Come with us to the moon and back!
Created by artists Heather Peak and Ivan Morison, Moon Palace is a stunning artwork and captivating cosmic observatory on board a converted school bus, now touring East Leeds and beyond. Originally commissioned for LEEDS 2023 Year of Culture and Smeaton300, Moon Palace is inspired by the legacy of civil engineer and astronomer John Smeaton, and the observatory he built in East Leeds.
Header Image and gallery images: Bevan Cockerill
Bringing together creativity and art, engineering and science, collaboration and public good, Moon Palace is a space for conversations on everything from the world around us to the vastness of our Universe and our impacts on a changing planet – all over a cup of Cosmic Tea! She is also a working observatory with onboard equipment including a powerful optical telescope for after-dark stargazing and a rooftop radio telescope.
Images: Sam McQueen
From August to December 2023, Moon Palace toured community venues and schools across the city including Gipton, Seacroft and Whinmoor in East Leeds, welcoming 2947 people on board. Since then we’ve toured to Leeds Ghanaian community’s independence celebrations, the University of Leeds’ ‘Be Curious’ festival, Light Night Leeds, and further afield to Newcastle, Rotherham and the Yorkshire Dales National Park’s dark skies reserve.
Moon Palace is available for hire for events, festivals, schools and corporate supporters.
Moon Palace is most suitable for people over the age of 5, all the way up to 95! She is designed as an accessible sensory environment with a built-in wheelchair lift. We work with BSL interpreters, Audio Describers and other access specialists and we’re always open to conversations about welcoming groups with additional needs.
We fundraise for each Moon Palace outing, to cover the costs of our team including Artist and Scientist Hosts who hold the space for conversation and operate the onboard equipment. Visits can be arranged during daytime, after dark and overnight stays.
Get in touch to talk about hiring Moon Palace
If you’d like to start a conversation about bringing Moon Palace to visit your community venue, festival, business or school, please get in touch. Costs start at £2800 per day for a one-off visit in the Leeds region.