Outer Space Is Queer: Postcolonial Futures, Resistance And Human Rights Beyond Earth

Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian comes to Summerhall on Saturday 12 December for Outer Space Is Queer: Postcolonial Futures, Resistance And Human Rights Beyond Earth. It's a talk and Q&A, and they'll be sharing their in-development film Heartsnatcher.

Ben Hayoun-Stépanian is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, drag king and space-culture pioneer. Their track record is as eclectic as it sounds: they led the first mission to carry Armenian pomegranate seeds to the International Space Station, and they put on Picadilly Un:Plugged, which moonbounced human heartbeats alongside music by Fela Kuti & Seun Kuti, Massive Attack and Pussy Riot to the Moon and back. The talk draws on decolonial, diasporic, ecological and LGBTQIA+ perspectives to ask who is entitled to represent humanity in space, and how art and collective action can challenge militarised, colonial and billionaire-led visions of the future. One of the specific ideas they'll be picking apart is the notion of turning the International Space Station — due to be decommissioned in 2030 — into a love hotel.

The session is part of Scotland's Human Rights Festival 2026, which runs under the theme 'Dignity, Freedom and Justice For All' and is led by the Human Rights Consortium Scotland, with Art27 Scotland and Libereco as core partners. It's one of the festival's talks, so there's a Q&A after the film and the main presentation.

It runs from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm in the Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh South EH9 1PL. Tickets are £11.25, with a concession of £9.25 and a low-income/unemployed price of £6.25.