Bande annonce de l'exposition « Lire le ciel - Sous les étoiles en Méditerranée »
The starry sky and the deep sea are radically different environments, yet they share certain common features from a human point of view.
Overwhelming in their immensity, hostile, even inaccessible except through a heavy technological mediation, they nourish common imaginations and are at the crossroads of related issues, be they geopolitical, strategic or perhaps even biological. This scientific day, aimed at the general public, is part of the Mucem exhibitions ” Reading the sky. Beneath the Stars of the Mediterranean “(July 2025-January 2026) and ” Clément Cogitore: Ferdinandea, l’île éphémère ” (December 2025-May 2026).
The program
Opening conference
10:40 am: Introductory remarks by Chloé Leprince (journalist, France Culture), moderator for the day
10:45 am: Éric Lagadec (astrophysicist, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur) and Alexis Rosenfeld (explorer and underwater photographer, UNESCO)
Mirror worldsPeriod 1: Stories and imaginary worlds
11:05am: Introductory remarks by Chloé Leprince
11:10am: Juliette Bessette (art historian, University of Lausanne / Centre André-Chastel) and Enguerrand Lascols (heritage curator, Mucem)
Focus on the exhibition “Reading the sky. Sous les étoiles en Méditerranée”11h25: Georges Kordopatis (astrophysicist, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur)
Constellations, myths and astronomy: when the sea meets the sky11h40: Jill Gasparina (critic, curator, teacher at EDHEA, HES-SO Valais-Wallis)
Astronauts and aquanauts, history of an analogyRound table and discussion with the public
Period 2: Territories, conquests
2pm: Introductory remarks by Chloé Leprince
2:05pm: Clément Cogitore (artist, remote) and Kathryn Weir (curator)
Focus on the exhibition “Clément Cogitore: Ferdinandea, l’île éphémère”2:20pm: Guillaume Calafat (historian, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Island jurisdiction: a historical and legal journey14h35: Isabelle Sourbès-Verger (geographer, CNRS)
Exploring space, between ephemeral presence and installationPeriod 3: The lives of other spaces
15h50: Panel introduction by Chloé Leprince
15h55: Magali Deleuil (astrophysicist, director of the ORIGINES Institute, Aix-Marseille University)
Seas in space?4:10 pm: Screening of the film Terrae Sidera (2023, 8min), presented by Giulia Grossmann (filmmaker)
4:25 pm: Richard Sempéré (oceanographer, CNRS, director of the Institut OCÉAN, Aix-Marseille Université)
Chemistry and life in extremes: from the abyss to extraterrestrial worlds4:40 pm: Round table and discussion with the audience
Closing conference
5:25pm: Gaëlle Giesen (CNES space engineer and technical diver)
Experience the sea, understand space: a personal odyssey
The starry sky and the deep sea are radically different environments, yet they share certain common features from a human point of view.
Bande annonce de l'exposition « Lire le ciel - Sous les étoiles en Méditerranée »
Overwhelming in their immensity, hostile, even inaccessible except through a heavy technological mediation, they nourish common imaginations and are at the crossroads of related issues, be they geopolitical, strategic or perhaps even biological. This scientific day, aimed at the general public, is part of the Mucem exhibitions ” Reading the sky. Beneath the Stars of the Mediterranean “(July 2025-January 2026) and ” Clément Cogitore: Ferdinandea, l’île éphémère ” (December 2025-May 2026).
The program
Opening conference
10:40 am: Introductory remarks by Chloé Leprince (journalist, France Culture), moderator for the day
10:45 am: Éric Lagadec (astrophysicist, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur) and Alexis Rosenfeld (explorer and underwater photographer, UNESCO)
Mirror worldsPeriod 1: Stories and imaginary worlds
11:05am: Introductory remarks by Chloé Leprince
11:10am: Juliette Bessette (art historian, University of Lausanne / Centre André-Chastel) and Enguerrand Lascols (heritage curator, Mucem)
Focus on the exhibition “Reading the sky. Sous les étoiles en Méditerranée”11h25: Georges Kordopatis (astrophysicist, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur)
Constellations, myths and astronomy: when the sea meets the sky11h40: Jill Gasparina (critic, curator, teacher at EDHEA, HES-SO Valais-Wallis)
Astronauts and aquanauts, history of an analogyRound table and discussion with the public
Period 2: Territories, conquests
2pm: Introductory remarks by Chloé Leprince
2:05pm: Clément Cogitore (artist, remote) and Kathryn Weir (curator)
Focus on the exhibition “Clément Cogitore: Ferdinandea, l’île éphémère”2:20pm: Guillaume Calafat (historian, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Island jurisdiction: a historical and legal journey14h35: Isabelle Sourbès-Verger (geographer, CNRS)
Exploring space, between ephemeral presence and installationPeriod 3: The lives of other spaces
15h50: Panel introduction by Chloé Leprince
15h55: Magali Deleuil (astrophysicist, director of the ORIGINES Institute, Aix-Marseille University)
Seas in space?4:10 pm: Screening of the film Terrae Sidera (2023, 8min), presented by Giulia Grossmann (filmmaker)
4:25 pm: Richard Sempéré (oceanographer, CNRS, director of the Institut OCÉAN, Aix-Marseille Université)
Chemistry and life in extremes: from the abyss to extraterrestrial worlds4:40 pm: Round table and discussion with the audience
Closing conference
5:25pm: Gaëlle Giesen (CNES space engineer and technical diver)
Experience the sea, understand space: a personal odyssey
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