Laboratory for Other Worlds

This exhibition will be on view at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music’s Miller Hall at 406 Prospect Street, New Haven from March 26 - May 7 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 12 -4 p.m.

Laboratory for other worlds is an exhibition series originated by contemporary artist Patte Loper. Past versions have invited viewers to consider the ways human imagination - whether arising from collective action or from communication across biological kingdoms - can affect the ongoingness of life on Earth.

At the Institute of Sacred Music, Loper is collaborating with Earth scientist Andrew Kemp and contemporary artist and community organizer Erin Genia to connect climate science and social justice through speculative world building practices. The project asks: what if salt marshes and their microscopic biome, the site of Kemp’s research on paleolithic sea level rise, were considered sacred? These marshes are often located adjacent to urban areas, are valuable archives of Earth history for climate scientists, home to vital ecosystems, and provide protection to coastal communities (human and nonhuman) against storms and flooding. They are also highly vulnerable to anthropogenic damage. Laboratory for Other Worlds imagines the life in the microscopic cosmos that climate scientists depend on for data, as both sentient and entangled with our sphere of being. Our desire is to use this speculation to connect to the land and to help us consider what is owed locally and globally, by institutions that rest in and profit from lands that were once interconnected ecosystems stewarded by tribal peoples.

Free and open to the public. 

All are welcome to join us for an opening reception for this art exhibit on Wednesday, March 25 at 5 p.m. There will also be an affiliated symposium on April 10. Both the opening reception and symposium will be held at Miller Hall.

Sponsored by the Institute of Sacred Music’s Religion, Ecology, and Expressive Culture Initiative.

We are excited to announce that the ISM will be linking its exhibitions to the Smartify app. The app is available as a free download from the App Store and Google Play, or you can access content through the ISM's page on Smartify. The Smartify app will allow you to directly scan artworks that are on display, as well as QR codes that are placed around the exhibition, to receive more information. You will also be able to save your favorite artworks and share them to social media.

Contact: Anesu Nyamupingidz

Image credit:

Patte Loper: Future Salt Marsh Refugia (detail)

Oil on canvas, 144" x 72", 2025