News and plans: WUNDERKAMMER, #SciArt Tweetstorm and more

If you've been following me for long, you'll know that I'm obsessed with Cabinets of Curiosity and in fact, I view my growing portfolio of prints about natural history as a sort of wunderkammer. So, when we decided to take the plunge and sub-lease the gallery for 2017, it was obvious that I would want to curate not just a #SciArt show, but a Cabinet of Curiosity show. I'm really excited to announce this show and there are so many team members who would be a perfect fit, I'm already curating in my head. I'm looking forward to seeing applications even! I've opened the application to all local artists, so you don't need to be a team member to apply. There are a lot of amazing artists inspired by science in this city. Apply!

This week has been the now annual Twitter #SciArt tweetstorm, so I've been busily sharing my art and art of others all week. You need to go check out the hashtag today, if you haven't been following.

Also, we plan to revisit Christine's Bees (& the Birds) show about pollinators this year.  We are of course going to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday with a Canada themed show opening Canada Day. Jen, who is also an ambassador for the Body Image Movement, is curating a Love Your Body show about positive body image. We thought a Halloween show would be fun, and I'm also going to enjoy curating a dinosaur Dinovember show in November, of course!

A huge congratulations to the remaining 32 candidates to become the next two Canadian Space Agency astronauts! I had the pleasure of meeting several of them with my batch of fellow candidates at the Astronaut Assessment Center, and will be cheering them on as the competition continues.

While I'm no longer in the running, it's been quite the experience to make it this far. I was proud of myself for completing the application! 3072 people applied, but about twice that number began but did not complete the lengthy and involved process. I was very glad to have the opportunity to have a glimpse at what the life of an astronaut is all about as well as to meet so many of these accomplished Canadians!

Thanks very much to my friends and family who cheered me on and helped free up my time so I could participate in the process as long as I did. I really appreciate all your support and encouragement. It meant a lot!