Born in 1932 in Halberstadt, a city marked by the destruction of the Second World War, Kluge grew up surrounded by the fragments of history that would later shape his imagination. Throughout his life, he remained fascinated by how personal stories intersect with larger historical forces. His films and writings rarely offered simple narratives; instead, they invited viewers and readers to reflect, question, and connect the pieces themselves.

As one of the founders of New German Cinema, Kluge helped redefine what film could be. Yet his influence extended far beyond the screen. He was also a prolific writer of short stories, an interviewer of remarkable depth, and a tireless advocate for independent media. His television projects created space for thoughtful conversations at a time when mass media often favored speed over reflection.

Those who encountered Kluge’s work often described it as demanding, but also rewarding. He believed that art should not simply entertain, but awaken thought and emotion. Even in his nineties, he remained active, continuing to write, film, and engage with new ideas — a testament to his enduring intellectual vitality.

Alexander Kluge passed away in Munich at the age of 94, marking the end of a remarkable chapter in German cultural life.

Alexander Kluge, 2020 (Foto: Martin Kraft) *

* Alexander Kluge at the reception of the State Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia in Berlin during the Berlinale, 2020. Foto: Martin Kraft (photo.martinkraft.com), Lizenz: CC BY-SA 4.0

AAIP is designed as a traveling exhibition, giving students the opportunity to present their projects not only locally but on an international stage. Each edition introduces new partner institutions and new works, ensuring that the project grows continuously while promoting dialogue between art schools and museums worldwide.

The 2026 edition continues this trajectory. In Offenbach, the exhibition features works from HfG Offenbach and the University of the Arts Bremen, alongside contributions from the Kassel School of Art, the St. Lucas School of Arts Antwerp, the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and the Durban University of Technology. In addition, books from the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle are included as guest contributions.

A particular highlight is the involvement of the Klingspor Museum, which presents selected works, bridging the gap between academic experimentation and professional museum display. The exhibition thus traces a line from student projects to public presentation, revealing the vibrancy of contemporary artist’s books.

Opening
March 28, 2026, 6:00 PM

Program
April 1, 5:00 PM: Guided tour and presentation of selected works
April 10, 6:30 PM: Buchbar and guided tour
April 17, 6:30 PM: Buchbar and reading
April 18/19: Workshop Jan Blessing – office offset

April 25, from 7:00 PM: Night of the Museums
April 26: Closing event and free admission

Opening hours
Tue, Wed, Thu: 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Fri: 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Sat, Sun & public holidays: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Mon: closed

Klingspor Museum
Herrnstraße 80
63065 Offenbach

The period between 1918 and 1933 marks a decisive phase in the history of political visual culture in Europe. During the First World War, posters were deployed on an unprecedented scale, transforming public space into a battlefield of images. Governments and political actors experimented with different modes of persuasion—from rational argument and statistical claims to emotional manipulation, stereotyping, and deliberate distortion. These strategies did not disappear with the armistice; rather, they migrated into the political struggles of the postwar years.

In the early years of the Weimar Republic, the political poster absorbed the psychological shock of defeat, revolution, and economic instability. Expressionist visual languages, fractured compositions, and exaggerated figures conveyed collective trauma and uncertainty. At the same time, posters functioned as tools of orientation in a rapidly changing media landscape, competing with newspapers, leaflets, and emerging forms of mass communication.

As political polarization intensified during the 1920s and early 1930s, the poster increasingly became a site of confrontation. Its imagery grew harsher, more reductive, and more aggressive—especially in material produced by extremist movements on both the left and the right. The street poster, designed for instant impact, proved particularly susceptible to simplification and radicalization. Violence, dehumanization, and apocalyptic narratives entered the visual vocabulary long before they were fully realized in political practice.

Under Pressure also addresses the limits of plurality. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 marked a fundamental rupture: political posters ceased to articulate competing positions and were subsumed into a centralized system of ideological control. What had once been a contested visual arena became a univocal instrument of domination. The exhibition thus understands political posters not only as historical documents but as indicators of democratic fragility and authoritarian consolidation.

The exhibition presents political posters from the collection of Wiesbaden-based collector Maximilian Karagöz. Presented in cooperation with the Hessian State Parliament, whose parallel exhibition Political Posters 1945–1991 (18 March – 12 April 2026) extends the discussion into the postwar period, Under Pressure situates the interwar poster within a longer tradition of political image-making and its enduring relevance for contemporary visual culture.

Under Pressure – Political Posters 1918–1933
Museum Wiesbaden | 6 February – 9 August 2026

Originally initiated at the Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón (ESDA), Zaragoza, the Social Design Days have become a space for exchange within the DESIS community and its wider network. The 2026 edition marks the first time the event is organised at the University of Beira Interior (UBI), reinforcing the institution’s engagement with socially oriented design research and education. In full articulation with ESDA Desis Lab, this event is coordinated by the iA* Lab DES’SIDE, a member of the DESIS Network since 2025 and partner of its ‘Design from the Margins’ Work Group. The result of this institutional compromise and partnership can be seen in UBI DES’SIDE EXHIBITION at Wool Museum, Royal Veiga Factory nuclei (MUSLAN), through PhD, Master’s and Bachelor’s students’ projects.

