How can artists working today help us imagine the future? What concerns will affect us as a species? What
will the world and politics surrounding us look like? How will our cultures change, and how will the people of
the future think of us as their past? These are the questions the Ulrich will tackle in a series of presentations of
moving image works titled Some Possible Futures.
In Event of Moon Disaster is the second exhibition in this series. It is a multi-media project created by directors
Francesca Panetta and Halsey Burgund to illustrate the possibilities of deepfake technologies. The filmmakers
reimagine the 1969 moon landing as a disaster, with the project centered on a fake but disturbingly convincing
video that intimates that the Apollo 11 mission had gone awry. They also offer a variety of resources to help the
public understand and recognize the technologies involved. Through its exploration of an alternative possible
history, this project asks us to consider both the remarkable creative potential of emerging Artificial Intelligence
and synthetic media and the dangerous ways in which they can bend, redirect, and obfuscate the truth.
This exhibition is generously supported by McCoy Consign and Design. The Ulrich is grateful for the ongoing support of the Ulrich Friends with Benefits members who make the Museum’s exhibitions and programs possible through their UFWB memberships. We also receive funding for general operational support from the City of Wichita and Wichita State University.
The public events accompanying this exhibition are generously supported by the following programs at Wichita State University: the College of Engineering, the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Science, National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), and the W. Frank Barton School of Business.
