Dear friends of Matters of Activity,

Before we say goodbye for the summer break, we would like to look back on the extremely eventful and productive weeks that the _matter Festival 2025 has given us. Perhaps you will have the opportunity to visit the current exhibitions or take part in the accompanying program during the vacation period. In addition, the Open Day Tours at weißensee school of art and design next weekend will be a special highlight. Numerous projects will be presented that were realized by or in collaboration with Cluster members.
Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you again in September, whether at the Matters of Activity special edition of the Excellent Pub Quiz or our Annual Conference, for which the conference team was able to attract a number of outstanding scholars as speakers.

We wish you a relaxing summer and a good read,
Antje Nestler & Carolin Ott

Our colleagues from »Architectural Yarns« and »Structural Textiles« are taking part in the »WEtransFORM« exhibition at Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, which is running until January 25th, 2026. As part of the ＿matter Festival 2025, they hosted a satellite event at the Deutsches Architektur Zentrum (DAZ) in Berlin, which aimed to further the discussion on their research. The »Entangled« event, organized by Maxie Schneider and Natalija Miodragović and moderated by Christiane Sauer, brought together experts from materials research, architecture, textiles and the humanities to discuss textile material practices in architecture. → more

Publications | Forest Remains of colonialism subtly manifest themselves in the particular configurations of natural and urban landscapes and the distribution of vegetation, such as in the case of Khaya senegalensis or African mahogany. In the Mouhoun region of western Burkina Faso, this vegetal legacy of the French colonies bears witness to a complex and hybrid natural, cultural and local heritage known by the Marka-Dafing as laada, a ›more-than-colonial‹ heritage. This paper sheds light on aspects of a shared colonisers’/colonised heritage through an examination of people’s recollections, fragments of colonial history and their views of the tree as the embodiment of forced labour or arboreal ornamentation that remind people of the past need to align with the rules set by the former colonial administration. 

The exhibition »Making Differently«, on display from June 19th to 29th, 2025, in the foyer of the Institute of Architecture at Technische Universität Berlin, spotlighted 10 pioneering women who are currently paving the way for producing architecture and cities differently. We are delighted that one of the portrayed women was our Cluster's Co-Director, Claudia Mareis, and that the exhibition additionally featured works by MoA members Pelin Asa, Natalija Miodragović, and Maxie Schneider. The video interview with Claudia Mareis sheds light on her career path and the special nature of the work at »Matters of Activity«. The film was shot on the premises of the Cluster of Excellence on Sophientraße in Berlin-Mitte → more

We are thrilled that our member Alwin Cubasch's publication »Zu Gast im Automaten« has been so well received by experts and the press. A recent Spiegel article makes Alwin's research findings accessible to a wider audience. Cubasch's publication also received an honorable mention at the ICOHTEC Turriano Prize at the 27th International Congress on the History of Science and Technology (ICHST2025) in Dunedin, New Zealand. → more

On June 27th, we celebrated the opening of »Symbiotic Wood« at Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin. The exhibition, curated by Karola Dierichs, is the final chapter of the »More than Human« exhibition series at Kunstgewerbemuseum, initiated by Claudia Banz. The interdisciplinary group highlights circles around insect-infested wood, a material deemed less valuable from a traditional human-centric perspective. The exhibition focuses on this ›more-than-human‹ material that is co-owned with other species. The exhibition will run until September and was covered by Gunda Bartels for ↗ tagesspiegel. 
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For the ＿matter Festival 2025, our colleagues Charlett Wenig and Lucy Norris teamed up to curate a group exhibition exploring the lively nature of peatland plants. The »Swamp Things!« exhibition at BHROX bauhaus reuse approached peatland plants harvested in the Oberes Rhinluch in Brandenburg as sensuous, lively materials. It explored the labour involved in growing, nurturing, and harvesting them for human use and how crafting with natural materials, such as peatland grasses, can provide new insights into our relationship with the environment. Situated in a pavilion at Ernst-Reuter-Platz, the exhibition was accompanied by hands-on workshops and a panel event. → more

Material Form Function | Science Communication Was haben Kiefernrinde und Moor-Seggen gemein? Beides sind gewachsene Strukturen aus der Natur, die bislang nur wenig Beachtung finden. Charlett Wenig interessieren sie dagegen besonders. Die Material- und Industriedesignerin konzentriert sich auf lokale Biomaterialien. Am Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung untersucht und erfindet sie neue Verarbeitungsmethoden, die Naturwissenschaft und Design auf spannende Weise zusammenbringen. Im Podcast gibt sie einen Einblick in ungeahnte Designszenarien, die mit Naturmaterialien möglich werden, wie ein Jacket aus Rinde. Laut biooekomie.de ist das »Biopionierarbeit, wie sie im Buche steht. Unbedingt reinhören!« → more

On July 17th, Michaela Büsse premiered a new multi-channel video installation at ZK/U – Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, the result of her ongoing research into the complex history and contested legacy of former military training grounds in Brandenburg, Germany. Decades of tank manoeuvres and live ammunition have left their mark on the terrain, which still bears the physical scars of destruction. Yet, paradoxically, it is precisely these conditions that have enabled the return of rare and even once-extinct species. The »Blazing Heath / Heideglühen« exhibition offered visitors a multisensory experience of these unusual landscapes, combining data-driven visual and sonic monitoring to reflect on their shifting meaning. It was part of the ＿matter Festival 2025.  → more