Another central component of this edition is its plenary sessions, which bring together invited international speakers to foster dialogue on the current challenges and perspectives of social design. These sessions aim to expand the discussion beyond disciplinary boundaries, connecting design practice with broader social, cultural and territorial contexts.

Alongside the plenaries, panels and workshops explore situated design approaches and their relation to territory, local knowledge and collective well-being. In this context, the panel “Social Design and Innovation from the Mountains”highlights mountain territories as relevant contexts for examining how design can engage with place-based realities and contribute to locally grounded processes of change.

Workshop 01
Form Social Design versus Right-Wing Policies (Nicos Souleles)

Workshop 02
Reading the Place: Graphic-Semantic Map as a Tool for Social Design Intervention (Cátia Rijo & Helena Grácio)

Workshop 03
Filo: Tool for Social Resilience in Aging Rural Communities (Cátia Ascensão)

Workshop 04
Shaping Heritage, Planting the Future — Regenerative Design based on the Bisalhães Pottery (Raul Pinto)

KEYNOTES

Cecilia Casas Romero holds a Law degree from UNED, a MA in Sociology of Public and Social Policies at University of Zaragoza and has studied Artistic Photography at EAH. She currently teaches photography and social design at the Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón (ESDA) in Spain. She specializes in Practice and Education in Social Design with communities in vulnerable situations or at risk of social exclusion. She also applies the social uses of artistic photography and the Photovoice methodology to her work with disadvantaged communities. She coordinates ESDA’s DESIS Laboratory, which has developed its own unique programme in which more than a third of ESDA’s teachers are involved. She is working to make this social design education programme transferable to other educational environments, developing research to produce a model that serves this purpose. She organizes the ESDA DESIS Social Design Days, which bring together leading figures in social design education from around the world, including Ezio Manzini (Politecnico de Milan, Lorraine Gamman, Adam Thorpe and Francesco Mazzarella (UAL)). She co-founded along with Francesco Mazzarella (UAL) the DESIS Cluster “Design from the Margins” in which more than 20 universities from all around the word are involved. Along with Dr. Francesco M. and the Social Design Network they lead the CUMULUS Working Group DESC (Design Education for Social Change), they have delivered workshops in which more than 30 teachers from different international Design Schools have participated, to date. Her ongoing PhD research focuses on defining a model for educational institutions teaching social design to create healthy working environments (WHO, 2010).

Francesco Mazzarella is a design researcher, educator, and activist, striving to create positive social change, especially working with marginalised communities. As Reader in Design for Social Change at London College of Fashion, UAL, he explores how design activism can be used to create counter-narratives towards sustainability, in and through fashion. Francesco’s research spans design activism, textile craftsmanship, decolonising fashion, design for sustainability, social innovation, and place-making. Francesco is a member of the Design Council Expert Network, Fellow of Advance HE, Co-founder of the DESIS Cluster ‘Design from the Margins’ and of the Cumulus Working Group ‘Design Education for Social Change’.

Dr Nicos Souleles (PhD, AMCollT, FCES) is an accomplished academic and independent researcher specialising in social design education, design education, and technology-enhanced learning. He earned his PhD in Educational Research from Lancaster University, concentrating on e-learning in art and design. Dr Souleles has held various teaching and leadership roles across Australia, England, the United Arab Emirates, and Cyprus. His research interests include social design education, learning design, curriculum development, digital and multimedia design, and integrating the UN Sustainable Development Goals into higher education curricula. He leads the “Art + Design: Learning Lab – Design for Social Change,” engages in European projects focused on digital upskilling and sustainable assessment, and co-edits DISCERN, the International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.

Claire Pillar is a freelance editor and proofreader with degrees in History (BA), Asian Studies (MA) and Public Health (MPH). She also has diplomas in Librarianship and Marketing Communications. Until 2025, she was an associate of the Art + Design Lab: Elearning at Cyprus University of Technology. Now based in the UK, she is the copy editor for Discern, the International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.

