Energy Things, Iva Rešetar, Project »Architectural Yarns«. Detail from the exhibition »Material Legacies« in Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, 2022-23. Photo: Michelle Mantel, 2023
Exhibition, Roundtable and Workshop
This site-specific design intervention at Museum der Dinge critically engages with the environmental legacies of modernism. In dialog with existing environmental systems and the »energy things« from the museum’s collections, it opens up a discussion on human-made heat, drawing attention to the past, present, and future practices of thermal conditioning.
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Long-term monitoring plot of a heath population rendered as point cloud. Remote sensing data and processing: Carsten Neumann and Nicole Köllner, Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam; Visualization: Jona Möller, 2025
Exhibition and Roundtable
The exhibition at ZK/U Berlin explores the complex history and contested afterlife of former military training sites in Brandenburg, Germany. »Blazing Heath/Heideglühen« examines how the toxic legacies of military occupation are made (in)visible and repurposed within scientific knowledge production. By integrating data-driven, visual, and sonic monitoring, a multi-channel video installation encourages you to engage with these uncanny landscapes.
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Swamp Things, Charlett Wenig, 2024. Photo: Janne Ebel, 2024
Exhibition and Workshops
»Swamp Things!« invites peatland ecologies to the BHROX pavilion – haunting echoes of Berlin’s watery past as fenland, shaped by glacial meltwaters. The exhibition explores the lively potential of peatland plants through basketry, open-source coiling machines, and multimodal workshops.
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Beetle Galleries in Spruce Wood. Photo: Pelin Asa, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Matters of Activity, 2024
Exhibition, Symposium, Roundtable and Tours
Climate change and monocultures have left forests vulnerable to insects and fungi. Beetle-infested wood is deemed less valuable from a traditional human-centric perspective. The group show »Symbiotic Wood« at Kunstgewerbemuseum focuses on this ›more-than-human‹ material that is co-owned with other species. It features contributions by artists, designers, architects, and cultural historians.
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Entangled – Architectural Yarns and Structural Textiles. Photo: Michelle Mantel, adapted with drawing: Natalija Miodragović, 2025
Workshop
»Entangled« brings together experts from materials research, architecture, textiles, and the humanities to discuss textile material practices in architecture. The workshop at Deutsches Architektur Zentrum invites the public to engage in conversations about the future of our built, grown, and woven environments. It builds on a network of academic and industry partners with expertise in textile technology and material flows.
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Corrosion Cast of Liver Vessels, Dietrich Polenz, 2023. Image: Igor Sauer, 2025
Exhibition, Panels and Tours
Vessels are indispensable – for plants, animals, humans, and even our cities. This special exhibition at Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum der Charité offers exciting insights into these often-hidden structures. It shows how various vascular systems function and how they are visualized, used, and reproduced.
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Samples of woven cotton cloth dyed with mud (vouwo), Adama Séré - Marka-Dafing master dyer, 2020. Photo: Salif Sawadogo 2020
Exhibition and Talks
»Fermenting Textiles« explores the fermentation of textiles in mud and plant material. The exhibition at Art Laboratory Berlin connects anthropology, microbiology, and art through the engagement of artisans, anthropologists, scientists, and artists and mirrors the multi-species collaborations that are integral to the mud dyeing process.
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Musée national d’histoire naturelle Luxembourg, title: Specimen № 15467, MNHNL 2000, license: CC BY 4.0, color and framing of this image were modified
Exhibition, Workshops, Audio Walk and Movie Night
Focusing on the agency of plant and tree collectives and their ability to shape entire ecologies, »Vegetal Companions« aims to critically reposition conventional human-centered concepts that highlight control and mastery over nature. In a close dialog with the botanical garden of Späth-Arboretum, »Vegetal Companions« explores different forms of knowledge creation, be it soil as archive, art as research, or philosophy as gardening.
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Latent Accumulations: Walking Along Paraffin Pollution at Nida Coastline. Film still: Anna Luise Schubert 2025
Exhibition, Roundtable and Workshop
Paraffin pollution is a recurring concern in coastal environments, yet one that is inherently difficult to detect and classify. The exhibition »Latent Accumulations« at Tieranatomisches Theater Berlin traces the elusive activity of this material. It gives insights into site-specific research processes that connect material investigations with local experiences and memories of shifting landscapes.
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»Syntopolis« reef prototype in STARESO, Rasa Weber & Atelier Marie Drouet. Photo: Till Timmermann, 2024
Exhibition and Interactive Program
Design researcher and diver Rasa Weber takes on the challenge of creating an artificial reef in the river Spree, a project she calls »Syntopolis«. Streamed into the re:future lab, the reef will transform the institute’s exhibition space into an immersive aquatic habitat for encounters, experiences, and reflections on shared ecological futures.
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Film Still taken from a film by Oula A. Valkeapää. Still: Oula A. Valkeapää, 2021
Exhibition, Talk and Tours
The exhibition brings together two worlds: reindeer nomadism in the Arctic Sápmi region and the bioscience of epigenetics. Drawing on living relations within contemporary reindeer worlds and bioscientific research, the exhibition at Schering Stiftung materializes a world in which epigenetic memories are not only shared between humans but carried within ancestral migratory paths, called ›Johtingeaidnu‹.
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Laurentiu Constantin measuring a soil core sample in Bieselfließ, Germany, Nov 2024.Copyright: inherit. heritage in transformation
Exhibition of Centre of Advanced Studies »inherit. heritage in transformation« Opens at Tieranatomisches Theater
The exhibition »muddy measures. when wetlands and heritage converse« examines the relationship between wetlands and heritage. How does a heritage perspective reshape our understanding of wetlands? The exhibition is organized by Cluster Associated Member Yoonha Kim, together with Juliana Robles de la Pava and Margareta von Oswald and entails works of the Cluster members Charlett Wenig and Lucy Norris as well as Léa Perraudin and Iva Rešetar as part of the ＿matter festival. The opening will take place on March 27th at 6.00 pm. There will be a guided tour at 6.30 pm, followed by a reception.
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Visual Wasser Wissen
Zweite Veranstaltung der neuen »WasserWissen | PARCOURS«-Reihe der BUA zum Weltwassertag
Die Spree versiegt, der Wannsee wird zur Pfütze und der Landwehrkanal zum Rinnsal? Berlin steuert auf einen Wassermangel zu. Wenn die »Schwammstadt« auf dem Trockenen sitzt, kann der Wasserbedarf bald nicht mehr gedeckt werden: Was würde das für die Region Berlin-Brandenburg, eines der trockensten Gebiete Deutschlands, bedeuten? Um die komplexen Fragen rund um die aquatischen Ökosysteme zu ergründen, lädt die Berlin University Alliance am Weltwassertag 2025 herzlich zum zweiten Teil der Veranstaltungsreihe »WasserWissen | PARCOURS« ins Humboldt Labor ein.
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Berliner Exzellenzcluster starten eigene Pub Quiz-Reihe
Wozu forschen eigentlich die sieben Berliner Exzellenzcluster? Taucht ein in die wunderbare Welt der Forschung von Literatur bis Chemie, von Politik bis KI – überraschende, spannende und witzige Fragen laden zum Miträtseln ein. Sucht Mitstreiterinnen, denkt Euch Teamnamen aus und seid dabei! Wir freuen uns, euch zum Auftakt der neuen Pub-Quiz-Reihe am Montag, den 10. März in die fahimi bar nach Kreuzberg einzuladen.
So funktioniert‘s: Jeder Quizabend highlightet die Forschung eines Exzellenzclusters mit einer dazu passenden Live-Performance. Fragen aus den Bereichen aller Berliner Cluster ergänzen den zweistündigen Rätselabend. Am Ende seid ihr gewiss schlauer als zuvor – und geht vielleicht sogar mit großartigen Preisen nach Hause. Moderiert wird der Abend von Jochen Müller. Wir freuen uns auf euch! more
So funktioniert‘s: Jeder Quizabend highlightet die Forschung eines Exzellenzclusters mit einer dazu passenden Live-Performance. Fragen aus den Bereichen aller Berliner Cluster ergänzen den zweistündigen Rätselabend. Am Ende seid ihr gewiss schlauer als zuvor – und geht vielleicht sogar mit großartigen Preisen nach Hause. Moderiert wird der Abend von Jochen Müller. Wir freuen uns auf euch! more
Visual Open Space. Copyright: Berlin University Alliance
Public Event with Cluster Co-Director Claudia Mareis, and Architects Anupama Kundoo and Regula Lüscher
How can innovative materials revolutionize our built environment? The fourth edition of the »OPEN SPACE« salon series invites you to explore this question. Novel materials are more than just technical innovations - they are the key to future-proof architecture, sustainable urban development, and climate- and resource-friendly construction. We kindly invite you to learn more about and discuss these issues at the 4th »OPEN SPACE« organized by Berlin University Alliance. We are very much looking forward to the input from Prof. Dr. Claudia Mareis (Co-Director of the Berlin Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«), Prof. Dr. Anupama Kundoo (Anupama Kundoo architects, TU Berlin), and Regula Lüscher (architect, urban planner, and Former Senate Building Director and State Secretary for Urban Development in Berlin). Please register now, as spots are limited.
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MAKING Material Move with Heidi Jalkh. Copyright: Matters of Activity (with a special thanks to Max Planck Gesellschaft for the ice plant footage)
The New Episode with Heidi Jalkh Explores Auxetic Materials
Just a single drop of water and the ice plants’ leaves spring to life! No muscles, no motors. What's the secret? It’s all in the plant’s structure. Researchers like Heidi Jalkh are diving deep into how plants move to design smarter materials for the future. From everyday stuff like EVA foam, she creates bioinspired, so-called auxetic materials that can even lift rocks. »My aim was to make it be alive«, Heidi says. Unlocking nature’s magic recipe book to motion could change the way we build, create, and design.
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Still »¡Aquí Estoy!« with Heidi Jalkh (left) and Pía Castro (right). Copyright: DW
Heidi Jalkh Interviewed for DW Format »¡Aquí Estoy!«
Industrial designer and MoA Associated Member Heidi Jalkh has lived in Buenos Aires for 20 years, but has been traveling to Berlin for extended periods for the past 5 years. She combines experimental design, research and teaching around sustainable and nature-inspired materials. Her work explores how fungi, marine debris and other natural elements can transform the relationship between design and ecosystems. Her work has now been featured in Spanish in the Deutsche Welle format »¡Aquí Estoy!«, moderated by Pía Castro.
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Still of MAKING Artificial Reefs with Rasa Weber. Copyright: Matters of Activity
This Episode of MoA Mini Documentary Series Highlights the Work of Rasa Weber
Ever wondered what it takes to build a reef — underwater? Rasa Weber does just that, diving into the depths with hammers and screwdrivers to create Syntopolis, a city-like structure designed for anyone who wants to call it home. In the latest episode of Making, join Rasa as she explores the fascinating world of artificial reefs, their environmental impact, and the challenges of constructing them. From sustainable design to marine conservation, this project could be one step in shaping the future of our oceans for the better. Watch the full episode now to see how innovation meets nature!
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Still of »MAKING a robot feel« with Anna Schäffner and her project »Soft Collision«. Copyright: Matters of Activity
New MoA Mini Documentary Series Starts with Anna Schäffner
Imagine hugging a robot as soft and comforting as a teddy bear. This could be the future, moving away from the cold, steel monsters we’ve seen in sci-fi films. Anna Schäffner, designer and PhD candidate at Matters of Activity, is bringing this vision to life with her innovative project »Soft Collision«. Anna covered a steel robot in silicone membranes that inflate when you touch them. »It’s giving skin to the robot«, Anna says. But how does it work? How might it let us interact with robots in a more intuitive and secure way? And what’s a caterpillar got to do with it?
