Katie Paterson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Katie Paterson
Katie Paterson, Berlin 2014, photo by Oliver Mark
Born	1981 (age 43–44) Glasgow, United Kingdom
Education	Edinburgh College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art

Katie Paterson (born in 1981) is a talented artist from Glasgow, Scotland. She creates amazing artworks that explore big ideas. Her art often looks at how things change, how far away they are, and how big or small they seem. Katie studied art at the Edinburgh College of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh.

Exploring Katie Paterson's Artworks

Katie Paterson is known for her unique art projects. Many of her pieces connect science, nature, and the universe. She often uses unusual materials and ideas to make people think.

Art Inspired by Melting Glaciers

Katie has created several projects about melting glaciers. One of her first big artworks was called Vatnajökull (the sound of). For this piece, she put a microphone into a lagoon. This lagoon was under Europe's largest glacier.

• The microphone was connected to a mobile phone number.
• People could call the number to hear the sounds of the melting ice.
• This artwork helped people think about climate change.

Another related project used sounds from melting glaciers. Katie made special music records (LPs) from ice. This ice was made from glacier meltwater. When the records melted, they created unique sounds.

Mapping the Universe and Darkness

Katie also explores space and the stars in her art.

A Map of Dead Stars

In one project, she made a map of 27,000 known dead stars. These are stars that have stopped shining. This map helps us understand the vastness of space.

The History of Darkness

Another artwork is called History of Darkness. For this, Katie collected many 35 mm slides. Each slide showed a different dark spot in the universe.

• The slides were labeled with how many light-years away they were from Earth.
• When you looked at them, they all seemed almost perfectly dark.
• This artwork makes us think about the incredible distances in space.

Art in Space

In 2014, Katie Paterson sent an artwork into space. It traveled to the International Space Station. This was aboard the ESA Georges Lemaître ATV (ATV-5) spacecraft.

The Future Library Project

One of Katie's most famous projects is the Future Library project. It started in August 2014 in Oslo, Norway. This is a very special artwork that will last for 100 years!

• A forest of 1,000 trees was planted in Oslo's Nordmarka forest.
• Each year, a famous writer will write a new book.
• These books will be kept secret and unread for 100 years.
• In 2114, the trees will be cut down to print all the books.
• The books will then be placed in the new Deichman Public Library.

Famous writers like Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, and Elif Shafak have already written books for this project.

Recent Exhibitions and Books

Katie's art has been shown in many places. She had a big show at Turner Contemporary in 2019. This show featured many of her artworks. She also launched a new book called A place that exists only in moonlight. This book was printed using real cosmic dust!

Awards and Recognition

Katie Paterson has received several important awards for her art.

• She was the first artist-in-residence in the Astrophysics Group at University College London (UCL).
• She won a South Bank Sky Arts Award in 2014 for visual art.
• She was also named a Leverhulme Fellow at University College London.
• In 2013, she became an Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh.
• She received the Spirit of Scotland Award in 2014.