Agenda
Provisional Programme

Thursday / March 19

09h00 | REGISTRATION
MUSLAN -   Royal Veiga Factory nuclei

10h00 | WELCOMING SESSION
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory Auditorium

Ana Paula Duarte
Rector of the University of Beira Interior

Francisco Paiva
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and Scientific Coordinator of iA* Arts Research

Flávio Almeida
President of the Arts Department

Rita Salvado
Director of the Wool Museum of the University of Beira Interior

Ana Margarida Ferreira
UBI DESIS V SOCIAL DESIGN DAYS Scientific Committee

Ezio Manzini
Honorary Professor at Politecnico di Milano, Chair Professor at University of the Arts London, and Distinguished Professor on Design for Social Innovation at ELISAVA, guest professor at Tongji University and Jiangnan University and founder of DESIS - International Network on Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability

11h00 | PLENARY SESSION
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory Auditorium

‘Education in Social Design: Hackingfrom Inside’

Cecilia Casas Romero
ESDA DESIS LAB Coordinator, former Coordinator of ESDA DESIS SOCIAL DESIGN DAYS, Professor and Researcher / Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón

11h45 Coffee Break

12h00 | ROUND TABLE
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory Auditorium

‘Social Design Education and Activism: Exploring Portuguese Educators’ Perspectives’

Chair: Francesco Mazzarella
Reader in Design for Social Change / London College of Fashion, UAL

Panel:
Ana Margarida Ferreira
Design Professor, iA* Arts Research Unit and founder member of DES’SIDE iA*Lab / University of Beira Interior

Graziela Sousa and Inês Veiga
Fashion and Communication Design Professors and Researchers of REDES / University of Lisbon

Paula Trigueiros and Alison Burrows
Design Professor, Inclusive Design Researcher and member of LAB2PT; Independent Researcher/ University of Minho

Teresa Franqueira
Design Professor, Coordinator of the ID+ DESIS Lab and former International Coordinator of the DESIS Network / University of Aveiro

13h00 Lunch

14h30 | PLENARY SESSION
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory Auditorium

‘Designing from the Margins’

Francesco Mazzarella
Reader in Design for Social Change / London College of Fashion, UAL

15h15 Coffee Break

15h30 | WORKSHOP

Workshop 01
MUSLAN - Textile Workshop
(90 minutes)

´Social Design versus Right-Wing Policies’

Nicos Souleles
Independent researcher and Co-Editor in Chief, DISCERN, the International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, Greece

17h30 I UBI DES’SIDE EXHIBITION OPENING
Wool Museum -   Royal Veiga Factory nuclei

19h30 Dinner
Paço 100 Pressa

Friday / March 20

10h00 | PLENARY SESSION
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory Auditorium

’The social design challenges of putting together and editing the online journal ‘DISCERN, the International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation, and Entrepreneurship’

Nicos Souleles
Independent researcher and Co-Editor in Chief, DISCERN, the International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, Greece

Claire Pillar
Freelance editor and proofreader and DISCERN copy-editor, UK

10h45 Coffee Break

11h00 | PRESENTATIONS + WORKSHOP
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory Auditorium

‘Social Design and Innovation from the Mountains’

// Futures Cartographies Observatory: Design for Social Innovation in Peripheral Territories

Aline Moreira Monçores
iA* Arts Research Unit / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Cláudia Alquezar Facca
iA* Arts Research Unit / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

// Agroecological Imaginaries: Co-Designing Peasant Technologies and Food Sovereignty through Participatory Research and Alternative Narratives

Susana Paixão-Barradas
Kedge Art School / Kedge Business School, Marseille, France

Marie Julie Cartoir-Brisson
Department of Communication, Culture and Language / Audencia Nantes, France

// Human-centered Design Concept: A cultural sustainable strategy in addressing the wide spread redundancy of the ‘white wedding gown’ in the Ghanaian marriage culture

Haruna Ibrahim
Department of Fashion Design and Textiles Education / University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana

// Emergency Design in Low Density Territories

Mónica Romãozinho
iA* Arts Research Unit and DES’SIDE Coordinator / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Joana Casteleiro
iA* Arts Research Unit and DES’SIDE member / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

// The ‘Future of our Villages’ Project. Participatory speculative co-design with communities

Hernâni Alves
iA* Arts Research Unit and DES’SIDE collaborator / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Eduardo Gonçalves
iA* Arts Research Unit and DES’SIDE member / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Ana Margarida Ferreira
iA* Arts Research Unit and DES’SIDE member / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

// Designing Responsible Consumption: From Everyday Practice to Social Innovation

Rafaela Norogrando
CIAUD-UBI / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Caroline Loss
CIAUD-UBI / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Miriam Reis
ID+ / University of Aveiro, Portugal

// Weaving Memories: A Methodology for a Participatory Iterative project

Soraia Maduro
iA* Arts Research Unit and DES’SIDE collaborator / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Mónica Romãozinho
iA* Arts Research Unit and DES’SIDE Coordinator / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

// The ‘Nós Vamos’ Project

Laura Reis
Industrial Design Master / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Inês Gonçalves
Industrial Design Master / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Paulo Freire
Industrial Design Master / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Workshop 02
MUSLAN - Cafeteria Space
(120 minutes)

‘Reading the Place: Graphic-Semantic Map as a Tool for Social Design Intervention’

Cátia Rijo
iA* Arts Research Unit / Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa do IPL, Portugal

Helena Grácio
iA* Arts Research Unit / Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa do IPL, Portugal

