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SETI AIR Newsletter - March 2025

Mar 25, 2025

Greetings

“What can microbial life on Earth teach us about extraterrestrial life?" "How can storytelling informed by science help build relationships with species throughout the cosmos?"

Domenica Mediati’s project Cosmic Communities encourages high-school students to explore these scientific research questions through artistic practice by creating graphic novels and animations that reflect on the possibility of life beyond Earth. At a time when science skepticism is high, innovative student engagement projects such as these are an essential strategy to boost critical thinking, innovation, and ignite interest in the STEM field.

I’m delighted to welcome Domenica into the AIR program and look forward to seeing her project develop. Find more info about her work and news about our SETI AIR’s exhibitions and events below.

Wishing you clear skies,
Bettina

AIR Program Spotlight

Welcome, Domenica Mediati!

The SETI AIR program announced Domenica Mediati as the recipient of its Beyond Silos STEAM residency. The residency supports STEAM educators in developing more inclusive, interdisciplinary teaching approaches that integrate art and science. Mediati is an intermedia artist and a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Education and School of Creative Arts at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. She works across painting, drawing, digital animation, and bioart practices, creating landscapes and characters that reflect and explore human and non-human narratives emphasizing microbiology.

Mediati’s project, Cosmic Communities: Stories of Life Beyond Our World, combines hands-on BioArt, microbiology, microscopy, and digital animation practices to engage youth in SETI astrobiology research. This project is a collaboration with INCUBATOR Art Lab, which will support the creation of educational resources for high school students.

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