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Teaser »MAKING« with Anna Schäffner and her project »Soft Collision«. Production: Richard Ley & Maxim Landau. Copyright: Matters of Activity
New Documentary Series Takes Viewers Behind the Scenes of Matters of Activity
How can we make a robot feel? What does it take to build an artificial reef? And how do we design structures that move effortlessly like plants? Find out in the Cluster's new mini-documentary series, MAKING_. Here, our researchers share insights into their groundbreaking work in simple terms. We’re kicking off with Anna Schäffner's Soft Collision. On Thursday, January 23rd, the first episode will be released on the Cluster’s website and social media, followed by Rasa Weber's hidden coral cities on January 30th and Heidi Jalkh's auxetic materials on February 6th.
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Exhibtion »Stretching Materialities«. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Vortrag und Gespräch mit Christian Stein
Am Cluster arbeiten über 40 Disziplinen und rund 300 Wissenschafterler:innen zusammen, um die komplexen Herausforderungen von Umwelten, Materialitäten und ihren Interaktionen zu erforschen, zu verstehen, zu gestalten – und zu vermitteln. Diese inter- und transdisziplinären Projekte schlagen sich in Ausstellungen nieder, interaktiven Formaten und experimentellen Veranstaltungen. Eine Tendenz kristallisiert sich heraus: Wissenschaft und Kunst rücken näher zusammen, brauchen einander mehr denn je und erzeugen zusammen ganz neue Schnittstellen in die Gesellschaft. Anhand von Beispielen, wie der interaktiven Virtual Reality Ausstellung »Stretching Materialitiesq, und Beobachtungen zu Interdisziplinarität bzw. Kommunikation wird der CLuster vorgestellt und die Fragen einer neuen Verbindung von künstlerischer Wissenschaft und wissenschaftlicher Kunst gestellt.
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The Science Slam of the Berlin Clusters of Excellence
Slammin’ like there’s no tomorrow – at the Science Slam of the Berlin Clusters of Excellence, researchers try everything to entertain their audience, regardless of whether the subject is e.g. mathematics, neuroscience, or active material. For Matters of Activity, Associated Member Heidi Jalkh will present her latest research under the title »From Awe to Wonder - Designing Nature Inspired Materials«. Join us on November 7th at Roadrunner's Paradise Club, it will be a great evening! The event is part of Berlin Science Week 2024.
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Screenshot from Berlin Science Week Website. Copyright: Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash
Fardin and Siamak Gholami's Co-Filter Project Finalist in Pitch Event
Discover the future of green chemistry at a live pitch event! Unveil the synergy between society, sustainability, chemistry, and innovation. Watch, vote, and engage. We warmly invite you to this pitching slam, where the scientific publisher Wiley and the Berlin chemistry innovation ecosystem greenCHEM will host a showcase of cutting-edge chemistry innovations. Fardin and Siamak Gholami's »Co-Filter« project has been selected as a finalist between »5 great project ideas«, where chemistry can be the basis of an impactful application in society. Join the event in person or virtually at Wiley's Berlin office! The event is part of Berlin Science Week 2024.
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Samples from the CONQ project, 2024. Copyright: Angie Dub and Heidi Jalkh
Workshop with Angie Dub and Heidi Jalkh at Berlin Science Week 2024 Fully Booked - Save Your Last Spot on the Waiting List!
We're thrilled to share that we will contribute to this year's Berlin Science Week with a workshop about connecting marine-based industries and construction for more sustainable architecture. Each year, over 10 million tonnes of shells—mostly from oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels—are discarded as waste despite their high calcium carbonate content. How could we make better use of the potential of these ingenious materials? Let’s explore this together! With inputs from MoA member Christiane Sauer, Kika Brockstedt from the material data platform revalu, and many more.
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Traveling Exhibition Bakteriopolis, 2024 Photo: Sven Ellger, TU Dresden
Exhibition at Museum für Naturkunde
Bakteriopolis is a mobile exhibition built into a shipping container showcasing bacteria and their amazing ability to form multicellular aggregates. These very common and sometimes spectacularly looking ›biofilms‹ may cause chronic infectious diseases but are also involved in beneficial activities such as food fermentation. Designed as a public outreach activity of the DFG-funded priority program SPP2389 at TU Dresden, Bakteriopolis is traveling through Germany and will be presented in front of Naturkundemuseum Berlin during Berlin Science Week from 1-10 November 2024. On the 5th and 6th of November, MoA PhD student José Ignacio Hernández Lobato will lead through the exhibition and experiments at Bakteriopolis and will give you a glimpse into his research on how bacterial biofilms and plant-microbe interactions impact fermentative textile dyeing. Bakteriopolis is designed to be accessible to adults as well as kids.
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Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Natalija Miodragović, and Emma Sicher are Part of Talk Series on Mycelium
The exhibition and talks aim at celebrating the intersection of art, design, science, and ecology, and at exploring how the process of mycofabrication – using fungi as a tool for manufacturing – and multispecies design can reshape our perceptions, inspire new ways of thinking and reconnect us to the environment. Metempsychosis, the idea of mind transmigration, serves as a metaphor for the transformative journey of creating with living mycelium, which not only serves as a medium but actively participates in the creative process. Cluster members Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Natalija Miodragović, and Emma Sicher will contribute to the talk series on November 2nd from 5 pm in Berlin-Mitte.
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Copyright: ICI Berlin
Conference Organized by Claudia Mareis – Conference Contributions Now Online as an Audio Series
The conference »Planetary Design: Reclaiming Futures« brought together critical thinking and doing around the role of design in making, unmaking and remaking worlds. Starting from the intersection of design, infrastructure, and the planetary environment, it offered a generative platform open to artists, academics, and activists for rethinking design’s role in producing the present and for developing alternative planetary futures. The conference gathered artists, academics, and activists to rethink design's role in producing our present and developing alternative planetary futures. The conference contributions are now online as a podcast!
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»Dissect« Event at Tieranatomisches Theater Berlin, 04.11.2022. Foto: Samuel Bianchini. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Films of Performances Online Now!
The two »Dissect« events held as part of Berlin Science Week 2022 on November 2nd and 4th were a great success and unique experience. In the sold-out Tieranatomisches Theater (TA T) at Humboldt-Universität Berlin, researchers from different disciplines discussed contemporary artworks, including Marco Donnarumma's »Amygdala« and Tomas Saraceno's »Spiders«. Konstantin Mitrokhov’s three films allow you to re-experience these fascinating events.
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CollActive Materials’ Workshop »Open Lab Abend: Wachsende Architektur – Co-Design mit Pilzen« im Futurium Lab, 13. Juni 2024. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Several MoA Members Contribute to the Festival on Future Design
Witness future design and art coming together to turn visions into reality: futures you can see and touch! MoA members Christian Stein, Rasa Weber, Natalija Miodragovic, Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Antje Nestler and Kristin Werner contribute to this year's Holitopia Festival with a keynote, panel, discussion and speculative workshop at Campus Wilhelminenhof of HTW Berlin. Don't miss your chance for a reduced ticket for the conference day. But there are also lots of free activities, such as the exhibition »Above the Sea of Air« with works from the Cluster.
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Charlett Wenig und Johanna Hehemyer-Cürten mit der Barksphere am Strausberger Platz, Kampagne »Das offene Wissenslabor«, 2024. Copyright: Berlin University Alliance
Charlett Wenig und Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten über das Bark Project
Fasern, Samenkapseln, Pflanzenstängel oder Seidengespinste – in der Natur gibt es jede Menge unterschiedlicher Materialien, die außergewöhnlichen mechanische Eigenschaften haben und sich an wechselnde Umweltbedingungen anpassen können. Wie funktionieren diese biogenen Materialien und könnten sie möglicherweise Inspirations- und Rohstoffquelle für Architektur, Design oder Produktentwicklung sein? In einem Interview, das Teil der neuen Kampagne der Berlin University Alliana »Das offene Wissenslabor« ist, geben Cluster-Mitglieder Charlett Wenig und Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten Einblicke in die Arbeit der Forschungsgruppe »Adaptive Fibrous Materials« und insbesondere über ihre Forschung zu Baumrinde.
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Folgenbild Syntopische Architekturen, 2024. Käferbefallenes Fichtenholz, Foto: Pelin Asa, MPIKG, adaptiert von MoA.
Neue Podcast-Folge der Serie »Exzellent Erklärt« mit Karola Dierichs und Robert Stock
In Folge 48 der Podcastserie »Exzellent Erklärt« erwartet die Zuhörer:innen ein inspirierender Austausch zu der Frage, wie die Materialien, die in der direkten Umgebung und ihren Kreisläufen vorkommen, das Bauen der Zukunft mitgestalten können. Journalistin Larissa Vassilian hat mit Cluster-Mitgliedern Karola Dierichs und Robert Stock über ihr Projekt »Syntopic Architectures« gesprochen, das darauf abzielt, natürliche Strukturen in die Architektur zu integrieren, die in Verbindung zu dem Ort stehen, an dem gebaut wird. Ein Beispiel dafür ist das Arbeiten mit Käferholz, also mit Holz, das vom Borkenkäfer befallen wurde.
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Still »Change by Design«. Copyright: ARTE.tv
Claudia Mareis Contributes as an Expert to an ARTE Documentary on Sustainable Design
For all our German and French-speaking friends we have a special treat: ARTE TV visited us and made our Co-Director Claudia Mareis and »Matters of Activity« part of a documentation about sustainable fashion and of course design. English subtitles as well as other languages are also available, so don’t miss it!
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Tagesspiegel-Artikel über Christian Stein und VR-Forschung am Cluster
Für einen im August erschienenen Artikel im Tagesspiegel zur aktuellen VR-Forschung wurde Cluster-Mitglied und Mitgründer und Betreiber des gamelab.berlin Christian Stein interviewt. Neben den bei »Matters of Activity« entwickelten VR-Formaten für Ausstellungen wie beispielsweise die Elevator Platform in der »Stretching Materialies«-Ausstellung kam dabei auch die zunehmende Bedeutung von VR-Simulationen im OP-Saal zur Sprache.
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Vera Meyer zu Gast in neuester Folge des BUA-Podcast »Spot ON«
Im neuen Podcast »Spot ON - Wege zur Professur«, sprechen Mitglieder der Postdoc-Academy der Berlin University Alliance mit Professor*innen aus den vier Berliner Universitäten über ihren Weg zur Professur. Hier geht es nicht um Karriere-Blaupausen, sondern wir wollen wissen: Was waren die entscheidenden Abzweigungen auf dem Karriereweg? Was war im Rückblick besonders wichtig? Was hätten sie gern früher gewusst und was würden sie Postdocs heute empfehlen, die eine akademische Karriere anstreben? Wer oder was hat sie besonders beeinflusst? Und ist es jetzt so, wie sie es sich vorgestellt hatten? In der neuesten Folge gibt Clustermitglied Vera Meyer, Professorin für Mikrobiologie an der TU Berlin, Antworten auf diese Fragen und Einblicke in ihre Forschung.
