Aga Khan Museum: The Moon
Overview
The Moon: A Voyage Through Time pays tribute to our timeless fascination with the moon, exploring how it has inspired spirituality, scientific discovery, and artistic creativity across the Muslim world.
Details
- Client
- Aga Khan Museum
- Project
- The Moon: A Voyage Through Time
- Size
- 9,400 sq. ft.
- Scope
- Exhibit Design - Culture
- Location
- Toronto, ON, CA
- Year Completed
- 2019
The
Goal
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, R&P designed a gallery to explore the thematic impact of the moon on Islamic art and culture. This immersive and interactive gallery features a broad range of artifacts, including historical and contemporary pieces and explores our enduring fascination with the moon and the role it plays in faith, science and the arts across the Muslim world and beyond. The experience culminated with the ‘Moon’ itself, a breathtaking, suspended sphere representing a 1:500,000 scaled version of Earth’s moon by contemporary British artist Luke Jerram, an installation that has travelled worldwide to international acclaim.
The
Design
This stunning immersive gallery pays homage to the peace and serenity instilled by the awe-inspiring orb that is our moon. Visitors take an interactive journey of discovery through five thematic sections representing the five lunar phases of the moon: ‘the moon is ancient;’ ‘the moon is wonder;’ ‘the moon is knowledge;’ ‘the moon is beauty;’ and ‘the moon is eternal.’ Just as the lunar phases transition from a new moon to a full moon, the gallery builds its messages and themes towards Jerram’s ‘Moon’ sculpture and becomes a place of quiet contemplation where visitors may reflect on their journey while gazing upon this illuminated art piece, losing themselves in the spectacular detail of NASA’s imagery of the lunar surface.
The lunar phases are used to create the immersive experience. Curved forms draw visitors through the gallery and create a sense of movement through the depths of outer space as visitors navigate closer to the ‘Moon’ installation. In addition, a rich color palette, a quiet atmosphere, and an openness to the gallery design mimics the vastness experienced in outer space. Gentle cascading light and oblong wall openings are a reminder that the moon is ever-present on this journey.
The
Result
The Moon: A Voyage Through Time exhibit was hugely successful, bringing new audiences and great attention to the Aga Khan Museum. In creating this exhibition, the Aga Khan Museum collaborated with the Royal Ontario Museum, Harvard Art Museums, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Oxford Museum for the History of Science and the Wereldmuseum in the Netherlands. The project was regularly cited as one of the must-see events in Toronto during its run.
