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Discuss art, life, culture and creativity at our monthly Book Club. Titles on the reading list this season will explore ideas and themes presented in the exhibition ‘Olafur Eliasson: Presence’.

Ticket includes light refreshments. Members receive 20% off current and past Book Club titles at the QAGOMA Stores.

Only the Astronauts (2024) by Ceridwen Dovey

Adrift in outer space, a motley crew of human-made objects tell their tales, making real history sweeter and stranger. Starman, a lovelorn mannequin orbiting the Sun in his cherry-red car, pines for his creator. The first sculpture ever taken to the Moon is possessed by the spirit of Neil Armstrong. The International Space Station, awaiting deorbit and burial in a spacecraft cemetery beneath the ocean, farewells its last astronauts. A team of tamponauts sets off on a perilous mission to Mars inspired by the courage of their predecessors. The Voyager 1 space probe – carrying its precious Golden Record – is captured by Oortians near the edge of the solar system and drawn into their baroque, glimmering rituals. By turns joyous and mournful, these object-astronauts are not high priests of the universe but something a little . . . weirder. From their inverted perspectives, they observe humans both intimately and from a great distance, bearing witness to a civilisation unable to live up to its own ideals. And yet each still finds in our planet – in their humans – something worthy of love.

Cancellation & Refund Policy

Ticketholders must provide 2 days’ notice of cancellation to be eligible for a refund. Within 24 hours of the event date, ticketholders may request to transfer their payment to another Members event. No-shows cannot be refunded or transferred.