13h00 Lunch

14h30 | WORKSHOPS

Workshop 03
MUSLAN - Textile Workshop
(60 minutes)

‘Filo: Tool for Social Resilience in Aging Rural Communities’

Cátia Ascensão
University of Coimbra, Portugal

Workshop 04
MUSLAN – Cafeteria Space
(90 minutes)

Shaping Heritage, Planting the Future — Regenerative Design based on the Bisalhães Pottery’

Raul Pinto
University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal

16h00 I CLOSING SESSION
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory Auditorium

Ralitsa Diana Debrah
Coordinator of Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability Network (DESIS), Design Professor and Researcher / Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Ana Margarida Ferreira
Design Professor, iA* Arts Research Unit and founder member of DES’SIDE iA*Lab / University of Beira Interior, Portugal

16h15 Coffee Break

16h30 I GUIDED VISIT TO WOOL MUSEUM
MUSLAN - Royal Veiga Factory

Committees

Scientific Committee
UBI iA*Lab DES’SIDE and DESIS Network
‘Design from the Margins’ Working Group

Ana Margarida Ferreira
Cecilia Casas Romero
Cláudia Facca
Eduardo Gonçalves
Francesco Mazzarella
Joana Casteleiro
Júlio Londrim
Mónica Romãozinho
Nicos Souleles
Ralitsa Debrah
Susan Melsop
Teresa Franqueira

Executive Direction
Ana Margarida Ferreira
Cecilia Casas Romero
Joana Casteleiro
Mónica Romãozinho

Executive Committee
Ana Farias
Cláudia Facca
Eduardo Gonçalves
Estrela Nunes
Fátima Veríssimo
Hernâni Alves
Inês Camaño Garcia
Luís Ginja
Natacha Pinto
Pedro Fernandes Oliveira
Soraia Maduro
Tabata Aviles Parra

Exhibition Curatorship
Ana Margarida Ferreira
Joana Casteleiro
Mónica Romãozinho

Graphic Design
Fátima Veríssimo
Natacha Pinto

Institutional Support
iA* - Arts Research Unit
MUSLAN - Wool Museum
Department of Arts
PhD Program in Design

UBI DESIS 5th Social Design Days
When: 19 MAR

Where: MUSLAN / UBI

Against this background, the 70th International Children’s Book Exhibition at the Klingspor Museum gains particular relevance. Its finissage (Sunday, 15 March) functioned less as a formal closing event than as a condensed journey through time: seven decades of picture-book history presented across the museum’s galleries—from the post-war period to the present day. Moving through the exhibition meant moving along a cultural timeline in which not only aesthetic developments but also broader social transformations could be traced.

To mark the anniversary, the museum (continuing its annual tradition) presented around 150 carefully selected new publications from different countries. At the same time, the exhibition invited visitors to look back: to classics, unusual or curious examples, and books that today appear almost as cultural documents. During the finissage tour, the curators Dorothee Ader and Stephanie Ehret-Pohl guided visitors through this history of the picture book. They referred to well-known classics, such as works by Janosch or Leo Lionni, but also introduced new and sometimes still little-known publications, including titles from outside the German-speaking world. This international perspective highlighted the diversity and experimental spirit that characterise contemporary children’s books.

Representing seventy years of publishing history, however, means more than simply tracing stylistic developments. Certainly, the exhibition made visible various graphic trends and aesthetic shifts, changes in illustration or typographic styles, and different approaches in book design.

Dr. Dorothee Ader (centre) gives a guided tour of the exhibition

At the same time, children’s books clearly function as mirrors of their societies. The themes they address often reveal what concerns a particular historical moment. In the 1950s, books frequently depicted an idealised world with clearly defined social roles and moral certainties. From the 1970s onward, however, the thematic spectrum expanded significantly. Progressive publishers began to introduce more critical perspectives, acknowledging children’s experiences and addressing social issues more directly.

Across the decades, shifting thematic priorities become visible: education, equality, identity, role models, the environment, politics, war, or migration. Children’s books translate complex societal debates into narratives accessible to young readers, offering ways of understanding the world through a child’s perspective. In recent years especially, emancipatory movements have left a strong imprint on children’s publishing. Traditional role models are increasingly questioned, diversity is more widely represented, and many books encourage children to appreciate their bodies, identities, and individual abilities.

Beyond themes and imagery, the books also reflect technological developments. Advances in printing processes, digital illustration tools, and layout software have profoundly changed how picture books are produced. Techniques such as digital cutting and digital image editing now expand the creative possibilities for illustrators, designers and publishers. These technological shifts also influence the visual language of contemporary books.

The direct juxtaposition of older and newer works made it particularly clear how much the picture book has evolved over time, and yet how vibrant the form remains. Between classics, curious historical examples, and recent international publications, the exhibition ultimately presented a panorama showing that the children’s book is far more than children’s entertainment. It is a cultural archive and a sensitive seismograph of social change.