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Visual Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2024
Auch Matters of Activity lädt am 22. Juni wieder zu spannenden Einblicken ein
Auch in diesem Jahr können interessierte Besucher:innen bei der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am 22. Juni wieder spannende Einblicke in die Forschung an Berliner Hochschulen und Forschungseinrichtungen gewinnen - und auch in diesem Jahr sind einige Mitglieder von Matters of Activity mit dabei. Als MoA-PR-Team freuen wir uns außerdem, gemeinsam mit den Wissenschaftskommunikator:innen der anderen Berliner Exzellenzcluster wieder ein Pubquiz zu veranstalten. Dieses Jahr bieten wir sogar zwei Runden im Foyer des TU-Hauptgebäudes an, los geht's um 19 Uhr.
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Die sieben Berliner Exzellenzcluster laden zum Miträtseln ein
Erneut heißt es bei der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften 2024: Freunde für ein Team (2-4 Pers.) einladen, einen kreativen/lustigen Team-Namen auswählen, damit ihr beim Pub Quiz der sieben Berliner Exzellenzcluster mitmachen und tolle Preise gewinnen könnt! Es gibt wieder spannende, lustige und überraschende Fragen aus den Forschungsbereichen der Cluster zum Mitraten und Rätseln, die neugierig machen. Gute Stimmung und Laune sind garantiert!
Dabei bleibt keine Synapse ungenutzt, denn die Fragen kommen aus den sieben faszinierenden Forschungsfeldern der Cluster: anwendungsorientierte Mathematik (MATH+), Intelligente Forschung (Science of Intelligence), Katalyse/Grüne Chemie (UniSysCat), Liberale Ordnung (SCRIPTS), Neurowissenschaften (NeuroCure), Weltliteratur (Temporal Communities) und natürlich von uns zu aktiven Materialien! Das breite Spektrum bietet für jede:n etwas. more
Dabei bleibt keine Synapse ungenutzt, denn die Fragen kommen aus den sieben faszinierenden Forschungsfeldern der Cluster: anwendungsorientierte Mathematik (MATH+), Intelligente Forschung (Science of Intelligence), Katalyse/Grüne Chemie (UniSysCat), Liberale Ordnung (SCRIPTS), Neurowissenschaften (NeuroCure), Weltliteratur (Temporal Communities) und natürlich von uns zu aktiven Materialien! Das breite Spektrum bietet für jede:n etwas. more
Gesprächsrunde der Technologiestiftung Berlin mit Christiane Sauer nun in Mediathek abrufbar
In Berlin wird gebaut - ständig und viel. Doch vom einfachen »Stein auf Stein« sind wir mittlerweile weit entfernt. Wissenschaftler:innen aus Berlin erforschen neue Materialien wie Biobeton oder den Einsatz von Textilien und Pilzen. Aber auch »Altes« findet im zirkulären Bauen neuen Einsatz. Über altes und neues Baumaterial sprach Christiane Sauer, MoA-Mitglied und Professorin für Material und Entwurf im räumlichen Kontext an der weißensee kunsthochschule berlin, mit Wolfram Schmidt (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung) und Annabelle von Reutern (Verband für Bauen im Bestand e.V.) am 18. Juni 2024, in der Technologiestiftung Berlin. Das Gespräch, moderiert von Jessica Wiener, kann nun in der Mediathek des rbb24 Inforadio nachgehört werden.
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Mykoplektonik by Natalija Miodragović and Dimitra Almpani-Lekka. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Last Open Lab Evening of the Series »Visiting Material Futures« at the Futurium
In the last workshop of the series at Futurium, we dive into the interconnected world of fungi and their mycelium. Together with architects Dimitra Almpani-Lekka and Natalija Miodragović, we explore the properties and behaviors of mycelium in nature and architecture, to speculate about future relations and applications: Could the buildings of tomorrow be grown in collaboration with plants and fungi? Can fungi help us build life-supporting networks in the cities to maintain natural resources and the local biodiversity? How can co-designing and co-habiting with a living organism transform our experience of future architecture and our relationships with other species? The workshop is already fully booked.
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Photo: Stefan Klenke
Interview mit Christian Stein im Rahmen der Reihe »Die BUA und ich«
In das Innere von Wolken und Steinen reisen oder eine Schulklasse in Kenia besuchen – das und noch viel mehr ist ganz einfach über ein VR-Headset möglich. gamelab.berlin Co-Head und MoA-Mitglied Christian Stein entwickelt die virtuellen Umgebungen für diese digitalen Ausflüge. Er erforscht, wie Nutzer:innen damit interagieren und wie Gamification dabei hilft, Wissen auf neue Weise zu vermitteln. Ein Interview im Rahmen der neuen Reihe »Die BUA und ich – Protokolle aus dem Exzellenzverbund« gibt interesannte Einblicke in Christians Forschung und macht diese auch für ein Publikum jenseits der Academia greifbar.
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Copyright: Francisca José Rodrigues & Gilmar Rodrigues
Call for Submissions 14 June
The European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) encouraged members to participate online and digitally to the conference this year. As part of the online activities, the convenors of EASA Barcelona 2024 were delighted to announce a call for artworks for the online exhibition project, »Field/Works II: Generating Ecologies of Trust«, curated by ANTART members Maxime Le Calvé and Jen Clarke.
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Gestalten mit Cellulose, Wasser und Luft. Copyright: Eva Bullermann
Open Lab Abend der Reihe »Materialzukünfte besuchen« im Futurium
In diesem Workshop ging es um flexible Materialien wie Cellulose, Bio-Plastik und Silikon als mögliche (neue) Materialien für Soft Robotics oder gar biologische Maschinen. Soft Robotics ist ein relativ junges Forschungsfeld, das sich mit alternativen Ansätzen zur Gestaltung der Maschinen von morgen beschäftigt. Wie können wir Maschinen bauen, damit sie sensibler und anpassbarer werden? Können wir dafür adaptive vielleicht sogar nachhaltige Materialien nutzen, statt immer mehr Metall, Plastik und Energie zu verbrauchen? Mit den Design-Forscherinnen Anna Schäffner und Eva Bullermann spekulieren wir darüber, wie die Maschinen der Zukunft gestaltet sein könnten. Wie sieht deine Magic Machine aus?
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Ausstellung »Visiting Material Futures«, Futurium 2024. Copyright: David von Becker
Pop-up Exhibition at Futurium
What material futures can we envision if we engage in collaborative speculation? The pop-up exhibition »Visiting Material Futures« explores this question through contributions from Cluster researchers and Futurium workshop participants. The collaboration between »Matters of Activity«, »Futurium«, and the experimental laboratory for Science Communication »CollActive Materials« employs the concept of co-speculation. This method invites knowledge from research, experience, and everyday life into a co-creative exchange about what material futures seem possible to us today. Don't miss your chance to visit the exhibition until the end of August!
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Multispecies Design Symposium March 2024, Kunstgewerbemuseum. Copyright: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Symposium and Project Launch at Kunstgewerbemuseum
On Friday, March 22nd, 2024, the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) launched the new discursive platform »More than Human. Design after the Anthropocene« with the symposium »Multispecies Design«. The project aims to explore the complex more-than-human concept from the perspective of the creative disciplines, particularly design, through pop-up exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and discussion panels. »More than Human« was curated by Claudia Banz, curator at the Kunstgewerbemuseum and member of »Matter of Activities« and realized together with international contributors from transdisciplinary contexts, among them several MoA researchers.
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Thermography shows the effect of shading and the influence of solar radiation on surface temperatures. Copyright: Maxie Schneider
Workshop Series at Futurium
Gestaltet das Futurium Lab selbst mit! In der öffentlichen Workshopreihe »OPEN LAB ABEND: Materialzukünfte besuchen« spekulierten Teilnehmende darüber, aus welchen Materialien die Welt von morgen gemacht sein könnte. Die Workshopreihe umfasste 4 Termine und fand von März bis Juni im Futurium statt. Forschende von »Matters of Activity« (MoA) gaben Einblick in ihre Arbeit. Davon ausgehend entwickelten Teinehmende Zukunftsszenarien und gestalteten Prototypen, die im Anschluss zusammen mit Objekten aus der MoA-Forschung im Lab ausgestellt wurden. Begleitet wurden Teilnehmende dabei vom spekulationserfahrenen Team von »CollActive Materials«.
It’s getting hot in here... In diesem ersten Workshop ging es darum, wie wir mit smarten Materialien die Städte der Zukunft gestalten können. Im Sommer machen steigende Temperaturen, Metall und Beton das Leben in der Innenstadt für alle Bewohnenden immer mehr zur Herausforderung. Welche Materialien schaffen Abhilfe in überhitzten Städten?
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Charlett Wenig, Bark Sphere, 2021. Copyright: Alexander Magerl
Matters of Activity und CollActive Materials starten Kooperation mit Futurium Lab
»Matters of Activity« und das Experimentallabor für Wissenschaftskommunikation »CollActive Materials« starteten im März eine neue Veranstaltungsreihe im Futurium Lab. Unter dem Titel »Materialzukünfte besuchen« fanden über vier Monate vier Workshops statt, die die Forschung des Clusters mit der Zivilgesellschaft zusammenbrachten und in denen gemeinsam über Materialzukünfte spekuliert wurde. Begleitet wurden die Veranstaltungen von einer temporären Ausstellung im Futurium Lab.
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Copyright: Rasa Weber
Rasa Weber spricht bei »Humano Biotop II« im Roten Salon
Am 13. Dezember spricht Rasa Weber im Rahmen der Veranstaltung »Humano Biotop II« im Roten Salon der Volksbühne. Die Reihe wird präsentiert vom Künstlerinnenkollektiv POEM (Despoten der Migration) und nähert sich posthumanistischen Körpern, ekstatischen Futuritäten und der Zukunft des Sex...
Heidi Jalkh Presents her Research in Argentinian TV
In the interview that was aired on a National television show about Science Communication in November, MoA member Heidi Jalkh presented her research on bio-inspired materials and reports on her work at »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, which began with her participation in the »Open Design« program. The full interview can be seen on the La Liga della Ciencia Channel on YouTube.
GOLD Textiles from collagen. Image: Denny Sachtleben WINT Design Lab
Ecodesign Award 2023
We warmly congratulate Cluster Member Felix Rasehorn: His design and research lab WINT won the eco-design award 2023 in the category concept for the collaborative research project »GOLD Bio-textiles for sustainability«. As part of a research initiative, the GOLD project investigated goldbeater’s skin, a type of tissue found in cow gut. This elastic membrane was characterized biochemically to develop a recyclable, bio-based and vegan high-performance textile.
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Open Space Event, 9 November 2023. Copyright: Matters of Activity
MoA Opened its Doors
We are surrounded by matter that is vibrant and active. Yet we often treat matter as if it were passive. Instead of using active material properties and structures, industrial and digital manufacturing, as well as conventional approaches to engineering, design, and architecture, still heavily rely on the passivation of materials, and external energy is added. On November 8th and 9th, Matters of Activity opened its doors to the general public for the first time as part of Berlin Science Week. More than 140 guests on both days were given an insight into the Cluster of Excellence's research.
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Samples of Flax Fiber Bundles as a precursor for Architectural Yarns, adapted by Node Berlin/Oslo. Copyright: Maxie Schneider, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, weißensee school of art and design, Matters of Activity
Activating Circular Networks Goes Berlin Science Week 2023
How can we deal with the complexities of transitioning to a bio-economy in which natural fiber could play a major role? The second event in the »Activating Circular Network« series unfolded on November 8th, 2023 as a pivotal part of MoA Berlin Science Week. The aim of the organizers Lucy Norris, Khashayar Razghandi, and Hanna Wiesener was to bring together diverse actors — researchers, designers, entrepreneurs, activists and artists — to explore the complexities of transitioning to a bio-economy of natural fibres.