Object Space Agency The third and final (for now) edition of Dragoner.03 – Super Contemporary Arts Fest marks the last cultural activation of the historic ADLERhalle in Berlin-Kreuzberg before its closure, set against the backdrop of mounting pressure on independent cultural infrastructures in Berlin. Curated by MoA member Babette Werner, together with Yasmin Alt, Luis Bortt, and Jan Herdlicka, the exhibition once again transforms the Dragonerareal into a temporary, immersive resonance space. Over 30 artistic positions—spanning installation, sculpture, painting, film, and performance—explore aesthetic, ecological, and social entanglements. Among this year's featured artists are Cluster members Elaine Bonavia, Rahel Kesselring, and Maxie Schneider. → more

On July 26th and 27th, 2025, 12.00–8.00 pm, weißensee school of art and design berlin will open its studios for the traditional Open Day Tours. There will be the opportunity to learn more about the design research projects and students' works developed during the previous year, many of them in cooperation with or in classes led by researchers of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«. → more

Science Communication Wir freuen uns sehr, euch zur fünften Folge der Pub-Quiz-Reihe der Berliner Exzellenzcluster am Montag, den 8. September, in die fahimi bar nach Kreuzberg einzuladen. An diesem spätsommerlichen Quizabend wird die Forschung von »Matters of Activity« mit einer dazu passenden Live-Performance im Fokus stehen. Fragen aus den Bereichen aller Berliner Cluster ergänzen den zweistündigen Rätselabend, der von Jochen Müller moderiert wird. Also, sucht Mitstreiterinnen, denkt euch Teamnamen aus und taucht ein in die wunderbare Welt der Forschung – wir freuen uns auf euch! → more

Die Gefäßnaht – für die Alexis Carrel im Jahr 1912 den Nobelpreis für Physiologie oder Medizin erhielt – ist ein zentrales Element der chirurgischen Organtransplantation. Erst nachdem die immunologischen Hürden überwunden werden konnten, entwickelte sich die Organtransplantation zur Therapie der Wahl bei Organversagen im Endstadium. Trotz ihres lebensrettenden Potenzials steht diese Therapie in Deutschland nicht allen Patientinnen und Patienten zur Verfügung, denn aufgrund der geringen Spendebereitschaft mangelt es an Organen. Gemeinsam mit der Spanischen Botschaft in Berlin möchten wir dieses Thema vertiefen. Anhand der unterschiedlichen Erfahrungen in Spanien und Deutschland – zwei europäischer Länder mit sehr verschiedenen Ansätzen zur Organspende – wollen wir Chancen, Herausforderungen und mögliche Wege für mehr Spendenbereitschaft diskutieren. Expertinnen und Experten für Organtransplantationen aus beiden Ländern werden Unterschiede aufzeigen und mit dem Publikum diskutieren.

Dr. Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, Direktorin der spanischen Transplantationsorganisation (ONT)
Dr. Luis Rodríguez-Bachiller Villaronga, Gregorio Marañón-Universitätsklinikum
Dr. Alberto Sandiumenge Camps, Vall d’Hebrón-Universitätsklinikum
Dr. Dr. Sandra Loder, Geschäftsführende Ärztin Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation
Prof. Dr. Johann Pratschke, Direktor der Chirurgischen Klinik der Charité
Moderator: Christian Maier

Die Podiumsdiskussion wird organisiert von Igor M. Sauer und ist Teil der Ausstellung → Vessels. Infrastructures of Life im Berliner Medizinhistorischen Museum, findet aber in der Spanischen Botschaft statt. Die Veranstaltung findet in deutscher und spanischer Sprache statt, mit Simultanübersetzung. Für den Zutritt zum Botschaftsgelände ist ein Personalausweis oder Reisepass erforderlich.

Um Anmeldung unter folgendem Link wird gebeten:
↗ https://docs.google.com/forms

In the face of the current ecological predicament, substantial ›matters‹ are progressively getting ›out of hand‹, and require critical attention to their environmental, technological, and socio-material ambiguities.

The annual conference of »Matters of Activity« attends to such complexities by intertwining material activities on multiple scales with questions of modeling, making, and playing on unsteady grounds. By convening a variety of interdisciplinary positions, we seek to inspire collaborative means to negotiate the legacies and futures of material-driven research.

We are delighted that a distinguished group of speakers will be joining us on September 19th at silent green Kulturquartier. Among them, we are especially honored that Karen Barad (UC Santa Cruz) has accepted our invitation to deliver the evening keynote.

Throughout the day, we will host four panels that will connect a wide range of interdisciplinary perspectives, to be activated through our international panelists in dialogue with Cluster members.

Our international panel speakers are: Philip Beesley (Toronto), Xan Chacko (Brown University), Hélène Frichot (Melbourne School of Design), Abelardo Gil-Fournier (Madrid), Jussi Parikka (Aarhus University), Thao Phan (Australian National University), and Silvia Vignolini (MPIKG Potsdam). We very much look forward to the inspiring exchanges emerging from these contributions.

The conference is organized by Bastian Beyer, José Cojal Gonzalez, Léa Perraudin and Christian Stein.

More information and the conference program will be announced soon – stay tuned!