Die fortschreitende Digitalisierung verändert die Bedingungen kultureller Teilhabe grundlegend. Für Menschen mit Behinderungen eröffnen sich dadurch neue Zugänge, Ausdrucksformen und Möglichkeiten der Selbstbestimmung. Zugleich entstehen neue Barrieren, Normierungen und Formen des Ausschlusses. Die Tagung nimmt diese Spannungsfelder in den Blick und fragt danach, wie kulturelle Teilhabe im digitalen Wandel gerecht, zugänglich und vielfältig gestaltet werden kann.

Aus ethischer, ästhetischer und praktischer Perspektive bringt die Veranstaltung wissenschaftliche, künstlerische und aktivistische Wissensformen miteinander ins Gespräch. Ziel ist es, Räume für Austausch, kritische Reflexion und gemeinsame Praxis zu eröffnen. Das Programm umfasst Vorträge, künstlerische Beiträge, Workshops und partizipative Formate zu Themen wie Universellem Design, inklusiver Gestaltung, rechtlichen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen sowie medien- und technologiebezogenen Fragestellungen.

Die Tagung richtet sich an Forschende, Studierende, Kulturschaffende, Menschen mit Behinderungen, Vertreter:innen aus Politik, Verwaltung und Zivilgesellschaft sowie an eine interessierte Öffentlichkeit.

Programm
Mittwoch, 18. März 2026

bis 12:00 Uhr
Anreise, Registrierung, Kaffee

12:15 Uhr
Begrüßung und Einführung
Vorstellung des Programms und der barrierefreien Formate

12:45 Uhr
Pause

Erstes Panel: Theoretische Zugänge – Was heißt kulturelle Teilhabe im digitalen Wandel?

13:00 Uhr
Digitale Transformation, Teilhabe und gutes Leben von Menschen mit Behinderung
Katja Stoppenbrink (München)

14:00 Uhr
Kann der digitale Wandel die Teilhabe von Menschen mit Behinderung fördern? Eine philosophische Reflexion
Martin Hoffmann (Münster)

15:00 Uhr
Kaffeepause

Zweites Panel: Rechtliche und ethische Dimensionen des Zugangs

15:30 Uhr
Gleichberechtigte kulturelle Teilhabe aus juristischer Perspektive: rechtliche Verpflichtungen zur Barrierefreiheit im deutschen Recht
Karoline Riegel (Kassel)

16:30 Uhr
Ethik, Leichte Sprache und Teilhabe. Ein Dilemma am Beispiel der ethischen Fallbesprechung
Toni Loh (Bonn/Rhein-Sieg)

17:30 Uhr
Kaffeepause

18:00 Uhr
Performance/Workshop
A taste of access
Eine Kurzrecherche von Khadidiatou Bangoura und Yasha Müller
Ort: Studiobühne im Philosophikum, Domplatz 23, EG

Khadidiatou Bangoura und Yasha Müller (Köln) experimentieren mit künstlerischen Ausdrucksformen und sensorischen Mitteln als Zugänge, Bindeglieder und Rahmen in Tanz und Theater.

20:00 Uhr
Abendessen

Donnerstag, 19. März 2026

Drittes Panel: Universal Design und inklusive Gestaltung

09:00 Uhr
Politiken des Zugangs – Inklusion als Entwurf
Tom Bieling (Hfg Offenbach)

10:00 Uhr
Die ganze Gesellschaft im Blick – ein effektvolles Tool für einen neuen Designansatz
Jolanta Paliszewska (Berlin)

11:00 Uhr
Kaffeepause

Viertes Panel: Medien, Technologie und Disability Studies

11:30 Uhr
Creative Access: Künstlerische Praktiken und Übersetzungen des Sensorischen durch digitale Zugänglichkeit
Robert Stock (Berlin)

12:30 Uhr
Das auditive Lesen der gesprochenen Schrift. Zum Umgang mit Stimmsynthesen von Screenreadern
Miklas Schulz (Hildesheim)

13:30 Uhr
Mittagspause

Fünftes Panel: Dramaturgien von Zugang und Barrierefreiheit

15:00 Uhr
Vielsinnliche Improvisation als künstlerische Forschungspraxis
Gunda Schröder (Hamburg)

16:00 Uhr
Ästhetiken der Barrierefreiheit am Beispiel von durch 3D-Druck erstellten Tastmodellen
Lilian Korner (Frankfurt am Main)

17:00 Uhr
Kaffeepause

17:30 Uhr
Podiumsdiskussion:
Vereinfachte Zugänge zu Literatur im digitalen Wandel. Perspektiven aus dem Literaturbetrieb

Ralf Beekveldt (Spaß am Lesen Verlag)
Natalie Dedreux (Leserin)
Anne Leichtfuss (Übersetzerin)
Andreas Stobbe (aibo Verlag)

19:30 Uhr
Wine & Cheese

Freitag, 20. März 2026

Sechstes Panel: Kooperative Strategien – Theorie und Praxis kollektiver Kunstproduktion