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Poster with Abstract Visual Associations. Copyright: Rüdiger Wenk
Lecture Performance Organized by »Object Space Agency« During Berlin Science Week 2023
In this lecture performance, Rüdiger Wenk presents his auditive associations of images in the plural based on his cybernetic algorithm as part of analog sound synthesis. Rüdiger Wenk first explains the basics of his cybernetic algorithm consisting of envelope follower (signal input), modal synthesis (body), and asynchronous granular synthesis (space) in the context of feedback within this current lecture performance.
The visual works, which will be shown in the course of the Berlin Science Week 2023 by the Institute of Art History of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in cooperation with »Object Space Agency« on November 7th, can be seen from 6:00 pm in the Medientheater. The lecture performance starts at 7:00 pm.
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Brainroads. Copyright: Lene Zech
Exploring Neuroplasticity through Art and Science
Like the sculptor with marble, neurosurgeons dialogue with the brain they operate on. Mapping and representing these ›brain roads‹ can be achieved through various imaging methods, which help neurosurgeons extend their knowledge of the cerebral anatomy. The French Professor in neuro-oncology Hugues Duffau is famous for operating on low-grade gliomas by performing awake surgery with very little technology. His methodology includes a complex mix of techniques, disciplines and experiments based on the concept of neuroplasticity and a limited use of medical imaging in the operating room. The workshop, organized by Patricia Ribault, will explore these »Brain Roads« during Berlin Science Week on November 2nd from 10.00 am– 5.00 pm.
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Science Slam of All Berlin Clusters during Berlin Science Week
Slammin’ like there’s no tomorrow - at our Cluster Science Slam, researchers try everything to entertain their audience, regardless of whether the subject is e.g. mathematics, neuroscience or active material. The sky is the limit when it comes to what’s possible. Costumes, props, movies, PowerPoint presentations or other experimental setups – it is all allowed. Only time sets the limits – every slammer will have ten minutes at most. And the audience will decide which presentation is best!
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Interview mit Martin Müller, Tagesspiegel, 22. Oktober 2023. Copyright: Tagesspiegel
Martin Müller im Interview mit dem Tagesspiegel
Clustermitglied und CollActive Materials Co-Projektleiter Martin Müller wurde nach der Eröffnung von »Airbound« am 19. Oktober 2023 im CLB im Aufbauhaus zur Ausstellung interviewt. »Die Luft spielt eine existenzielle Rolle in der globalen Klimakrise. Die Ausstellung soll die Aufmerksamkeit darauf lenken, dass mögliche Zukünfte sich auch an der Luft entscheiden, an unserem Verständnis davon, was es bedeutet zu atmen, mit der Luft zu leben. Wir sind ›airbound‹ – luftverbunden.«. Mehr zur Ausstellung und das ganze Interview gibt es im Tagesspiegel vom 22. Oktober 2023.
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Gosia Lehmann, Breathless Choir. Copyright: CollActive Materials, Foto: Michelle Mantel
A Report on the Exhibition »AIRBOUND. Sensing Collective Futures«
Ubiquitous and yet invisible: Air accompanies us daily and is an essential foundation of life. More than that, air will play a fundamental role in determining what futures become possible for us as humans. The exhibition »AIRBOUND. Sensing Collective Futures« (Oct 20th-Nov 9th, 2023) by CollActive Materials offered new perspectives on air as a material, a connecting social element, and a decisive space for negotiating futures.
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Exhibition Opening »Airbound«, 19 October 2023. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Speculative Exhibition by the »CollActive Materials« Experimental Laboratory
Invisible, and yet everywhere. Air is always already on its way to becoming something else. From molecule to atmosphere: the global climate crisis and thus the possible futures of our coexistence will be decided by means of air. How could a new sensorium emerge for the coming? What will connect us in the future? »Airbound« runs until November 9th and provides space for discussing geopolitical urgencies of the present through climate fictions and speculative everyday scenarios.
As part of Berlin Science Week »CollActive Materials« also organizes the workshop »Introducing: The Breathless Choir« November 4th at Naturkundemuseum.
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Participatory Forum »Art-Science-Collaborations« at ZKM
Participatory Forum at ZKM Karlruhe
Babette Werner is part of the participatory forum »Art-Science-Collaborations: Establishing a Research Agenda« on October 6th, 2023 from 1.00 pm to October 7th, 2023 5.00 pm, held at ZKM – Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. The event includes workshops, panels, and networking sessions and is expecting around 35 people from the fields of Art-Science and research policy. The forum aims to develop a research agenda for the field of Art-Science studies, with a particular focus on research that would explore the effects of such collaborations. We hope, through the process of the workshops, to create a co-authored policy brief or paper that will shape the direction of research in this area and which might be suitable for publication or form part of a call for a special issue in this area.
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Claudia Mareis spricht auf Auricher Wissenschaftstagen
Die Auricher Wissenschaftstage richten sich an Schülerinnen und Schüler. Ob Vorträge von Nobelpreisträger:innen oder hautnahe Einblicke in renommierte Forschungszentren – seit 1992 bietet das Veranstaltungs- und Stipendienprogramm spannende Weiterbildungsmöglichkeiten. Cluster Co-Direktorin Claudia Mareis ist Teil des Programms mit dem Titel »Welt als Entwurf. Gestaltung im Kontext sozialer, politischer und ökologischer Probleme«.
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Poster Exzellentes Pub-Quiz, Long Night of the Sciences 2023, designed by Neurocure. Copyright: Neurocure.
Berliner Exzellenzcluster laden zur Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften ein
Am 17. Juni laden die Berliner Exzellenzcluster um 19:30 Uhr zum exzellenten Pub-Quiz im TU-Zelt auf dem Südcampus an der Straße des 17. Juni ein! In lockerer Atmosphäre und bei hoffentlich sommerlichen Temperaturen freuen wir uns auf eine lange Quiz-Nacht, bei der ihr mehr über die Forschung der sieben Berliner Cluster erfahrt. Die Veranstaltung ist Teil der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften.
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Copyright: Nadezhda Moryak
Presentation at the Long Night of the Sciences 2023
Are your senses up for a challenge? Dive into our interactive experiment and put your memory to the test as you enter Virtual Reality to explore digital objects using both vision and touch. Will you be able to recognize objects while racing against time? Researchers from the »Virtual Dissection« team of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« invite you to unlock the secrets of working memory performance while delving into how our brains deal with sensory information. Join us at the Long Night of the Sciences on June 17th at Zuse-Institute!
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Hybride Formen. Copyright: Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch
A Participative, Artistic-Research Theater Piece of the Master's Program »Spiel und Objekt«, Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, Taught by Clemens Winkler
The participatory, artistic-research theater piece by the students of the Master's Program »Spiel und Objekt« at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts is divided into »Three Perspectives« and »Playing Emissions«. In »Playing Emissions« you enter the theme park of air futures! Experience the production of steam, body heat, sweat, feelings, breathing exercises in various eventful dramaturgies. How do we transform strong personal emotions from moments of crisis into new forms of collaborative play? The piece was created in collaboration with the experimental lab »CollActive Materials«, the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
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Driving the Human Book Launch at Matters of Activity, 10 May 2023. Copyright: Camille Blake / Driving the Human
Book Launch with Hand-On-Workshops, Guided Tours, a Talk, and Debates at Matters of Activity
On May 10th, the three-year initiative »Driving the Human: Seven Prototypes for Eco-social Renewal« celebrated the Berlin launch of the final publication with »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. From 3.30 pm, the Cluster opened the doors to its premises in Sophienstraße 22a and invited interested guests to workshops and guided tours, a talk, and lively debates reflecting on the three-year process of »Driving the Human«. Partners, experts, and project authors were on hand to discuss with guests the relationship between research, design and art. On this occasion, many cluster members also provided insights into their research work at »Matters of Activity«.
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Futures of Air. Copyright: CollActive Materials
Speculative Workshop Series in May
Ungraspable! Air is invisible, yet it is eyerywhere. Always already on its way to becoming something else. From molecule to atmosphere: the global climate crisis and thus the possible futures of our coexistence will be decided by means of air. Does the air belong to all of us? What stories lie in the air? What will connect us in the future? Our workshop series invites you to speculate about »Futures of Air« – together with researchers from »Matters of Activity« and »Science of Intelligence«. In three different co-design workshops, we explore and negotiate the critical role of air as a collective, active, and intelligent material. An exhibition will present the workshop conversations and outcomes in the fall of 2023 at Aufbau Haus (CLB Berlin).
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Design: NODE, adapted by Franziska Wegener
A Workshop Series for MoA PhDs and Postdocs
As science communication becomes an increasingly important part of any researcher’s life, it is essential - especially for PhDs and Postdocs - to find a science communication style that engages their audience(s) in a meaningful way while also providing enjoyment and mental energy for their own research. In this workshop series, we provide you with the basic knowledge and confidence to craft a science communication style that suits your research topic(s) and individual preferences. In the first workshop, we will take a look at different science communication models, while the second workshop aims to help you choose your preferred individual communication style. Additionally, a media presence training will be offered on June 20th.
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Design Impact Conference 2023, Image: Superwood by Sofia Soudi, Jana Grewe. Copyright: DesignFarmBerlin
Joining Forces for Digital and Material Innovations
Tuesday, March 28th, 2023, from 3:30-8:00 pm, DesignFarm Berlin invites you to the Design Impact Conference at Stadtwerkstatt near Alexanderplatz. Current startups will present their latest digital, material-based, and textile innovations and discuss their results with various practitioners and stakeholders. The conference is supported by scholars of weißensee school of art and design berlin and the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The conference is part of the talk series about new qualities of entrepreneurship and circular economy within the Cluster.
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Exhibition »Materiales en Expansión«, Buenos Aires, March 2023. Structural Textile Project: Miodragović, Suarez, Singer, Object Space Agency; Complex Web Structures by Daniela Castillo. Copyright: Christian Stein
Exhibition Opened at Universidad de Buenos Aires | Exposición Inaugurada en la Universidad de Buenos Aires
Together with the Museo de Artes Plásticas Eduardo Sivorí we invite you to the opening of »Materials in Expansión«, on Wednesday, March 15th at 6:00 pm, where a conversation between Daniela Castillo Cortez and Christian Stein will take place, entitled »El Entramado - Nuevas Formas de Exposición Entre Tecnología, Ciencia y Arte (The Interweaving - New Forms of Exhibition Between Technology, Science and Art)«. It is an interactive experience of Virtual Reality and textile art by Daniela Castillo, participant of the 27th Textile Art Salon, currently exhibited at the museum. This performative installation could be visited every Wednesday until May 9th (extended), 2023 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Round Table »On Fibres amd Mixtures«. Foto: Michelle Mantel. Design: studioeins, adapted by »Matters of Activity«
At Kunstgewerbemuseum on 23 February
The Round Table »On Fibers and Mixtures« was part of the format series accompanying the exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum and at the same time its closing event. The Round Tables represented each of the exhibiting projects and the involved researchers and artists in a moderated dialogue with guests from different disciplines. The format brought a variety of perspectives to the exhibited works, its material legacies, and entangled discourses and invites the public to engage. On February 23rd, Professor for material design and Cluster Member Christiane Sauer discussed their work with Emanuele Coccia, Peter Fratzl, and Beatriz Morales, moderated by architect and Cluster Member Iva Rešetar.
