#BeautifulNuclear at SXSW
With Anthropocene Institute, we co-hosted a first-of-its-kind nuclear art exhibit as a side event at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin in March, 2024.
The spark for the name Beautiful Nuclear came from an amazing report from TerraPraxis which outlines how nuclear energy can help us meet all 17 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
We curated art from a variety of sources, including individuals, events, and art contests.
Mothers for Nuclear hosted our first ever paint and sip to help gather ideas and art. We also contributed pieces to a series on one of our favorite nuclear plants - Diablo Canyon! (see below).
Generation Atomic brought a selection of art from various contests they hosted in partnership with the IAEA, like their 2022 contest.
Econuclear Solutions, in partnership with the Fitchburg Art Museum and Mass Cultural Council also shared art from their Atomic Artistry contest.
Heather’s uranium glass
Ryan’s NPP Belt Buckles
The Diablo Canyon series
The ever famous whale photo, by John Lindsey
Nuclear Energy is Clean Energy - Diablo Canyon poster art commissioned by MfN and created by Mark Holmes of National Geographic
“I’ll see you in the field” pencil sketch of Diablo Canyon flora and fauna, by Caitlin Heckathorn Cox, presented to previous Chief Nuclear Officer Ed Halpin for his support of our site and specifically our U.S. Women in Nuclear chapter
SB846 was the senate bill to save Diablo Canyon, and the legislation inspired advocate Eva Burns to create this beautiful commemorative embroidery piece.
One of our main canvases displaying a poem “Today the Earth is so loud” from Rocio Iglesias McKenzie, a collage by Eva Burn titled “A constant and loving heat burns within the cathedral of my heart”, and the MfN Paint and Sip “My Nuclear Romance” collage.
Uranium glass display AND our signature cocktail, the Cherenkov Blue (recipe by Guido Nunez-Mujica), which contains tonic and therefore also glows under UV light.
This mom saw our sidewalk chalk art and wandered inside, expecting anti-nuclear art and then was pleasantly surprised! “I didn’t know there was such a thing as this!”
Check out #BeautifulNuclear content from our amazing partners:
Anthropocene Photo Collection, Event Video, and Slideshow
Eric from Generation Atomic and Heather from Mothers for Nuclear share about the art in this video
WePlanet, Stand Up for Nuclear, and MfN Fireside Chat
And, as long as we were in the area, Eric and I decided to attend some other climate-related events associated with SXSW and found the Climate Futures Innovations Showcase. We made great connections and helped share the message of nuclear energy during the event (they seemed to be strategically avoiding the term…).
