Opening STATE Studio Berlin AEON – Trajectories of longevity and CRISPR

Opening STATE Studio Berlin AEON – Trajectories of longevity and CRISPR

Monday, July 16 2018

New science and art gallery space opens its doors in Berlin-Schöneberg: experimental, participatory, discursive.

www.statefestival.org

www.mdc-berlin.de

www.emiliatikka.com/

On 27 October 2018, STATE opens its first participatory science and art gallery: STATE Studio Berlin. Founded in 2014, the open science initiative STATE returns to its place of origin. STATE thereby unifies two festivals, a pop-up studio in Los Angeles and other adventures in a new permanent forum for future discourse. In partnership with Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD), STATE Studio Berlin presents in its novel 300m² venue the opening exhibition series Field Experiments and other diverse event formats on cutting-edge technology and research.

In the run-up to Berlin Science Week, the Opening Event marks the inception of a new, vibrant and vivid forum for public discourse on contemporary technological and scientific developments and their philosophical dimensions. STATE Studio Berlin presents the latest and most creative trends emerging in research and innovation through artistic interpretations and a participatory public program. Field Experiments programmatically stands for the curated presentation of artistic positions of emerging technologies to display their relevance and impact for the broader societal realm. At STATE Studio Berlin speculative, current and controversial prototypes are tested in their anticipated environment: amidst society. Field Experiments showcases inspiring works of artists and designers in tandem with prototypes from international research institutes and laboratories, exploring the creative friction between cutting-edge research, artistic expressions, and societal discourses.

In addition to the permanent exhibition series Field Experiments, the free and open event program at STATE Studio Berlin offers diverse and inspiring public formats and aesthetic experiences. The science and art program encompasses exhibitions, presentations, and conferences, yet also artist talks and scientific lectures – taking a multi-perspective stance towards innovations from the life and natural sciences through the artistic and aesthetic lense. The interdisciplinary gallery space thus invites artists, researchers, entrepreneurs, creative people, citizen scientists, interested people and groups of all ages and backgrounds to engage with, reflect on and discuss technology and research today as it shapes our shared future tomorrow. Welcome to STATE Studio Berlin: a new exhibition-lab and forum for the cutting-edge sciences and arts.

"In contrast to our previous festivals and the pop-up studio in Los Angeles, Field Experiments is thematically open. With this permanent exhibition series at STATE Studio Berlin, we aim to venture an experiment on society by bringing tomorrow's technologies into the here and now and invite our visitors to play, explore and critically reflect upon them. We would like to share this stance and intuition towards that future with you that so deeply moves and inspires us.” – Johanna Teresa Wallenborn, STATE


STATE Studio stimulates creative synergies between science, art and technology.

Field Experiments Vernissage 

27 October 2018, 7 pm

STATE Studio Berlin brings tomorrow's everyday life into a participative experiential space, an exhibition-lab, and an experimental forum. The kick-off Field Experiments exhibition evokes images of a society in which humans extend their lifespan through genome editing and in which intelligent machines are no longer just tools but companions. Field Experiments also explores the anticipated acceptance of novel synthetic-biological prototypes, shakes the human perspective on space and time and presents the faces of researchers and creatives whose interdisciplinary work drives change in art, technology, and science. The mixed media exhibition displays both the work of artists and researchers, including Emilia Tikka (FI), Marco Donnarumma (IT), onformative (DE), and Veronika Natter (DE) in tandem with the artistic research project Farming the Uncanny Valley comprised of Natsai Audrey Chieza (GB), Clemens Winkler (DE), Paul Ferragut (UK), Ann-Kristin Abel (DE), Łukasz Stopczynski (DE), Stefan Schwabe (DE) and Jannis Hülsen (DE). Together with Imagine Science Films, the renown New York-based festival for science inspired films, a selection of jointly curated works are screened, including short films by Timo Wright (FI) and Franz Milec (SK).

Selected amongst over 40 proposals received through STATE's Open Call, Finnish artist and designer Emilia Tikka spent two months at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC). There, she worked on uncovering the molecular hallmarks of aging together with the researchers. In an intensive exchange with the scientists at MDC, the artist-in-residence explored the potential of the CRISPR/dCAS9 technology to reverse the biological clock. ÆON- Trajectories of Longevity and CRISPR addresses philosophical and societal dimensions of the desire for eternal life. Together with STATE Studio, Tikka gave a sneak preview of the preliminary design to visitors of Ars Electronica 2018. The leading festival for art, technology, and society invited STATE Studio to exhibit Tikka’s project in its Gallery Spaces. About her time at Ars Electronica, the designer says:

"I talked to many curious visitors in these days. The info-guide of my area told me afterward, that most of the people approaching her asked questions about my work. A very positive feeling – to be assured that people are highly interested in gene engineering. It’s a relevant topic.“ 

“In the preliminary film that was part of my setup, the storytelling part was still missing. I think it is crucial to tell a story to people so that they can grasp the dimensions of the impact that technology might have on our society.“ – Emilia Tikka, STATE and MDC artist-in-residence

The project is supported Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association and supported by the EU-funded Project “ORION”, Grant Agreement No. 741527.