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LEFT: DAOULA | sheen. West African Wild Silk on Its Way. Exhibition View in the Tieranatomisches Theater, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2022. Copyright: Karola Dierichs | MoA; RIGHT: MoA Research Prototype 1 | Minimal Machines. Construction Process. Copyright: Sebastián Plaza Kutzbach | khb
Live-Demonstration and Press Tour in the Exhibition »DAOULA | sheen«
We hereby cordially invite you to a press event in the exhibition »DAOULA | sheen – West African Wild Silk on its Way«. The press event will take place on February 16th, 3.00 pm at the Tieranatomisches Theater and will be accompanied by a live demonstration of the project »MoA Research Prototype 1 | Minimal Machines« with a subsequent discussion of the work. The demonstration involves live work on an architectural structure inspired by the geometric principles of silk cocoons. The researchers are present and give an insight into the materials used as well as the analogue and digital tools.
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Round Table »Poetics and Politics of Sand«. Design: studioeins, adapted by Matters of Activity
On 9 February at Kunstgewerbemuseum
The Round Table »Politics and Poetics of Sand« was part of the format series accompanying the exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum. The Round Tables represented each of the exhibiting projects and the involved researchers and artists in a moderated dialogue with guests from different disciplines. The format brought a variety of perspectives to the exhibited works, its material legacies and entangled discourses and invited the public to engage. On February 9th design anthropologist and Cluster Member Michaela Büsse discussed her work with geographer Katherine Dawson (University College London), communication expert Hannah Tollefson (McGill University Montreal) and environmental anthropologist Jerry Zee (Princeton University). Moderation: Jeff Diamanti (University of Amsterdam).
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Poster »System Ausstellung«. Foto: Johannes Berger. Layout: NODE adapted by Marie-Luise Trabandt
Hans Dieter Zimmermann, Nina Samuel and Felix Sattler in Conversation on 4 February
We cordially invite you to the panel discussion »System Ausstellung« with Hans Dieter Zimmermann, and Cluster Members Nina Samuel and Felix Sattler in the context of the exhibition »Language in the Technical Age«. Starting with a review of Walter Höllerer's exhibition »Welt aus Sprache« (World of Language), which took place in 1972 at the Akademie der Künste Berlin (West) and broke completely new ground with the design of immersive environments, the panel will discuss current issues of exhibition conception between art and science, nature and culture. This will be followed by drinks as part of the finissage.
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Round Table »Rinde: Gestaltung mit Resten«. Design: studioeins, adapted by Matters of Activity
On January 26 at Kunstgewerbemuseum
We cordially invite you to the Round Table »Rinde: Gestaltung mit Resten« which continues the format series accompanying the exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum. The Round Tables represent each of the exhibiting projects and the involved researchers and artists in a moderated dialogue with guests from different disciplines. The format brings a variety of perspectives to the exhibited works, its material legacies and entangled discourses and invites the public to engage. On January 26th designer and Cluster Member Charlett Wenig will discuss her work with Ferréol Berendt (HNE Eberswalde) and Nikolaus Stolle (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt). Moderated by cultural theorist and Cluster Member Robert Stock.
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Stone Web. Copyright: weißensee school of art and design berlin/ Natascha Unger & Idalene Rapp
Roundtable Discussion with Editors and Contributors of the Multidisciplinary Anthology
On Wednesday, January 25th, 2023, the publication »Architectures of Weaving« was launched with a transdisciplinary roundtable discussion at the Architecture Gallery Aedes in Berlin-Mitte. The editors Christiane Sauer, Mareike Stoll, Ebba Fransén Waldhör, and Maxie Schneider invited the public to exchange on the idea of »Architectures of Weaving« with book-contributors and members of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« Peter Fratzl, Lorenzo Guiducci, Regine Hengge, Heike Illing-Günther and Karin Krauthausen.
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Panel Discussion Materials Matter, May 4th, 2022, Humboldt Lab. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Audio Broadcast of the Panel Discussion at the Humboldt Lab Online Now
We are very pleased to present the audio broadcast of the public panel discussion that took place on May 4th, 2022, at the Humboldt Lab. In the interdisciplinary discussion entitled »Perspectives on Active Materials«, central theses of the Central Cluster Anthology »Active Materials« were presented. The cross-disciplinary conversation with Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Michaela Eder, Peter Fratzl, and Richard Weinkamer aimed to address one of the burning questions of our epoch: the possibility of engineering smart, active, or bio-inspired materials and the meaning these enhanced materials might have for solving the contemporary and future challenges of these tumultuous times. The event was moderated by MoA members Michael Friedman and Karin Krauthausen, who were also co-authors of the anthology. Be sure to listen in!
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Roundtable »Vascularization«. Design: studioeins, adapted by MoA
On 12 January 2023 at Kunstgewerbemuseum
The Round Table »On the Fabrication of Organs: Vascular Structures, Medical Needs and Critical Speculations« continues the format series accompanying the exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum. The Round Tables represent each of the exhibiting projects and the involved researchers and artists in a moderated dialogue with guests from different disciplines. The format brings a variety of perspectives to the exhibited works, its material legacies and entangled discourses and invites the public to engage. On January 12th Emile de Visscher and Igor Sauer will discuss their work with the artist Lyndsey Walsh. Moderated by Martin Müller.
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Round Table »Tesselated Material Systems«. Design: studioeins, adapted by Matters of Activity
On December 8 at Kunstgewerbemuseum
The Round Table »Tessellated Material Systems«« continued the new format series accompanying the exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum. The Round Tables represent each of the exhibiting projects and the involved researchers and artists in a moderated dialogue with guests from different disciplines. The format brings a variety of perspectives to the exhibited works, its material legacies and entangled discourses and invites the public to engage. This Thursday, Karola Dierichs, Lennart Eigen, John Nyakatura and Felix Rasehorn discussed their work with Jörg Petruschat and Alwin Cubasch.
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Self-Shaping Textiles. Design: studioeins
On 24 November at Kunstgewerbemuseum
The Round Table »Self-Shaping Textiles at the Intersection of Fashion, Architecture and Technology« kicked off a new format series accompanying the exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum. The Round Tables represent each of the exhibiting project in a moderated dialogue with guests from different disciplines. The format brings a variety of perspectives to the exhibited works, its material legacies and entangled discourses and invites the public to engage. On November 24th Lorenzo Guiducci and Agata Kycia discussed their work with the architect Giovanni Betti and the fashion sociologist Antonella Giannone.
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Exhibition Opening DAOULA | sheen, 17.11.2022, Tieranatomisches Theater Berlin. Copyright: Matters of Activity
West African Wild Silk on its Way
The exhibition »DAOULA | sheen«, which can be seen at the Tieranatomisches Theater in Berlin until June 30th, 2023, at the Tieranatomisches Theater in Berlin, focuses on the natural formation and the cultural history of wild silk obtained from caterpillars in West Africa, and on the many and complex ways in which this unique material is viewed by microbiologists, materials scientists, and architects in Germany. Curated by MoA members Laurence Douny, Karin Krauthausen, and Felix Sattler, and co-created by a large and diverse multidisciplinary team, this unusual project sets out to stimulate dialogue between West African craft, European science, and design.
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Poster of the exhibition »Sprache im technischen Zeitalter«
Vernissage on 17 November within the Exhibition »Sprache im technischen Zeitalter«
On November 17, 2022 at 3.00 pm, an exhibition will open that explores the subject of language in the technical age. In several interactive installations. The occasion is the 100th birthday of the poet, literary scholar and literary mediator Walter Höllerer, who taught at the TU Berlin from 1959 to 1988. Under the direction of Cluster Members Christian Stein and Claudia Blümle as well as Hans-Christian von Herrmann in collaboration with the design studio »Above & Below«, the interactive VR installation »Die Umgebung der Wörter - Ausstellung eines Romans« (the environment of words - exhibition of a novel) invites visitors to explore Höllerer's novel »Die Elephantenuhr« (the elephant clock) in an immersive exhibition space.
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Poster Material Legacies. Image: Dietrich Polenz and the Experimental Surgery Lab, 2020
Exhibition at Kunstgewerbemuseum
The exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin explored contingencies and ruptures between traditional crafts and the most recent developments at the crossroads of material research, design, engineering, and architecture. It brought together artifacts from the museum’s collection with work-in-progress installations by designers and researchers from the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« in order to initiate a dialogue about the historical, contemporary, and future conditions under which materiality unfolds.
By engaging with a series of different materials and techniques the exhibition encompassed both the problematization of unsustainable pasts and presents as well as the imagination of speculative material futures. Taking materiality as a starting point, each of the exhibits investigated its sociocultural, economic, and political context in order to disentangle the multiple interrelations that arise from and with materials. more
By engaging with a series of different materials and techniques the exhibition encompassed both the problematization of unsustainable pasts and presents as well as the imagination of speculative material futures. Taking materiality as a starting point, each of the exhibits investigated its sociocultural, economic, and political context in order to disentangle the multiple interrelations that arise from and with materials. more
»Dissect« Event at Tieranatomisches Theater Berlin, 02.11.2022. Foto: Alexandra Ruppert. Copyright: Matters of Activity
The two »Dissect« events held as part of Berlin Science Week 2022 on November 2nd and 4th were a great success and a unique experience. In the sold-out Tieranatomisches Theater at Humboldt-Universität Berlin, researchers from different disciplines discussed contemporary artworks in a fascinating way, involving the audience in the process of knowledge and experience: On the first evening about Marco Donnarumma's »Amygdala«, on the second evening about Tomas Saraceno's Spiders. Those who were unfortunately unable to attend can look forward to the video documentation, which will be published soon.
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Dissect event, »Behavioral Matter« symposium, 29/03/2019 © Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris)
MoA Involved with Several Events
From November 1st-10th, Berlin once again hosted the Berlin Science Week, a 10-day international festival that brought together the world's most innovative scientific organizations in Berlin and online to celebrate science and facilitate an open and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and knowledge. The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« provided insights into its research at three locations: At the Tieranatomisches Theater on the North Campus of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, you were warmly invited to take part in one of the »Dissect« events, a round table live performance on contemporary art and design. Moreover, we celebrated the opening of the exhibition opening of the »Design Lab#13: Material Legacies« exhibition at the Kunstgewerbemuseum. Last but not least we were looking forward to meeting you in the CollActive Materials' speculative design workshop about our material futures at the Berlin Science Week Festival Campus at Naturkundemuseum Berlin.
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Tagesspiegel Special Neurology: Copyright: Tagesspiegel
Cutting Portrayed in Tagesspiegel Special Neurology
An article written by Thomas Picht, Patricia Ribault, Jürgen P. Rabe and John Nyakatura has been published in the Tagesspiegel Special on Neurology. »Cutting, separating and exposing are ancient human cultural techniques. The Cluster of Excellence project »Cutting« is investigating them on the basis of tumors in the brain and of fossils in rock. The results could change the future of neurosurgery.« Read the full article and find out more about how »Cutting« and the »Virtual Sensing Knife« can change the future of medicine!
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Leben im Schleim. Copyright: FASZ
Read about MoA in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung, the Purpose Magazine, The Praxis Journal and Tagesspiegel
We are very happy that »Matters of Activity« has been highlighted by many different (international) news outlets lately. Next to beautiful biofilm pictures and information from Regine Hengge, Cluster Members Wolfgang Schäffner and Maxime Le Calvé have been interviewed by Purpose Magazine and The Praxis Journal from Argentina. Wolfgang Schäffner has also been interviewed in connection to the BUA initiative »BUA Calling« by Tagesspiegel Berlin. With our involvement in the Berlin Science Week news about MoA will also travel fast in the upcoming weeks.