09:00 Uhr
Generative KI und Kunst als soziale Praxis
Luise Müller (Berlin)

10:00 Uhr
Im gemeinsamen Handeln … wachsen
Irene Hohenbüchler (Münster)

11:00 Uhr
Kaffeepause

Siebtes Panel: Kulturelle Teilhabe und Disability Studies

11:30 Uhr
Aesthetics of Access aus Perspektive freier Kulturproduktion
Lisette Reuter (Köln)

12:30 Uhr
Disability Culture und Disability Arts: Rezeptive und produktive Momente der Partizipation
Siegfried Saerberg (Münster)

13:30 Uhr
Gemeinsames Resümee und Verabschiedung mit kleinem Imbiss

Wissenschaftliche Leitung:
Hauke Behrendt, Annette Gilbert, Thomas Kater und Siegfried Saerberg

Ort: Uni Münster, Seminarraum KTh I, Johannisstraße 8–10, 48143 Münster

Lucius Burckhardt (1925–2003) gilt als eine der einflussreichsten Persönlichkeiten der kritischen Design- und Planungstheorie im deutschsprachigen Raum. Sein Arbeiten zeichnen sich durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der Soziologie, Architektur- und Planungstheorie smiteinander verbindet. Dabei rückte Burckhardt insbesondere die gesellschaftlichen Wahrnehmungs- und Deutungsprozesse in den Mittelpunkt, durch die gebaute Umwelt überhaupt erst Bedeutung erhält.

In der Stadt- und Raumplanung entwickelte er eine kritische Haltung gegenüber den technokratischen Planungsmodellen der Nachkriegszeit. Großmaßstäbliche Infrastrukturprojekte, funktionale Trennungen von Stadtbereichen oder rein verkehrstechnische Lösungen betrachtete er als Ausdruck eines reduktionistischen Raumverständnisses. Stattdessen plädierte er für eine Planung, die soziale Praktiken, Wahrnehmung und Alltagsnutzung stärker einbezieht, da Raum für ihn kein neutraler Container, sondern das Ergebnis gesellschaftlicher Aushandlungsprozesse ist. Planung muss daher immer auch als gesellschaftspolitische Tätigkeit verstanden werden.

So wie Jana Knoblauch und Lara Simon heute vor vier Jahren an Burckhardt erinnerten, erinnern wir nun an ihrere Erinnerung: https://www.designforschung.org/2022/03/12/ist-design-unsichtbar-erinnerungen-an-lucius-burckhardt Lucius Burckhardt, der so viele Spuren hinterlassen hat…

Die HfG versteht sich als Ort für experimentelles Arbeiten, kritisches Denken und interdisziplinären Austausch. In den Studiengängen des Designs und der Kunst werden gestalterische Praxis und theoretische Auseinandersetzung eng miteinander verknüpft. Studierende haben die Möglichkeit, eigene Fragestellungen zu entwickeln und sich mit aktuellen gesellschaftlichen, kulturellen und technologischen Themen auseinanderzusetzen.

Eine zentrale Rolle spielen dabei die vielfältigen Werkstätten, Ateliers und spezialisierten Labs der Hochschule. Sie bieten Raum für praktische Arbeit, Experimente mit unterschiedlichen Materialien und Medien sowie für die Umsetzung eigener Projekte. Die offene Arbeitsatmosphäre fördert den Austausch zwischen Studierenden, Lehrenden und verschiedenen Disziplinen und schafft Möglichkeiten zur Zusammenarbeit und Vernetzung.

Das Studium an der HfG Offenbach zielt darauf ab, individuelle künstlerische und gestalterische Positionen zu entwickeln und gleichzeitig ein Bewusstsein für die gesellschaftliche Verantwortung von Gestaltung zu stärken. Absolventinnen und Absolventen arbeiten in unterschiedlichen Feldern von Kunst, Design, Medien, Kultur und Forschung.

Weitere Informationen zu den Studiengängen, zum Bewerbungsverfahren sowie zu Fristen und Voraussetzungen sind auf der Website der Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach zu finden. Alle Infos zur Bewerbung auf www.hfg.jetzt

Bewerbungszeitraum
1.–15. April 2026

Gestaltung: Carlotta Hick

Parametric design shifts attention away from isolated objects toward structures of relationships. Parameters replace fixed decisions, algorithms organize dependencies, and iteration becomes a central design principle. This way of thinking (and making) enables designers to address complexity without reducing it, to generate variations systematically, and to treat design as a reflective and evolving practice. At the same time, it raises fundamental questions about authorship, control, and the relationship between human intention, computational systems, and material outcomes.

Within this conceptual framework unfolds the latest SLANTED book by Heike Grebin. The book brings together a wide range of projects — Grebin’s own work as well as, in particular, numerous student projects developed at HAW Hamburg. These projects do not serve as illustrations of a method but form the core of the publication. They reveal parametric design as a practice in motion: developing systems, testing parameters, and deliberately embracing variation, uncertainty and emergence.