Marco Donnarumma is awarded Artist of Science Year 2018 by German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Wissenschaft im Dialog. The artist, originally from Italy, is a Research Fellow at the Berlin University of the Arts (UDK). Donnarumma expresses his artistic view on this Science Year’s topic Working Life of the Future in his human limb-like Amygdala. The artificially intelligent arm provokes unease when watching it learn an ancient purification ritual on its own skin. A fear comes to the surface that is caused by machines evolving from tools to fellow beings. Donnarumma's captivating visions of the body have already toured more than 60 countries. His music performance Corpus Nil won second prize of Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction for Sound Art in 2017. 

Amygdala is an artwork by Marco Donnarumma, in collaboration with the Neurorobotics

Research Laboratory (DE) and Ana Rajcevic (DE).

Onformative is a digital art and design studio based in Berlin, seeking to challenge the boundaries of art and technology. Their latest audiovisual installation Meandering River reinterprets the shifting behaviors of rivers by visualizing and sonifying their impact on the surface of the earth in real time. Assuming a birds eye view the orientation conceptualizes a new human perspective on space and time, in an attempt to decipher unpredictable patterns and make change visible. In collaboration with Kling Klang Klong the musical composition was created using an Artificial Intelligence.

Onformative is a digital art and design studio based in Berlin, seeking to challenge the boundaries of art and technology. Their latest audiovisual installation Meandering River reinterprets the shifting behaviors of rivers by visualizing and sonifying their impact on the surface of the earth in real time. Assuming a birds eye view the orientation conceptualizes a new human perspective on space and time, in an attempt to decipher unpredictable patterns and make change visible. In collaboration with Kling Klang Klong the musical composition was created using an Artificial Intelligence. 



Through her portraits, photographer and STATE Studio co-founder Veronika Natter facilitates face-to-face encounters with young pioneers of the science and art scene. The Curious Minds are researchers, designers, artists, and others from the open science initiative's network a glimpse behind the scenes.  


The artistic research project Farming the Uncanny Valley explores the future of bioeconomics in the context of social acceptance using experience prototypes. The participative project is developed in cooperation with STATE, UDK Berlin, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, YOUSE and is funded by BMBF. 


More information about the opening and upcoming events will be announced at https://www.state-studio.com

Opening program


  • Field Experiments Vernissage and STATE Studio Opening, 27 October 2018, 7 pm

  • Marco Donnarumma Award Show, hosted by  by German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and Wissenschaft im Dialog, 30 October 2018

  • Panel discussion on the STATE artist residency at MDC:  From Understanding to Tinkering - the Future of Genome Research featuring Emilia Tikka (STATE artist-in-residence), Simone Spuler (Charité, Freie Universität Berlin, MDC), Jens Reich (MDC), Roland Schwarz (MDC), Sascha Sauer (MDC) – moderated by Luiza Bengtsson (MDC), 1 November 2018, 5 pm

  • Field Experiments permanent exhibition, 27 October 2018 - 11 November 2018, Tue - Fr 12 am - 6 pm, opening hours after 11 November to be announced at https://www.state-studio.com

  • Berlin Science Week – Info and Meet & Match Point, 1-10 November 2018

  • Berlin Science Week – Wrap-up event of the project Bürgerdelphi Keimbahntherapie of the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, supported by BMBF, 6 November 2018, 7 pm, registration at http://www.buedeka.de/abschlussveranstaltung/


Contributors

Team

Curation: Dr. Christian Rauch, Stefanie Greimel, Johanna Teresa Wallenborn 

Production: Veronika Natter 

Assistance: Marie Niederleithinger 


Press contact 

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information. The curators and artists, as well as the participating researchers are available for interviews.


Press & Communication

Johanna Teresa Wallenborn

Marie Niederleithinger

press@statefestival.org


Background

STATE is a Berlin-based initiative for open science, art, and innovation. Founded in 2014, we connect people with science in a new way: participatory, interdisciplinary and inspiring. Integrating research, technology, and culture in its thinking, STATE explores current developments in science where cutting-edge research transforms society.

STATE Studio is supported and developed in partnership with Wissenschaft im Dialog, the initiative for science communication in Germany, and JOHANENLIES, a Berlin-based upcycling furniture designer.

Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) aims to arouse and strengthen interest in science among people of every age and background. We aim to achieve this by organising discussions, education projects for schools, exhibitions and competitions – all focused on science and research. We develop new formats for science communication and run events across Germany to reach diverse target groups. Our goal is for as many people as possible to be involved in discussions about research, including its controversial aspects. WiD is a non-profit organisation founded in 1999 by the major German science organisations on the initiative of the 'Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft'. WiD also has several foundations as partners and receives significant support from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. 

www.wissenschaft-im-dialog.de

JOHANENLIES

JOHANENLIES is a Berlin-based company that designs Upcycling Furniture: sustainable furniture made from recycled timber blending durable steel, stone and ecological linoleum. Produced regionally under environmentally friendly conditions and made by hand, the sustainable pieces by Mike Raaijmakers and creative director Coco Prange align perfectly with the STATE Studio concept. 

https://www.johanenlies.com/

Emilia Tikka

Emilia Tikka is a designer, artist, and filmmaker – originally from Finland and currently based in Berlin. Her interdisciplinary design and research practice explore philosophical dimensions and cultural implications of novel biotechnologies such as synthetic biology and genome editing technology CRISPR-cas9. Her methods of research vary from designing objects, constellations, concepts, and fictions to writing and hands-on laboratory experiments. 

Her design and artworks – ranging from objects, clothing, sculptures – have been awarded and exhibited in several international design exhibitions and art museums including Västerås Art Museum in Sweden, EMMA Contemporary Art Museum in Finland, Center of Contemporary Art Poland, MOBA13 Design Biennale in Netherlands curated by Li Edelkoort, Exhibition and book release by Vilaindustrie in Florence, Italian Vogue’s Young Talents event in Milan and Helsinki Technical Museum. Her recent film project Eudaimonia has been selected in international film festivals such as Shorts on Tap in London and as a finalist in the European Cinematography awards. After studying in Helsinki she received her MA in industrial design at University of Arts Berlin.

https://www.emiliatikka.com/

Marco Donnarumma 

A unique presence across contemporary performance and media art, Marco Donnarumma distinguishes himself by his use of emerging technology to deliver artworks that are at once intimate and powerful, oneiric and uncompromising, sensual and confrontational. Working since the early 2000s with biotechnology, biophysical sensing, as well as artificial

intelligence (AI) and neurorobotics, Donnarumma expresses the chimerical nature of the body with a new and unsettling intensity. He is renown for his focus on sound, whose physicality and depth he exploits to create experiences of instability, awe, shock and entrainment. His newest performance for human dancers and AI prostheses, Alia: Zu tài, will be co-produced in 2018 by CTM Festival (Berlin) and Chronus Art Center

(Shanghai) during a year of exchange across Germany and China, thanks to the support of Goethe Institut. Donnarumma’s arresting visions of the body toured more than 60 countries

worldwide with shows at Venice Biennale (Venice), ZKM Center for Art and Media (Karlsruhe), Hebbel Am Ufer (Berlin), Ars Electronica (Linz), ISEA International Symposium on Electronic Art (Albuquerque), FILE Electronic Language Festival (São Paulo), to name a few.

https://marcodonnarumma.com/

onformative

onformative is a digital art and design studio based in Berlin, seeking to challenge the boundaries of art and technology. Guided by an emotional approach, the studio searches for experimental forms of creative expression to question the relationship between humans and technology. 

https://www.onformative.com/

Veronika E. Natter

Veronika E. Natter is a Berlin-based photographer and creative. Born in 1986 in Regensburg, Bavaria, Veronika has spent most of her youth between England, Germany and Spain. After attending Cambridge School of Arts and Design, she graduated from Wimbledon School of Art with a degree in Fine Art, Print & Digital Media. Her photographs capture the intimate details in everyday situations around her, uncovering the fragile beauty of the ordinary. Traveling is an integral part of Veronika’s life and work. She never leaves the house without her camera.

Veronika’s works have been shown in solo and group exhibitions internationally, including showings at Dock18 (Zürich) and Trinity Buoy Wharf (London). Currently, she is living in Berlin and working in several roles behind the camera as Photographer, Stylist and Art Director.

https://www.veronikanatter.photography/

Farming the Uncanny Valley

How do we know what we want if we don't know what exists or could exist?

The artistic research project Farming the Uncanny Valley explores the future of bioeconomics in the context of social acceptance using experience prototypes. The participative project is developed in cooperation with STATE, UDK Berlin, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, YOUSE and is funded by the BMBF. With works by Natsai Audrey Chieza, Clemens Winkler, Paul Ferragut, Ann-Kristin Abel, Łukasz Stopczynski, Jannis Hülsen and Stefan Schwabe. 

https://www.natsaiaudrey.co.uk/

http://clemenswinkler.com/

http://annkristinabel.com/

http://www.paulferragut.com/



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