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Poster PhD presentations 2022. Layout: Ada Favaron
Doctoral Presentations at the MoA Retreat 2022
The 2022 presentation of the Doctoral Program »Matters of Activity« at the MoA Retreat in September at Landgut Stober was both a review and an outlook of the doctoral research conducted at the Cluster between 2020 and 2022. Under the title »Scaling Matters: From the Lab to the Field, «Pre-Doctoral Researchers at varying stages of their research — from the very beginning to the final phase of their theses — presented their heterogeneous work whilst continuing to negotiate common themes, methods, questions and tools. The format combined talks and an exhibition and invited MoA Members to engage individually with the presentation and a selection of their research objects.
Thanks to everyone involved for making possible this all-around successful event. Enjoy some visual impressions of the exhibition, as well as the talks and have a look at the booklet.
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Episode 18 of the DFG Podcast Series »Exzellent Erklärt« Gives Insights Into Matters of Activity
How do we deal with materiality in the age of digitalization? Can other understandings of materiality lead to other modes of production or other ways of living? Episode 18 of the DFG podcast series »Exzellent erklärt« (English: Excellent Explained), available from 1 September 2022, focuses on the interdisciplinary research at »Matters of Acticity«. Journalist Larissa Vassilian speaks with Cluster Co-Director Prof. Dr. Claudia Mareis, designer and cultural historian, and Research Associate Dr. Khashayar Razghandi, a materials scientist and design teacher about topics like sustainability and bio-inspired design and what active materials have to do with it.
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Flyer MOD at Humboldt Lab Event. Copyright: June Audirac
Open Design Master's Students' Projects Exhibited at Humboldt Lab
Our ever-so-evolving world presents us with numerous dilemmas and challenges when it comes to designing a better tomorrow. A new sensibility is required, gathering and collaborating with intelligences within nature, and thus fundamentally shifting away from obsolete and destructive routines.
The students of the Open Design Master Program are facing those challenges by radical unlearning, creating new strategies focused on the necessity of »growing sensescapes«. We are happy to invite you to a day full of the growth of sensescapes on July 25th at Humboldt Lab.
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Master Students and Visitors at the »Growing Sensecapes« event in the Humboldt Lab. Photo: Carmen Gloria Cuello Quintana.
Open Design Master's Students' Projects Exhibited at Humboldt Lab
With the event and exhibition »Growing Sensecapes«, the students of the »Open Design« Master Program wanted to bring forward the numerous dilemmas and challenges they face, not only as students but also as individuals, when it comes to designing a better tomorrow. A permanent flow of people engaged with the students in their reflections at the Humboldt Labor on July 25th 2022. Visitors encountered the six projects that were developed during the Seminar Laboratory Projects led by Cluster members Frank Bauer, Bastian Beyer, Maxime Le Calvé, Jose D. Cojal Gonzaléz, the lecturers from the Universidad de Buenos Aires Rodrigo Martin Iglesias, José Ignacio Alvarez-Hamelin and the support of Brazilian artist Rejane Cantoni.
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MoA Project »Bacterial Cellulose: Co-Weaving Biofilms« at the Milano Triennale 2022. Copyright: Triennale Milano – photo by DSL Studio
An Installation for the Triennale XXIII: »Unknown Unknows, An Introduction to Mysteries«
Cellulose of different forms and origins is woven together in this structure: pieces of wood, paper threads and biofilms grown by bacteria. A collaborative textile is created – human, plant and microbial. Three MoA research projects, Weaving, Material Form Function and Object Space Agency and with that many MoA Members worked together on the project »Bacterial Cellulose: Co-Weaving Biofilms« shown at the Triennale di Milano XXIII »Unknown Unknows, An Introduction to Mysteries«, in the thematic exhibition »Alchemic Laboratory«, curated by Ingrid Paoletti, from July 15th to December 11th, 2022.
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Flyer Open House 2022. Copyright: weißensee school of art and design berlin.
Matters of Activity Involved in Many Projects Presented
This year, weißensee school of art and design berlin finally opened its studios for the traditional open house after two years of digital presentations only due to the pandemic. On July 9th and 10th, 12–20 pm, there was be the opportunity to learn more about the students’ projects and works developed during the last year, many of them in cooperation with or in classes led by members of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«.
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»Active Curtain Project« at the exhibition »After Nature« at Humboldt Lab. Copyright: Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Lectures and Talks with Regine Hengge, Wolfgang Schäffner, and Matthias Staudacher
On the occasion of the Long Night of the Sciences, Berlin’s seven Clusters of Excellence presented themselves together at the Humboldt Laboratory on July 2nd. As part of the »Meet the Scientist« series, researchers presented their outstanding research projects – in dialog with the public. For »Matters of Activity« Regine Hengge and Wolfgang Schäffner talked about the »Active Curtain Project«, an ongoing experimental setup in the entrance area of the Humboldt Lab that interacts with the room climate.
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Cube of Physics, Department of Physics of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Copyright: studio gid
Exhibition Opened of New Sculpture and Media Station at the Long Night of the Sciences 2022
Can the entire knowledge of physics be represented in the »Cube of Physics« metamodel? Does it perhaps even contain the key to the world formula? The exhibition project »Cube of Physics«, which opened on the Science Campus in Adlershof during this year's Berlin Long Night of Sciences on July 2nd, 2022, dealed with these and other questions. MoA Member Matthias Staudacher explained the latest developments and findings of the interdisciplinary project group that led to the relaunch of the sculpture and media station.
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Flyer »Storytelling« at Mall Anders. Copyright: Mall Anders
Yoonha Kim Presents Her Research at the Berlin Cluster of Excellence Event at Mall Anders
What does the work of scientists actually consist of? At the casual »Storytelling« event in the »Mall Anders« in the WILMA Shopping Center, a broad public had the opportunity to meet researchers from the Berlin Clusters of Excellence. For »Matters of Activity«, Yoonha Kim gave insights into her research work. She was looking into traditional Korean clothing – the ›Hanbok‹ – as an active matter and how the East Asian ontology embedded in the garment can trigger divergent ways of how digital objects exist.
Flyer CollActive Materials at Mall Anders. Copyright: CollActive Materials
Join the Pop-up Materials Lab in Wilma Shopping Mall on May 20th and 21st and Bring your Kids!
With the experimental laboratory »CollActive Materials« just starting, its first ever event just took place: On Friday and Saturday, May 20th and 21st, the science communication lab hosted two days for science and public to get together and (re-)negotiate the futures of materials.
Under the headline »What is your future made of?«, »CollActive Materials« started its conversation about material presents and futures: Which personal routines and values play a role when we interact with materials in our everyday lives today? Which materials are yet to be created, discovered, or rethought? What role could active and intelligent materials play in possible futures, and how could these look like?
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Flyer »Meet the Scientist« at Mall Anders. Copyright: Mall Anders
Dominic Eger Domingos Presents His Research at the Berlin Cluster of Excellence Event at Mall Anders
What does the work of scientists actually consist of? At the casual »Meet the Scientist« event in the »Mall Anders« in the WILMA Shopping Center, a broad public had the opportunity to meet researchers from the Berlin Clusters of Excellence. For »Matters of Activity«, Dominic Eger Domingos gave insights into his research work on digital cutting in robot-assisted surgery.
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Poster Materials Matter. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Conversation and Workshop about Central Cluster Anthology »Active Materials«
We are very pleased to present the audio broadcast of the public panel discussion that took place on May 4, 2022, at the Humboldt Lab. In the interdisciplinary discussion, central theses of the Central Cluster Anthology »Active Materials« were presented. The cross-disciplinary conversation with Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Michaela Eder, Peter Fratzl, and Richard Weinkamer aimed to address one of the burning questions of our epoch: the possibility of engineering smart, active, or bio-inspired materials and the meaning these enhanced materials might have for solving the contemporary and future challenges of these tumultuous times. The event was moderated by MoA members Michael Friedman and Karin Krauthausen, who were also co-authors of the anthology. Be sure to listen in!
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Joining Perspectives on Haptics - Design Workshop Filtering 2022. Foto: Felix Rasehorn
Online Documentation of Interdisciplinary Cluster Workshop
Why is the topic of haptics important to us humans and what does this mean for the multitude of scientific disciplines represented in the Cluster? In three dense days of workshop, the participants explored the topic of haptics together through the lens of design practice, history of knowledge, cultural studies, philosophy and computer science. Through experiencing demos, creating rapid prototypes, and reflection experiments, a practice-based mode of exploration was collectively developed. Through this rather broad approach, the participants sought to unfold the layers that make up haptic experiences in order to develop a shared understanding and vocabulary of the term. This is the beginning of a critical exchange on haptics with the goal of establishing a dynamic platform for MoA researchers around the haptic sense(s).
In the online documentation the group shares their abstracts, the workshop findings and questions, and invites to future collaborative formats and projects.
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Logo Humboldt Hören. Copyright: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
MoA Member Thomas Lilge Featured in New Episode of HU Podcast Series
Our society follows countless explicit and implicit rules. So do games. That's why scientists use classic board games and modern game apps to bring people into dialogue and renegotiate rules. So-called game techniques are interesting, for example, to bring experts and scientists from different disciplines to a common language - through gaming. In the latest episode of the HU podcast »Humboldt Hören«, MoA member and CoHead of the research and development platform gamelab.berlin Thomas Lilge and resource economist Klaus Eisenack (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) explain in conversation with radio journalist Cora Knoblauch which cultural techniques can be found in modern video games.
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Karin Krauthausen in conversation with Milo Rau. Copyright: Mosse Lectures, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
MoA Member Karin Krauthausen in Conversation with Milo Rau at the Mosse Lectures
How does a Jesus film become a political campaign and a new distribution system for tomatoes and art? How do unlikely solidarities emerge between continents, between artists and activists, between genres and forms of production? What is a symbolic institution and how can we change the world through art? On Thursday, January 13th, 2022, director and author Milo Rau and MoA member Karin Krauthausen talked about »Performance and Politics«.
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Image Podcast Optimal neuro|spine. Copyright: 2022 Optimal neuro|spine
Cluster Professor Interviewed by US-American Neurosurgeon and Podcaster Max Boakye
In episode 15 of the podcast »Optimal neuro|spine«, Cluster Professor for Digital Neurosurgery Thomas Picht was interviewed by US-American colleague Max Boakye. Together they take a deep dive into everything that digital neurosurgery entails, exciting technological advancements in the field, and the future ramifications of the digitalization of medicine.
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STEM on a mission: medical informatics. Copyright: MINT Magie (Familie Redlich for Bundesministerium for Education & Research)
Cluster Members Mario Cypko and Julia Blumenthal on a Career in Medical Informatics and What 3D Printing Has to Do With That
Detecting diseases faster, simplifying operations or facilitating communication with patients: medical informatics specialists develop methods and tools to support and improve our healthcare system. The episode of »MINT auf Mission» (STEM on a mission) with Cluster Members Mario Cypko and Julia Blumenthal shows what their day-to-day work looks like in the process. You also learn how lifelike models of organs are produced with the 3D printer and robots assist in the operating room.
