybe think we already understand well," Krause says.
The exhibition is a part of the Roberta Bondar Foundation's Space For Birds project, which uses photography to visually communicate the impact of human actions and climate change on bird migration and habitat loss.
Following the lecture and panel, guests are invited to MHC Gallery for a reception celebrating the exhibition's opening.
"I hope that the event will inspire CMU students and the wider CMU community as we continue to work and learn in service of addressing the multitude of environmental challenges that face us," Krause says.
More information on the event and the livestream feed can be found at cmu.ca/face2face.