The Hebridean Dark Skies Festival is an ambitious annual programme of events led by An Lanntair, including live music, film, visual art, theatre, astronomy talks, and stargazing. This year's festival runs from Friday 5 February to Thursday 18 February.

Join me to participate in a live, collective listening and contemplation of the night sky and our connection to it.

’As the sun sets over the enormous volcanic landscape of the remote Hinewai Reserve in Aotearoa New Zealand, the sky begins to reveal an infinite display of stars and planets, appearing like heavy lights against a pitch-black sky.

As a result of light pollution, many of us across the globe have lost our night-time view of the Milky Way, which can have a philosophical impact on the way we see our ecosystems. When we can no longer look outwards and see our galaxy, we lose a sense of the scale of the emptiness, the expanse of the darkness, and by contrast, the sheer magnificence and fragility of our natural world.

The short live broadcast, A Memory of Darkness, comprises a sonic piece created using field recordings of bird song from Louise’s recent experience at Hinewai Reserve, in her native Aotearoa New Zealand. Alone, looking outwards over the Pacific Ocean, as the warm breeze rustled the native trees nearby and the Rurus (Morepork owls) sang out into the night, the artist experienced overwhelming feelings of both wonderment and environmental grief in equal measure.

The artist invites participants from across the world – to join her to collectively listen to this new sound piece and recall our own memory of the darkness, considering its significance. The field recordings in this piece were made during Louise’s recent residency at The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora.’

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This piece was developed during my UK associateship at Delfina Foundation as part of the #science_technology_society programme, in partnership with @GaiaArtFoundation, and on my residency at the Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.