The projects play a central role in this regard. They demonstrate how parametric design can function as a pedagogical framework that fosters systemic thinking, critical reflection and experimental openness. Grebin’s teaching practice becomes visible as a space of research, where design is not transmitted as a set of solutions but developed collaboratively through processes, rules, and shared inquiry.

This project-based perspective is complemented by a series of guest contributions conceived explicitly as conversations. Rather than presenting closed theoretical positions, these dialogues open up the book as a discursive space. In conversation with Grebin, different voices situate parametric design within broader historical, theoretical, and societal contexts, allowing multiple perspectives to coexist and intersect.

In dialogue with Frieder Nake, mathematician, computer artist and one of the pioneers of algorithmic art, the book connects contemporary parametric practices to the early history of computer-generated aesthetics. The conversation with Anja Groten Grebin discusses how parametric tools reshape design workflows and professional roles. Designing appears here as the creation of systems and frameworks — of defining rules and spaces of possibility rather than prescribing final forms. This perspective resonates closely with the projects presented in the book and reinforces their exploratory character.

Tom Bieling and Grebin explore design as both a practice and a method of generating knowledge. Bieling emphasizes that design operates in a dynamic tension between order and chaos: while structure and rules provide clarity, productive friction and experimental disruptions drive insight and (what Gui Bonsiepe calls) innovative competence. Design is not merely an intuitive act but a form of thinking that unfolds through materials, tools, and processes. In this sense, every design decision embodies knowledge (production), as designers experiment, reflect and make abstract ideas tangible. The conversation also highlights the epistemic dimension of design: experimentation, iteration, and perspective-shifting are central to uncovering insights that cannot always be quantified but remain crucial for understanding and shaping the world.

Against this backdrop, the contribution traces the historical and theoretical foundations of design research, from the Design Method Movement of the 1960s to contemporary practice-based approaches. It underscores the interplay of practice and theory, showing how design can both test and generate knowledge. In their conversation both stress the importance of communication—through language, visual narratives, and material affordances as a means of sharing insights without reducing design to mere words. In that sense, design is framed as a reflexive and social process: it not only shapes objects and systems but also the designers themselves, operating within cultural, technological and political contexts.

Thus, parametric design is situated within a broader societal and future-oriented context. Topics such as sustainability, adaptability, and responsibility come to the fore. Parametric systems are discussed as means to engage with complex ecological and social conditions—not by simplifying them, but by structuring and negotiating them through design. The book presents parametric design not as a closed methodology, but as an open and evolving practice.

Heike Grebin (Ed.)
PLAY THE SYSTEM – PARAMETRIC APPROACHES IN GRAPHIC DESIGN
(Assistance Katharina Wanke; Design Andreas Trogisch, Finn Reduhn, Lukas Siemoneit)
English, 320 pages, ISBN 978-3-948440-97-8
Release 02/2026, 34,- EUR

www.play-the-system.xyz
www.slanted.de/

Rather than focusing on new offers, the project and conference address how existing services can be better connected: how can walking, cycling, public transport, stops, shared-mobility stations, information systems, and digital services be designed to be simple, safe, and comfortable for everyone?

Experts from academia, practice, policy, and industry will present research findings and engage in discussion. The event also features the presentation of the third volume of Mobility Design – Shaping the Future of Mobility (Volume 3: Transfer) (Andersen et al. 2026).

The morning program includes keynote talks, followed by application-oriented workshops in the afternoon, including a Mobility Walk and a discussion on the role of future visions in shaping new mobility.

Schedule – Designing Transitions: Conference on Intermodal Mobility Design

09:30 | Welcome Address
Sabine Groß – Mayor of the City of Offenbach am Main

10:00 | Introduction
Prof. Kai Vöckler – Professor of Urban Design, Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
Presentation of the InterMoDe research project and an overview of the workshops

11:00 | Keynote 1
Weert Canzler – WZB Berlin Social Science Center
Insights from the accompanying research of the InterMoDe project

11:30 | Keynote 2
Christoph Overs – Zukunftsnetz Mobilität NRW
Practical perspectives from mobility practice

12:00 | Lunch Break

13:00 | Workshops

01 Mobility Walk – Exploring transfers between transport modes from different perspectives

02 GIS & Environment Maps – Understanding intermodal spaces and connections

03 Future Vision – The role of future scenarios in mobility planning and communication

04 Best Practices – Learning from successful examples in other cities

05 Shaping Collaboration – Strengthening communication and planning processes

15:30 | Coffee Break

16:30 | Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks

From 17:00 | Get-Together

WORKSHOPS

01 MOBILITY WALK
Suitcases, strollers, and other perspectives – What does transferring between modes of transport in the city feel like?

