The world premiere of Orbiting Orbital at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities and a new dawn rising in the Cyclades.
Two evenings brought human experience into dialogue with the world we share through music, poetry and extraordinary imagery. A multidisciplinary artistic work invited audiences to reconsider our most familiar companion, the planet we inhabit, and our place in a universe in which everything is interconnected.
On 6 and 7 November 2026, the world premiere of Orbiting Orbital at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities brought the story of Delos to the University of Oxford, with the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis becoming a source of inspiration and collaboration for leading creative figures.
At the Sohmen Concert Hall, the distinctive musical language of Nitin Sawhney was brought together with new writing by Booker Prize-winning author Samantha Harvey, whose novel Orbital provided the initial inspiration for this creative collaboration.
The multidisciplinary performance was further enriched by drawings by Antony Gormley, photographs by Mary McCartney and visual creations by Territory Studios and Marshmallow Laser Feast, each contributing their own artistic perspective.
The Fantasia Orchestra, conducted by Tom Fetherstonhaugh, and the London Contemporary Voices choir brought Sawhney’s soundscapes to life.
Meanwhile, Harvey’s writing was given voice through readings by, among others, British physicist and professor Brian Cox, American author Jamie Quatro, Alexandra Mitsotaki, President and Co-founder of the World Human Forum, and Myrto Vounatsou, the organisation’s Artistic and Creative Director.
A particularly memorable moment was the performance of Vangelis Papathanassiou’s Blade Runner Blues, arranged by Sawhney, with special guest James Taylor.
A New Dawn: Mary McCartney’s Photographic Exhibition
The two-day programme opened with the inauguration of A New Dawn, a photographic exhibition by Mary McCartney, in the Schwarzman Centre’s iconic Great Hall.
Her photographs invite audiences to discover Delos as a living ecosystem in which history, nature and mythology are inextricably connected.
As McCartney shared with the audience, her experience of staying and photographing on the island, “where light was born”, was profoundly spiritual and revelatory.
Art, Science and Our Responsibility to the Planet
Saturday’s discussions highlighted the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration, the need to reconsider our relationship with the planet and our responsibility towards it.
A particularly valuable contribution came from Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science, both through his participation in the discussions and his involvement in the wider project. He had also taken part in the 2026 ALPHA MISSION – DELOS gathering and The Lyceum Project.
“In our times, despair is a luxury; hope is a daily practice,” Samantha Harvey remarked, capturing in a single sentence the need for conscious and sustained action.
For the World Human Forum, Orbiting Orbital represents another important milestone in the journey of ALPHA MISSION – DELOS, an initiative that, since 2021, has connected mythology and cultural heritage with art, science and space exploration.
Its central message is that Earth is our shared home, and protecting it is everyone’s responsibility.
The Journey Continues on Delos
The project now returns to Delos, where Mary McCartney’s photographic exhibition A New Dawn will be presented during the summer season, with its opening events scheduled for 28 and 29 May 2027.
Orbiting Orbital is a collaboration between Nitin Sawhney, Samantha Harvey, Antony Gormley, Mary McCartney, Territory Studio and the World Human Forum.
Mary McCartney’s photographic exhibition A New Dawn is organised in collaboration with the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, the World Human Forum and the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades.
