Nina Czegledy's Aurora Project Blends Art and Science to Interpret Northern Lights

Nina Czegledy co-conceived the Aurora Project in 1996 with Stephen Kovats, creating a multiplatform initiative that merges artistic and scientific exploration of the Aurora Borealis. The project's most recent phase, Aura/Aurora, presents an interactive audio-visual installation interpreting the Polar Lights through real-time electromagnetic data visualization. Collaborators include Austrian artist Bettina Schuelke and Hungarian music technologist László Kiss, alongside various scientists and technologists. Czegledy emphasizes nonhierarchical collaboration, involving local artists and scientists at each exhibition site to avoid colonial working methods. The project has been presented internationally in various forms including installations, conferences, and participatory works. An interactive component called Aurora Dreams collected descriptive keywords from audiences in different languages, revealing cultural perceptions of the phenomenon. Public programs have included events like an Aurora day at Finland's Heureka Science Center with presentations by geophysicist Esa Turunen. Czegledy sees interdisciplinary art-science projects as crucial for connecting people to environmental issues, citing climate change initiatives like "What will you do to help us cool the earth?" in Toronto with collaborators Greg Judelman and Daniel Barber.