Dear friends of »Matters of Activity«

We are incredibly excited about the great response to the first three episodes of our new mini-documentary series Making_. Please share the clips and we already look forward to the next round in spring!

Furthermore, we would like to invite you to the »Microverse« exhibition opening at Haus am Kleistpark on March 20th and the exhibition »muddy measures. when wetlands and heritage converse« starting March 27th. Additionally, we are looking forward to introducing you to some new members and roles. 

We're also counting down to the ＿matter Festival – make sure to mark the festival kick-off on April 10th at the Schering Stiftung in your calendars. More information coming soon!

Happy reading!
Antje Nestler & Carolin Ott

Material Form Function | Achievements Since January 1st, 2025, Sandra Jasper has been appointed Chair in Cultural Geography and Society-Environment Research at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. Moreover, Sandra has been awarded a major research grant from UKRI’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG) for her collaborative project titled »Networked through Sound: Listening to 20th Century Wildlife Sound Archives«. We congratulate Sandra on her appointment and wish her new research project every success! → more

Filtering | Robotics | Air | Biodesign | Science Communication | MAKING_ 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? → more

Material Form Function | Climate | More-Than-Human | Ocean | Science Communication | MAKING_ 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! → more

Object Space Agency | Cutting | Achievements | Publications | Sound | Graphic Anthropology In der Publikation zeigt Maxime Le Calvé, wie der Golden Pudel Club auch nach über dreißig Jahren noch immer ein wichtiger Treffpunkt im Hamburger Stadtteil St. Pauli ist, und wie eine lebendige Nachtclubatmosphäre aus der Interaktion zwischen Personal und Publikum in einem musikalischen und materiellen Umfeld entsteht. Die TAZ berichtete am 7. Februar über die Ethnografie des Sozialantrolopogen und wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiters in den Projekten »Object Space Agency« und »Cutting« mit einem sehr persönlichen Einblick in sein Leben und seine Arbeit. Außerdem gibt es am 20. Februar um 16 Uhr ein Live-Radio Interview mit Maxime in der Sendung »Tonart« beim DLFKultur – schaltet ein! → more

Material Form Function | Master Open Design | Fungi/Mycelium | Ocean | Biodesign | Achievements | Circular Economies | Climate | Science Communication | Waste 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. → more

Material Form Function | MAKING_ | Science Communication | Biodesign | Master Open Design | Prototype / Model 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. → more

Symbolic Material | Weaving | Publications Die Landwirtschaft nährt das Erzählen. Über ihr initiales Wirken für menschliche, tierische und pflanzliche Lebensformen hinaus hat die Kultur der Bauern und Hirten über Jahrtausende hinweg die kollektive Imagination beschäftigt. Die Ausbildung eigener Genres und die Aufnahme in unterschiedlichste Erzählmodelle zeugen bis heute von den Wechselverhältnissen zwischen Agrikultur und Textkultur. Der Band Landwirtschaft & Literatur, herausgegeben von Clustermitgliedern Stephan Kammer und Karin Krauthausen geht dem Themenkomplex aus literaturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive nach und adressiert das Feld in seiner ganzen Breite. → more

Weaving | Bacteria | Biofilm | More-Than-Human | Temporality Circularity and sustainability of material flows are hallmarks of intact ecosystems. This principle has now been stunningly visualized in ultrahigh resolution, large format photographs - the MICROVERSE series - created by Kathrin Linkersdorff in collaboration with Regine Hengge, Professor for Microbiology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The exhibition at Haus am Kleistpark (Berlin-Schöneberg) will be on view until June 8th, 2025. → more

To strengthen the interconnectedness of Science & Technology Studies (STS) in Germany, the STS Hub has been organized – a conference series that brings together German organizations, labs, and research groups that are more or less closely related to STS. The conference is organized by Ignacio Farías, Anke Gruendel, Sandra Jasper, Maxime Le Calvé, Claudia Mareis, and Robert Stock, among others. This year's STS Hub, titled »Diffracting the Critical«, is an opportunity to collectively explore contemporary formations of critique in and with STS along three thematic clusters: ecologies & infrastructures, scales & temporalities, collaborations & solidarities. Registration is already closed. → more

Material Form Function | Climate | Water | Science Communication 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.  → more

In 2025, the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« will complete its work, looking back on a rich portfolio of new approaches to the interdisciplinary exploration of present and future material cultures. This year's ＿matter Festival celebrates these ideas and carries them forward into a network of 12 institutions within Berlin. Curated by Sophia Gräfe, Claudia Mareis and Peter Fratzl, an exhibition parcours and accompanying program will bring selected research projects into dialogue with the public between art, science and society. The ＿matter Festival program runs from April to October 2025. More information will be available on the Cluster website starting mid-March.