​Please join us at the launch party for Orbital Studies Magazine Issue #0: Ways of Seeing the Living World.

​Orbital Studies is a print-only literary science magazine. We publish writing and art in service of a more beautiful scientific culture.

​Our inaugural issue features scientists, philosophers, poets and artists exploring questions of the living world. What separates living matter from our creations? Meaning, purpose, and agency were once scientific taboos—why are biologists now grappling with them? Why do we believe that the world might be knowable to us at all?

​This launch party will feature readings, art installations, live music, and more. Come out to meet the Orbital Studies team and others interested in cultivating a poetic attunement to the scientific world.

​Copies of Orbital Studies, as well as artworks and publications from our contributors and friends, will be available for purchase. There will also be a full cash bar.

​Schedule

​6:30 PM — Doors Open

​7:00 PM — Programming Begins, full lineup to be announced!
- Readings from JF Martel and Jaspreet Singh
- Conversation with Orbital Studies' Editor Xavier Snelgrove and Chief Alchemist Cheryl Hsu.

​8:00 PM — Make a friend. Buy some art. Have a drink.

​8:30 PM — Live musical performance from Michael Palumbo

​9:15 PM — Live musical performance from Stacks

​11:00 PM — Closing

​Issue #0 Contributors

​Sara Angelucci, Philip Ball, Spencer Chang, M. Chirimuuta, Francesca Crachilova, Alana Friend Lettner, Jesse Jacobs, Willa Köerner, Michael Levin, J.F. Martel, Lindsay Mayhew, Sarah Nance, Alicia Nauta, Riley J. Shaw, Jaspreet Singh, Neil Theise, Virginia Woolf, Jan Zwicky

​Musical Performances

​Michael Palumbo is a musician, concert producer, and instrument designer whose work spans experimental performance, community-building, and artist-led production. He performs microsound on a modular synthesizer in solo and ensemble contexts. His electroacoustic works have been presented at venues including the Music Gallery (Toronto), the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park (Chicago), and SUNY Buffalo.
He teaches advanced sound design at Brock University. He is the founder and artistic director of Exit Points, a concert series and record label focused on free-improvisation, and is the curator of the Cool New Instruments Night, a quarterly salon that presents new tools for artmaking. Across his work as an organizer, educator, and performer, Michael is committed to cultivating inclusive creative communities where artists and administrators can take risks, learn through doing, and develop sustainable long-term practices.

​Stacks is an alternative ethereal folk rock band making waves in Toronto's alternative scene. They formed in autumn of 2023 and played under the moniker of lead singer/songwriter Carolina Lopez before officially forming as Stacks in 2025. Stacks are known for their intricate songs, heart-wrenching lyrics, dazzling soundscapes, and captivating dynamic live performances. Imagine Bjork running into Blake Mills by a deserted waterfront in the dead of night, their encounter soundtracked only by waves, cicadas, and the glow of a full moon. Each of the band members in their own right are accomplished artists and mainstays in Toronto’s rich music scene – Samuel Laramee (electric guitar/electronics,) Bjorn Kriel (bass,) Ambrose Veno (drums,) and Carolina Lopez (voice/guitar.) They are currently working on their debut album, set to be released in 2026. Lend your ears, open your heart, and enter their sonic world for an unforgettable musical experience.