All Ages Artmaking: Solar Sounders with Alex Nathanson
Sun, Sept 13, 2026
11 am–3 pm
Alex Nathanson and solar panel. Photograph by Walter Wlodarczyk.
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Admission is free to all visitors every second Sunday of the month. Though admission is free, tickets are required and capacity is extremely limited. Advance tickets are recommended.
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The Hearst Artspace and the Seminar Room are equipped with induction hearing loops and infrared assistive listening systems. Accessible seating is also available.
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Floor 3, Artspace
Open to all ages
Join Alex Nathanson to build your own Simple Solar Sounder! Using basic circuits and small solar panels, Simple Solar Sounders produce an array of noises that are determined by their relationship to sunlight and their position in space.
Participants will learn how to make their own devices and use them to explore different sonic spaces. Experiment with a mix of sunlight, solar panel angle, and knob position to create a symphony of sounds in a fun exploration of light, space, and electricity.
Biennial artist Ash Arder uses solar panels located outdoors on the Museum grounds to power a refrigerator for their work, Consumables. Inside, the artist has placed Cadillac hood ornaments. Arder cast these sculptures in perishable, nourishing materials including butter, shea butter, and chocolate. The sculptures are stored in the refrigerator to preserve them, since they are at risk of melting in warmer temperatures. Arder modeled the sculptures after a keepsake hood ornament from a car owned by the artist's late father, who worked for General Motors, the parent company of Cadillac.
Ash Arder worked with Alex Nathanson to design and build the solar power system that keeps the refrigerator operational.
Alex Nathanson is a designer, technologist, artist, and educator. His work is primarily focused on exploring both the experimental and practical applications of sustainable energy technologies, particularly photovoltaic solar power.
He is the founder and lead designer of the education and art platform Solar Power for Artists and its partner studio, Energy Transition Design LLC. The mission of both organizations is to make sustainable energy accessible, tactile, and understandable. As a solar power designer, he has created interactive and educational projects for the Climate Museum, Solar One, and the NYC Department of Education.
His book A History of Solar Power Art and Design (Routledge, 2021) was the first interdisciplinary history of the field. His forthcoming book, Make: Solar Circuits for Artists, is a collection of solar power art project tutorials and will be released in November 2026.
