This World Space Week, we’re proud to see space, art, and creativity come together on one of London’s most iconic landmarks – the Piccadilly Lights.
On Wednesday 8 October, SPACE for a Better World and the Space for Art Foundation lit up the famous screen with a digital mosaic created from over a thousand artworks submitted by people across the world. Each piece reflected this year’s World Space Week theme, “Living in Space.”
Inspiring people through art and space
The UK Space Agency supported the project, alongside partners including UK Scouts, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Ocean Culture Life, and the Sustainable Markets Initiative. Together, the partners are helping to highlight how space exploration and technology shape our everyday lives – from supporting climate science to inspiring the next generation.
Matthew Cook, Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency, said:
“World Space Week is a chance to reflect on how space connects us all – not just through science and technology, but also through creativity and culture. Projects like this bring that to life in a powerful way, showing how space sparks imagination and inspires people of all ages. The UK Space Agency is proud to have supported this initiative that highlights the importance of space exploration and celebrates the unique perspectives and wonder that space inspires in communities around the globe.”
Christina Korp, founder of SPACE for a Better World, explained:
“When people think about living in space, they most likely picture an astronaut living at the International Space Station or on the Moon. But the reality is that we all live on an ocean planet in space. We all need space technology to take better care of our home planet. By using art as a vehicle to express it, hopefully we can help people realize the value of space exploration in our everyday lives.”
Nicole Stott, astronaut, artist, and founder of the Space for Art Foundation, added:
“It was exciting for the stunning art display to be revealed on the Piccadilly screen again and to have the conversation with the UK Space Agency for this year’s World Space Week theme, “Living in Space.” Together they were a call to action to us all - to acknowledge and respect our planet and its very special place in space as our life support system; to recognize and employ the solutions that space exploration brings back to Earth to help solve our greatest planetary challenges; and to accept our important role as crewmates, not passengers, on our planetary spaceship - by doing so, we have the power to create a future for all life on Earth that’s as beautiful as it looks from space.”
A celebration of creativity and collaboration
Representatives from all the partner organisations joined the event, recognising the role of art in making space more accessible and inspiring. Piccadilly Lights, a long-time supporter of the project, once again generously provided the stage for this unique celebration.
Following the mosaic reveal, invited guests attended a reception hosted by Bang & Olufsen at their Mayfair Boutique. The evening featured a fireside chat with Christina Korp, Nicole Stott, and Matthew Cook, exploring how art, science, and storytelling can open new perspectives on why space matters to us all here on Earth.
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