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Tipping Points. Copyright: Josef Luis Pelz & NODE Berlin Oslo
Annual Conference of the Cluster on 16 & 17 November
MoA's Annual Conference 2021 was all about matter in motion. We discussed transition and contingency, processes of acquiring and losing form, and the creative potential of the unfinished and indeterminate. We live, create and act in a time of tipping points. On a planetary scale, the tipping point is understood as an abrupt and irreversible change that is causing the Earth´s climate and other systems to fall out of their stable state. Such transitional phenomena are particularly significant in climate research, but no less in material, biological, anthropological and aesthetic contexts.
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MoA Members Contributed to the International Science Festival in Early November
From November 1st to 10th 2021, Berlin once again hosted the Berlin Science Week, a 10-day international festival that brought together the world's most innovative scientific organizations in Berlin and online to celebrate science and facilitate an open and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and knowledge. The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« provided insights into its research at two locations: Firstly, at the Humboldt Lab in the Humboldt Forum, which opened its doors this summer, and secondly, at the Tieranatomisches Theater on the North Campus of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin withing the exhibition »Stretching Materialities«.
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The desk of Paul Valéry with a cahier (workbook), ca. 1935. Copyright: Laure Albin-Guillot / Roger-Viollet; Centre Pompidou
MoA Member Karin Krauthausen in Conversation about Paul Valéry on the Occasion of the Philosopher's 150th Birthday
In a special broadcast by the Austrian radio station Ö1 on the occasion of the 150th birthday of Paul Valéry on Tuesday, October 25th, 5:05 pm, MoA member Karin Krauthausen, together with other experts, provided insights into the rich oeuvre of the writer-philosopher. The science broadcast with the title »Ich denke mich, also bin ich.« (»I think me, therefore I am.«) edited by journalist Nikolaus Halmer was part of the series »Dimensions« and was in German.
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Poster virtual symposium »Material Negotiations«. Copyright: Julia Lohmann, adapted by NODE Berlin
Virtual Symposium on 8 October
In search of non-extractive production models, biological systems became a central interest for the design practice for 10 years. Designers embraced growing strategies rather than shaping technologies, transient organisms rather than stable materials, environment-sensitive assemblages rather than resistant and passivated objects. How this ›biological turn‹ is questioning the methods, tools, attitude and political role of designers today?
The virtual symposium »Material Negotiations« gathered design practitioners to discuss and understand the scope, challenges and interest of such a shift. The symposium was hosted by Prof. Dr. Claudia Mareis and Dr. Emile de Visscher as part of the »Material Form Function« group.
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Visual Recording Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation 2021. Copyright: Lorna Schütte for »Wissenschaft im Dialog«
Project Introduction at »Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation« 2021
»Matters of Activity« has been expanding its activities in science communication and started the further development of its »Virtual Cluster Space« in October 2021. This aims to present and experience the research work of various MoA projects and topics in an innovative, interactive, fascinating and expandable way in order to make users inside and outside of our research community curious, excited and to engage them in exchange.
Cluster Member Antje Nestler presented the »Virtual Cluster Space«, as a best-practice example of a virtual exhibition and conference format at this year's »Forum Wissenschaftskommunikation«, the largest symposium for science communication in Germany.
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Teaserpicture DRHR2021. Copyright: Ravi Kumar / Unsplash.
Registration Open Until 3 September 2021
From September 5th–7th, 2021, the 25th Annual DRHA Conference »Digital Matters: Designing/Performing Agency for the Anthropocene«, took place in Berlin. The event was hosted by the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and further supported by a partnership with the Cluster of Excellence »Temporal Communities - Doing Literature in a Global Perspective«.
The conference was co-organized by Cluster member Christian Stein and several MoA members were involved by contributing to the conference. MoA Director Claudia Mareis delivered a keynote lecture entitled »Designing resilience: on a third culture with many transitions« on Monday, September 6th.
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Podcast »Exzellent erklärt«, Episode 1: Tactile Internet. Copyright: Exzellenz erklärt; Image: CeTI/TU Dresden
New Science Podcast of All Clusters of Excellence Now Online
57 Clusters of Excellence – one podcast: »Exzellent erklärt« (»Excellent Explained«) regularly reports from one of the research networks that are funded as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. The journey goes right across the country and the topics are just as diverse as the locations: from African studies to the future of medicine. All Clusters of Excellence share a common motivation: they address important issues of our time, work on unusual questions and conduct research for the society of tomorrow.
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»Stone Web« (Design: Idalene Rapp and Natasha Unger) at the exhibition »After Nature« at Humboldt Labor. Copyright: Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Research Wall »Scripts«. Copyright: schnellebuntebilder | Exhibition Architecture. Copyright: Inside Outside | Petra Blaisse
Exhibition Opening »After Nature« on 20 July 2021
After a long wait and numerous postponements, the time has come: The Humboldt Forum, a place for culture and research, for exchange and debate, opened its doors to the public and with it the Humboldt Lab – the event and exhibition space of Berlin's Universities and Clusters of Excellence. From July 20th, visitors are be able to admire exciting exhibits and projects. The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« is represented with various contributions.
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Poster Online Lecture Series »Talking Matters«, Copyright: Cécile Bidan and Salif Sawadogo, adapted by NODE Berlin
Media Theorist Marie-Pier Boucher at Next »Talking Matters« Event
On July 13th, we were happy to welcome media theorist Marie-Pier Boucher from the University of Toronto at our last »Talking Matters« event before the Summer Break 2021. Boucher introduced us to »Being Material«, a curated collection of essays and artefacts which resulted from a symposium held in 2017 by the Center for Art, Science and Technology at MIT, where she was invited as co-editor and author on the project – a journey that brought her to explore the legacy of this institution in a different light.
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Still from Interview with Bastian Beyer and Skander Hathroubi showing the making of parts of the »Active Curtain Project« shown at the exhibition »After Nature« at Humboldt Lab. Copyright: Anne von Petersdorff (info@annevonpetersdorff.com) for Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Interview with Bastian Beyer and Skander Hathroubi
The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« investigates materials that are built by bacteria. Architects and biologists work together to explore new, sustainable materials. Some of these bacterial structures were on display at the Humboldt Lab. In the interview with Cluster Members Bastian Beyer and Skander Hathroubi, parts of the development of the »Active Curtains Project« are presented in more detail.
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Architectures of Weaving. Copyright: Xingwen Pan, weißensee school of art and design berlin; NODE Berlin Oslo
A Virtual Event Organized by the Project »Weaving«
The event »Architectures of Weaving« took place on July 2nd and explored textile construction as an architectural design approach. Textiles can construct a useable space, while they are a spatial material structure in themselves. Discussing this relationship, the symposium will cross scales and disciplines.
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Banner Lab Tour »Stretching Materialities«. Copyright: Offshore Design
Getting a Glimpse of the Exhibition
In June 2021, the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« invited to a special kind of lab tour: At Tieranatomisches Theater, the project »Object Space Agency« opened virtual gates on June 29th, 3.45 pm to let you experience the hidden activities of materials:
Enter a tangible atmosphere, let the wind blow in your face, feel crackling rattan braids under your feet, immerse yourself in virtual reality perspectives and travel with our glass elevator. And it doesn't stop there: wear haptically vibrating clothing that responds to its surroundings and experience weathering over millennia with selected stone samples. In »Stretching Materialities«, you can experience what no one else sees: The objects and structures around us are active and alive. And we interact with them whether we realize it or not.
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Banner »Times of Waste«. Copyright: Rory Witt
Symposium conceptualized and Curated by the Research Team »Times of Waste« at FHNW Academy of Art and Design Basel, in Collaboration with MoA and Kunstgewerbemuseum
The symposium took place June 17th – 18th 2021 and provided a platform to discuss the engagement with (waste) material and bridged between theoretical studies and a response/able, careful way of handling materiality in sciences, arts, and collections. The event was conceptualized and curated by the research team Times of Waste at FHNW Academy of Art and Design Basel and realized in collaboration with the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« and the Kunstgewerbemuseum der Staatlichen Museen Berlin.
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Scaling Nature (1): Wrinkles«: Liquid Lacquer. Copyright: weißensee school of art and design berlin / Luis Magg | Bacterial cellulose curtain. Copyright: Bastian Beyer and Iva Rešetar
»Talking Matters« Lecture Series Continues with a Talk by Materials Scientist James Weaver
On Tuesday, 15 June 2021, 4:15–5:45 pm, the Cluster lecture series »Talking Matters« continued with a talk by James Weaver from Harvard University. The materials scientist spoke on invitation of the project Material Form Function about »High Resolution Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing: 3D Fabrication of Biologically Inspired Structures«.
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Poster Online Lecture Series »Talking Matters«, Copyright: Lucius Fekonja, Bastian Beyer, Iva Rešetar, adapted by NODE Berlin
Ingolf Sack Holds Second Lecture at »Talking Matters«
On Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, the second talk of the online Cluster lecture series »Talking Matters« occured. Ingolf Sack, professor for Experimental Radiology and Elastography at Charité Berlin, spoke on the invitation of the project »Cutting« about »The Superviscous Body – Imaging the Mechanical Behavior of Organs and Tissues by Shear Waves«.
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Website DRHA Digital Matters. Copyright: Lucius Fekonja
Call for Participation for the 25th Digital Research in Humanities and Arts Conference
The 25th Digital Research in Humanities and Arts conference invited contributions and interventions that focused on transfers and interactions between digital and natural environments. »Digital Matters« took on the challenge of exploring new material and multi-species agencies, forms of embodiment, and interactions between the Performing Arts, the Humanities and the Natural Sciences that engage the sense of relationality and expanded scale the Anthropocene affords. The conference was organized by Cluster member Christian Stein (Project Object Space Agency) in cooperation with the Cluster of Excellence »Temporal Communities« and took place on September 5th–7th, 2021.
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Poster Online Lecture Series »Talking Matters«, Copyright: Lucius Fekonja, Bastian Beyer, Iva Rešetar, adapted by NODE Berlin
Online Lecture Series of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«
On Tuesday, May 18th, 2021, »Matters of Activity« launched the online lecture series »Talking Matters«, in which external speakers from various disciplines were invited by the six cluster projects to provide insights into their research, which is related to central issues of »Matters of Activity«. In addition to researchers and students from various disciplines, the lecture series was open to anyone interested in our research.
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»Material Trajectories. Designing with Care« Annual Conference of the Annual Conference of the German Society for Design Theory and Research (DGTF). Copyright: DGTF
Annual Conference of the German Society for Design Theory and Research in Berlin on 6–8 May 2021
Design is deeply engaged with materials. Yet the attempt to make sense of the properties, composition and behavior of matter, artifacts and built infrastructures is accompanied by a pressing question: »Who is in fact designing?«. The 17th Annual Conference 2021 of the DGTF (German Society for Design Theory and Research), that took place from May 6th to 8th in cooperation with »Matters of Activity« and the weißensee school of art and design berlin, intended to make this and other questions graspable and to discuss the contribution of design through four interlaced strands: Sympoiesis of Making, Performative Surfaces, Living Matter, Designing Resilience. The conference was held in English via Zoom.
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All 7 Berlin Clusters of Excellence are represented with a film at the foyer at Humboldt Lab. Copyright: Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Cluster Video Online Now
The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« was represented with some exciting objects in the exhibition »Nach der Natur« at the Humboldt Laboratory of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. You can watch an introduction to the Cluster right here. Follow the link to the video in German with either English subtitles or in easy German language.
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Can Bacteria Spin a Yarn? Kick-Off event »MitWissenschaft/ WeSearch«, Humboldt Forum Berlin, 29 April 2021. Copyright: Humbolt Forum
Cluster Members Opened Event Series »MitWissenschaft/ WeSearch« at the Humboldt Forum
On Thursday, April 29th, 7–9:30 pm, members of the Cluster gave insights into the research of »Matters of Activity« in an interactive live show, thus opening the event series »MitWissenschaft/ WeSearch« at the Humboldt Forum.
Using concrete examples from the Cluster projects »Weaving« and »Filtering«, MoA members Bastian Beyer, Alwin Cubasch, Peter Fratzl, Regine Hengge, Claudia Mareis, Léa Perraudin, Christiane Sauer and Wolfgang Schäffner showed how the natural sciences, the humanities and the design disciplines work closely together to find innovative solutions to contemporary problems.
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Copyright: Felix Noak, ExC Science of Intelligence
New Funding for Experimental Laboratories of Science Communication from the Berlin University Alliance
One of the core objectives of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) lies in strengthening the multidirectional exchange of knowledge between universities and other important figures and stakeholders. The BUA defines knowledge exchange and therein science communication as a multidirectional process through which scientific ideas and research results are transferred to the public and external perspectives flow back into research. The experimental laboratory »Wenn Materie lebendig wird« is dedicated to socially highly relevant changes and, within them, to a knowledge production process that cannot take place in isolated research spaces, but should involve different social groups in a participatory process using innovative methods.
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Key Visual MoA Annual Conference. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Our Virtual Space was launched 11 November and Remains Open
In extraordinary times we all try out new formats: We were happy and excited to welcome so many international guests to our first digital Annual Conference »The Analog in the Digital Age« – following the Cluster's central vision to rediscover the analog within activities of images, spaces and materials in the age of the digital. Our virtual doors are still open for you to discover our laboratories, workshop spaces and microscopic landscapes in a way that you can explore by yourself topics from Germany's cutting edge research.
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Botanical Comrades. Copyright: Berlin Science Week
Regine Hengge and Zheng Bo are Part of Berlin Science Week
On November 7th, which marks the Solar Term Beginning of Winter (立冬) in the East Asian lunisolar calendar, artist and theorist Zheng Bo will be joined by biologist Regine Hengge, Principal Investigator of »Matters of Activity« among others to speculate about how plants practice politics.
Zheng understands politics as a bodily practice that can only take place in exchange with others, particularly through interspecies relationships. For instance, trees are protected and nourished by fungi, while insects are responsible for pollination. Within the framework of Falling Walls x Berlin Science Week »Botanical Comrades 植物同志. Plants Practice Politics« examines forms of interspecies communication and asks how humans can take part in interspecies politics.
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Hypertopia. Copyright: State Studio
Cluster Member Martin Müller as Co-Curator of Digital Field Trip with Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and Josef Settele
»Hypertopia« bridges between today and tomorrow. Powered by the vision of a collective change in consciousness, the interdisciplinary program and exhibition anticipate a post-crisis future to explore approaches for a meaningful present. The exhibition opens on October 23rd in the State Studio and can be visited until December 6th. It was created in collaboration with Cluster member Martin Müller and challenges hierarchies, tests ideas and develops alternative scenarios of a cooperative, biodiverse coexistence, designed on the basis of artistic positions, propositions and explorative projects that combine speculative and scientific methods.
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Building Tangled Structures through Experimental Geometry and Topology. Copyright: Myfanwy Evans, Institute for Mathematics, University of Potsdam
A Zoom Lecture on 20 October 2020, 5.00 pm
The interdisciplinary lecture series of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material«, which was continued on October 20th, presented scientific positions from the Cluster, starting the next chapter with Myfanwy Evans, Professor at the Institute for Mathematics, University of Potsdam.
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Conference »Coworking Materials«: Sophia Höretzeder, Chemical Aesthetics, 2020. Sophia Höretzeder is a B.A. graduate of Fashion & Technology Studies at Kunstuniversität Linz. Copyright: Sophia Höretzeder, Kunstuniversität Linz
Joint Conference of the International Research Center for Cultural Studies, University of Art and Design Linz and »Matters of Activity«
In Design, Cultural and Natural Sciences, an anti-Cartesian turn has manifested itself in recent years, which denies the separation into active ›res cogitans‹ and passive ›res extensa‹ and understands the material world as (co)acting. The conference from October 8th–9th deals with the aesthetic and political consequences of this turn, in design practices and thought processes. The conference will be held in German, including many Cluster members.
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»Wir sind Humboldt«. Image brochure of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Fotos: Matthias Heyde, Grafic Design: Weserloh Media. Copyright: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
»Matters of Activity« in the New Image Brochure of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Entitled »Wir Gestalten. Material World«, the Cluster research is represented by two contributions in the new HU image brochure. The materials scientist Lorenzo Guiducci, the professor of textile and surface design Christiane Sauer and the literary scholar Karin Krauthausen are giving a brief and concise insight into the thematic fields and interdisciplinary cooperation of the Cluster.
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TA Tour 360°. Copyright: Tieranatomisches Theater
Veterinary Anatomy Theater (Tieranatomisches Theater) Now Accessable in Virtual 360°
The Veterinary Anatomy Theater (TA T) is now accessable virtually in 360°. Get a behind the scenes look of the exhibition space and enter the secret life of things. There are certainly some surprises.
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CANCELED / Long Night of the Sciences
The Smartest Night of the Year
Unfortunately the smartest night of the year, planned for June 6th 2020, had to be cancelled.
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Copyright: GameLab Berlin
Game Researchers from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Become Solution Enabler for »WirVsVirus«
Dr. Christian Stein, Research Associate in »Object Space Agency«, studied German and Computer Science and is co-founder of the »Gamelab.Berlin«. He submitted the game »Singleton« to the »Solution Enabler« program of the German government and is now looking forward to further development together with his team. With over 28.000 participants and more than 1.500 solutions, the #WirVsVirus Hackathon of the German government against the COVID-19 crisis was the biggest of this kind ever.
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MoA Members wearing masks during the Corona crises. Copyright: »Matters of Activity«
Support the Initiative @we_can_stop_corona
Since March 23rd the @we_can_stop_corona initiative by MoA PI Regine Hengge worked to convince people and politicians that we all should wear face masks in public space to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
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Corrosion preparation, vessels of the left hand (red plastic). Preparators: Klaws (Kiel) and Heuckendorf (Berlin), 2003. Collection of »Fächerverbund Anatomie der Charité Berlin«. Copyright: Veterinary Anatomy Theater (Tieranatomisches Theater)
Veterinary Anatomy Theater Shows Exhibition »Meshwork of Things« Online
»The Meshwork of Things – Sammlungsschaufenster in the Tieranatomisches Theater« showes 80 objects from 26 collections – now online! Together with its partner Shoutr.Labs MoA's cooperation partner the Veterinary Anatomy Theater (Tieranatomisches Theater) offers you the complete permanent exhibition as a couchsurfing experience.
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Photo: Barbara Herrenkind. Copyright: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/freitag-veranstaltungen/salon-in-berlin-mit-horst-bredekamp
Jakob Augstein in Conversation with Horst Bredekamp
At »Freitag Salon, 2 at 8«, on January 27th, Jakob Augstein talked to Horst Bredekamp about anti-colonial and liberal concepts in the ethnological approach to cultures and the implications for a possible culture of remembrance.
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Stone Web – Spatial module system made from basalt fibre at the weissensee academy of art berlin (Idalene Rapp, Natascha-Katharina Unger, Christiane Sauer). Copyright: weissensee academy of art berlin, I. Rapp, N. Unger
The Innovation Potential of Bio-inspired Materials
Nature is a source of inspiration for the production of new materials. A project by acatech in cooperation with the Cluster Co-Director Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Peter Fratzl, which was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), highlights the innovation potential of bio inspired materials – from chemistry and energy to medicine and robotics, art and design.
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New Permanent Exhibition in the Veterinary Anatomy Theater
On October 21st, 2019 Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin opened its collections for a new interactive visitor experience.
»Meshwork of Things – Sammlungsschaufenster at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin« in the Veterinary Anatomy Theater invites visitors to explore the diversity of things, unknown contexts and critical positions in collection practice. An app offers visitors an individualized experience in which things are activated in ever new constellations. more
»Meshwork of Things – Sammlungsschaufenster at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin« in the Veterinary Anatomy Theater invites visitors to explore the diversity of things, unknown contexts and critical positions in collection practice. An app offers visitors an individualized experience in which things are activated in ever new constellations. more
Conference at the Department of Art & Visual History at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Conference of the Institute for Art & Visual History and the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« on September 11th to 13th, 2019.
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»Vom Gesellschaftsleben der Objekte«
The social life of objects and »Behavioral Matter« in »Wie wollen wir zusammen leben?« (How do we Want to Life Together?)
The summer theme 2019 of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin was dedicated to the question of »How do we want to live together?« In episode 4 the German-French project »Behavioral Matter« by Patricia Ribault, Principal Investigator at »Matters of Activity«, is presented.
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9 April 2019
On April 9th, the Cluster's scholarship holders launched their publication »Nature of Perception – Art of Deception«. This year’s Deutschlandstipendium-Themenklasse combined in fifteen contributions the results of one year of interdisciplinary project work exploring the realms between perception and deception.
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Workshop Behavioral Matter. Copyright: Patricia Ribault
Workshop from 15 to 17 March 2019
In dialogue with the exhibition »La Fabrique du vivant«, an unforgettable multidisciplinary workshop took place at the heart of the Centre Pompidou to explore through practice the notion of ›behavior‹ of matter and materials, techniques, living and semi-living entities.
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Playing Tricks with Perception
Lecture Series »Nature of deception – Art of Illusion« on 11 February 2019
So-called optical toys such as thaumatropes, phenakistiscopes, kaleidoscopes, and stereoscopes were extremely popular in the nineteenth century. They served not only to entertain audiences, captivating the public as instruments of – voluntary or involuntary – deception, but also to study visual perception.
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Lecture Series »Nature of Deception – Art of Illusion«
A current theory describes the human brain as a »prediction machine«: It posits that our brain is constantly constructing hypotheses of what will happen next. When there is sensory input, it is quickly matched or corrected/updated by comparing it with already existing hypotheses. This process increases the efficiency of our brain – that is, our data processing and reaction abilities.
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Bacterial cellulose curtain. Experiments: Bastian Beyer and Iva Rešetar (design), Skander Hathroubi (microbiology). Photo: Bastian Beyer, adapted by Ada Favaron. Project coordination: Elisabeth Obermeier & Franziska Wegener
Research Phase 2019–2022
We are pleased to announce that the report of the Cluster’s first research phase (2019–2022) is now available in print and pdf. It documents research questions, methods and outcomes from our research projects and serves as an outreach publication, providing an illustrated overview of the many Cluster activities over the past four years and highlighting events and formats across projects. Many thanks to all who contributed!
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Open Space Event, 9 November 2023. Copyright: Matters of Activity
MoA's Showroom and Workspace | Currently on Winter Break
With the »Activarium«, we want to actively engage with potential partners from the industry, start-ups, NGOs, politics and society as a whole to initiate an exploratory exchange on active materials, bio- & culture-inspired innovation as well as sustainability approaches. We want visitors to experience our prototypes to make MoA’s intentions and research tangible and accessible. The »Activarium« serves as a work-in-progress showcase of different research strands and processes. Our visitors can dive into the research as it's happening before its published results.
Walk in and experience the »Activarium« Thursdays, 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm! If you are a group of more than 5 people or if the opening hours do not fit your schedule, please contact us via moa.activarium [at] hu-berlin.de!
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