20 July 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing and the first steps taken on the lunar surface by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. This exhibition was programmed to coincide with this significant milestone, and brought together artistic responses to the celestial body that orbits the Earth.

For centuries artists from many cultures have been inspired by the Moon, the most prominent feature of our night sky. The exhibition included historical works created when the Moon could only be viewed from afar, works from the era of the 1960s space race, and more contemporary responses informed by the imagery and scientific knowledge acquired through space exploration.

Just as the Moon itself can be viewed from multiple vantage points from the Earth, works in the exhibition were located throughout the galleries. Links with literature, film, music and science were also explored, highlighting the Moon’s capacity to engender creativity and inquiry.

Across five key exhibition themes, The Moon invited new engagement with, and provided new perspectives on, this enigmatic celestial body that we all see and are influenced by.