Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities: The Making of Orbiting Orbital

This special talk explores the story and creative collaboration behind Orbiting Orbital. The event brings together novelist Samantha Harvey, composer Nitin Sawhney, Professor Yadvinder Malhi and World Human Forum founder Alexandra Mitsotaki to reflect on how the project developed and the ideas that shaped it.

The discussion begins with Harvey’s Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital and the creative spark it gave Sawhney, who was inspired to write music in response to the book. The conversation then turns to the wider collaboration that followed, bringing together artists, academics and archaeologists in a shared exploration of Earth, imagination and human connection.

Yadvinder Malhi leads the conversation, guiding the speakers through the making of the project and the themes behind it. It is a one-off cultural event for audiences interested in literature, music, ecology and creative collaboration, presented at the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford.