Dear Friends of »Matters of Activity«,

we all feel it, we are in the middle of an exciting, eventful, productive summer semester! In case you missed the big public event together with the »Driving the Human« initiative: Some impressions of this rich day with workshops, tours, and talks can be found in this issue.
Now we are looking forward to the events with contributions by MoA researchers around the exhibition »Examples to Follow!« in the Uferhallen Wedding, especially to the Kick-off of the new Cluster event series »Activating Circular Networks«. Moreover, we would like to draw your attention to the new dates of the workshop »The Power of Water« organized by Nina Samuel. And if you like, drop by the Science Quiz organized by the Berlin Clusters of Excellence as part of the Long Night of the Sciences on June 17th at the TU Berlin.

Happy reading,
Antje Nestler, Carolin Ott & Franziska Wegener

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, also many Cluster members gave insights into their research work at »Matters of Activity«.

One of the many Cluster members who helped shape the day is Maxime Le Calvé. He accompanied the diverse activities with which we were able to attract a diverse young audience, also from outside of academia to Sophienstraße with his incomparable fieldnotes and dared to take a look back in a very personal and experimental ethnographic way. ↗ more

Filtering | Teaching | XR From March 1st to 15th, 2023, MoA members Alwin Cubasch and Jürgen Sieck, together with Eileen Klingner, Verena Metze-Mangold, Elisabeth Thielen, Sophie Schauer, as well as several students, traveled to the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo for the Filtering project to conduct the DAAD-funded Summer School »Digitization of Indigenous Knowledge for Extended Reality and Culture« on site. In addition, six Malaysian scholars and 20 students participated who not only have insight into the indigenous culture and way of life of Borneo but are also members of different indigenous groups. The Summer School took place at the Borneo Cultures Museum in the provincial capital of Kuching, the second-largest museum in Southeast Asia. → more

Object Space Agency | Fungi/Mycelium MY-CO PLACE is now open! The TU Berlin transdisciplinary urban laboratory is a learning station, exhibition space and discussion platform that places mushrooms and mushroom materials at the center of the debate about a future way of building and living. In this place, people from science, art and urban society come together and discuss their ideas for a jointly built and sustainable future. In MY-CO PLACE, visitors can come into direct contact with the microscopically small but macroscopically tangible world of fungi. MY-CO PLACE is a transdisciplinary real laboratory by biotechnologist and molecular biologist Prof. Vera Meyer (TU Berlin) and Prof. Sven Pfeiffer (University of Bochum). Vera Meyer opened an accompanying lecture series about fungi as the future building material on May 15th. Natalija Miodragović and Dimitra Almpani-Lekka will give a talk on textile architecture associated with mushrooms on July 10th. → more

Material Form Function | Filtering | Symbolic Material | Teaching On Wednesday, May 17th, at 5 pm, the public lecture series »see - ander(e)s sehen« started at weißensee school of art and design berlin, with four MoA members taking part in this semester's program. The first lecture was given by Karola Dierichs, Cluster professor for »Material and Code«, sharing her insights about »Designing Matter-Teaching Research and Research through Teaching.« Patricia Ribault, Thomas Ness, and Lucy Norris will give further lectures in the following weeks. → more

Filtering | Material Form Function | Object Space Agency | Wool In its 13th year, the international traveling exhibition »Examples to follow!« returns to its first stop for the 20th edition - enriched by the expertise of international artists and scientists. After stops on four continents, the exhibition finale will take place at Uferhallen Wedding from May 12th to July 16th: a core theme is the conventional construction industry's catastrophic share in the climate disaster. The exhibition will also feature works and talks by MoA researchers Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Julia Blumenthal, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, Vera Meyer, Natalija Miodragović, and Charlett Wenig. In addition, we are pleased to be part of the exhibition's dialog program with the workshop »Talking Wool - Wool in Exchange« organized by Lucy Norris, Khashayar Razghandi, and Hanna Wegener on June 1st. → more

News | Exzellent erklärt The German science podcast ↗ Exzellent erklärt (»Excellence Explained«) on current scientific topics reflects the research diversity of Germany’s leading research institutions and Clusters of Excellence, from Africa Studies to Quantum Physics. In each episode, listeners can expect insights into the interdisciplinary work of one research network. The researchers of the Clusters of Excellence, funded by ↗ DFG, talk to podcaster Larissa Vassilian about how they want to find scientifically sound answers to relevant topics of our time – for the society of tomorrow. In Episode 28 you can learn from the Cluster of Excellence ↗ CASA - Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries at Ruhr-Univeristät Bochum how they developed Encryption methods that can withstand even quantum computers. In Episode 29, the ↗ RESIST - Resolving Infection Susceptibility Cluster of Excellence takes us on its journey to find possible answers to the question of why some people only get sick easily when they »catch« viruses or bacteria, while others get very difficult, and how individual therapies can be developed.

»Exzellent Erklärt« is now on LinkedIn. Follow and share all news related to the podcast: ↗ https://www.linkedin.com/company/exzellent-erklaert/
Listen to the new episodes ↗ here.

Object Space Agency | Bauhaus Alles beginnt mit einem unerwarteten Anruf und einem Testament: Das Bauhaus-Archiv erbt den Nachlass des Künstlers Jak R. Maier. Doch wer war Jak R. Maier? Wieso kommt sein Nachlass zu uns? Was bedeutet es, über die Objekte eines anderen Menschen zu verfügen und zu entscheiden? Die Ausstellung »Unpacking Jak R. Maier« setzt sich erstmalig mit dem künstlerischen und privaten Archiv des Berliner Künstlers und unseren Umgang damit auseinander. Die »unpackings« bringen an sechs Themen-Abenden Dynamik in die Ausstellung. In Gesprächen mit Gäst:innen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis und Live-Aktionen erkundet das Museumsteam gemeinsam mit dem Publikum den Nachlass des Künstlers. → more

Filtering | Material Form Function | Wool | Circular Economies On June 1st, 2023, from 3 to 7 pm, at the Uferhallen in Wedding, the ›Activating Circular Networks‹ event series will kick off with »Talking Wool«: an event that brings designers, academics, politicians, and farmers together to discuss the issues surrounding European and local German wool, the problem of wool waste in particular, and fiber security. The workshop takes place within the ongoing group exhibition »Zur Nachahmung empfohlen - Erkundungen in Ästhetik und Nachhaltigkeit«. Our host for the event is professor and artist Folke Köbberling, an expert in exploring these challenges and potentials of coarse wool for years. → more

Object Space Agency | Water Water is a unique element also in conservation. It is a universal element that occurs on earth in all states of aggregation at the same time. Its properties, which may seem unremarkable at first sight, allow this element to be used and modified in a number of ways. In addition to established measures, new scientific discoveries are constantly finding their way into conservation. The two workshops »The Power of Water« on June 14th and 15th will offer some insights into the application of water in conservation treatments – with practical examples and experiments, you are welcome to explore conservation methods and techniques.  → more

Filtering | Material Form Function Nature and disability are closely linked. The terms reflect the damage, but also the diversity of our world. The crisis of nature cultures – their dis_ability – is the consequence of globalized economies and climate injustices. Attempts at healing and restoration are linked to them, as are protests and artistic interventions aimed at other futures. But how sustainable are approaches to the climate crisis that rely on visual anthropocentrism and the idea of nature domination? Doesn’t smelling, touching, and hearing have to be brought to the fore in order to make room for a diverse perceptual knowledge that is close to living beings? With their talk on June 17th at 7 pm, Siegfried Saerberg, Professor for Disability Studies and Participation Research, and Cluster Professor Robert Stock were part of the Long Night of the Sciences at the Humboldt Lab on the topic »Climate_in_justice«. → more

Science Communication 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. → more

Event | SCRIPTS On Monday, June 5th, 2023, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., the Cluster of Excellence »Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)« invites you to a public lecture & discussion with Michael J. Sandel, Political Philosopher, Author, Harvard University, moderated by Stefan Gosepath, Prof. of Practical Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin.

Societies like the U.S. are facing a significant democracy problem, with unprecedented divisions fueled by social media, populism, social inequality, unrest in response to racial violence and the intensification of individual isolation during the global pandemic. Insufficiently regulated by governments, the financialized global economy creates winners and losers and fuels toxic politics, with devastating consequences for our democracies. This is the recently updated and expanded account of »democracy's discontent«, by the well-known political philosopher Michael J. Sandel. His widely debated book of that title is now available in German. To reinvigorate democracy and detoxify politics, Sandel calls for an alternative to the current neoliberal vision of the economy, one that empowers citizens as participants in a shared public life.

Monday, June 5, 2023 | 6:00 - 8:00 p.m
Freie Universität Berlin, Lecture Hall 1b
Rostlaube | Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin
↗ Further Information and ↗ Registration