During a guided city walk through a selected transfer situation in Offenbach, participants will explore how it feels to change between different modes of transport from various perspectives: with a suitcase, stroller, or limited mobility.

The workshop jointly analyzes how design influences orientation, stay quality, and accessibility – and how urban mobility actually feels when the perspective shifts.

With Julian Schwarze and Johannes Häffner.

02 INTERMODAL ENVIRONMENT MAPS
Understanding and communicating intermodal spaces

Using digital maps and GIS data, the spatial relationships around central mobility hubs are examined and visualized. The workshop highlights how existing mobility services interlock and identifies where design can create new connections.

With Anton Viehl and Andreas Blitz.

03 FUTURE VISION
The role of future visions in communication

Future visions shape how people think and talk about mobility. This workshop explores the significance of visual and narrative future scenarios in planning processes – how they provide orientation, stimulate discussion, and make complex relationships understandable. Participants will jointly reflect on their impact and use in communicating mobility topics.

With Annika Storch and Amelie Ikas.

04 BEST PRACTICES
Comparing designs

Based on selected examples from different cities, the workshop discusses how transfer situations can be designed and what lessons can be learned from successful projects. Participants are invited to examine different approaches, discuss their qualities, and relate them to the design guidelines
developed in the project.

With Prof. Peter Eckart.

05 SHAPING COLLABORATION
Strengthening communication and simplifying processes

Typical challenges in planning and designing intermodal mobility are made visible using practical examples. Building on this, participants learn methods to support clearer and more effective collaboration. Together, they then develop ways to transfer these approaches to their own planning practice.

With Hanna Baderund and Dana Stolte.

–> Registration (for free)

6 March 2026
Designing Transitions – Conference on Intermodal Mobility Design
17:00, Aula HfG Offenbach, Schlossstraße 31, Offenbach

Mayor Sabine Groß (Offenbach) opens the symposium, 6 March 2026 (Foto: Bieling).

Andersen, Heike / Bader, Hanna / Blitz, Andreas / Eckart, Peter / Grzesiek, Andreas / Ikas, Amelie / Schwarze, Julian / Viehl, Anton & Vöckler, Kai (2026). Mobility Design: Die Zukunft der Mobilität gestalten. Band 3: Transfer. Berlin: JOVIS Verlag. ISBN 978‑3‑98612‑173‑0

Rather than presenting a linear stylistic history, Gram approaches design as a cultural and institutional construct. She traces its emergence to the intertwined forces of industrialization, technological change, shifting consumer cultures, and the formation of professional and educational infrastructures in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Design, in her account, was not suddenly invented but gradually assembled—named, formalized, taught, and strategically positioned between art, industry, and commerce. By foregrounding these processes of professionalization and legitimation, Gram reveals that the history of design is inseparable from questions of power, authority, and economic interest.

One of the book’s most compelling contributions lies in its attention to language and framing. Design becomes a discipline not merely through practice, but through discourse: through the institutions that codify it, the manifestos that define it, and the markets that depend on it. Gram’s analysis resists celebratory narratives of innovation and instead exposes tensions, contradictions, and ideological undercurrents that have shaped the field. In doing so, she destabilizes the assumption that design is a neutral or purely aesthetic endeavor.

By demonstrating that design has always been shaped by cultural, political, and economic forces, Gram invites us to reconsider the assumptions underpinning present-day practice. In this sense, the book is less a retrospective account than a critical intervention—one that encourages the design community to reflect on how its own foundations were constructed, and how they might yet be reimagined.

Gram, Maggie (2025):
The Invention of Design: a twentieth-century history.
New York: Basic Books.
ISBN: 9781541600638.

Nearly a decade ago, Victor Margolin and Ezio Manzini’s open letter “Stand Up For Democracy” urged the design community to recognize its responsibility in shaping democracy worldwide. That letter articulated a growing understanding of design not only as a professional practice, but as a civic force that helps build the infrastructures of participation, communication, and collective life.

Today, we write not to repeat that call, but to advance it. Yet much of what has been articulated has not entered practice. This letter is another incitement toward doing so.

In recent months, Iran has entered a period marked by widespread repression, mass detentions, and severe violence, alongside repeated disruptions to communication infrastructures. At stake are the fundamental conditions that allow people to speak, assemble, and participate safely in public life.

Across many international professional and academic contexts, including within our own discipline, responses have often remained cautious or silent. Yet silence is not neutral. Neutrality is also a position, a stance of silent consent.

The subject of design is the human being. Not merely as users or consumers, but as people within society. Where human dignity is at risk, design must act. If we lose this principle, design is reduced to a tool.

Design cannot be separated from politics. Yet its concern must remain with people, not with their reduction to game pieces in ideological conflicts, and not with deciding which people matter in which part of the world.

If design claims a role in democratic life, then the ongoing uprising and repression in Iran are where that claim must be proven.

Our field possesses concrete capacities that are directly relevant in times of civic strain: the ability to visualize complex systems, to communicate across differences, to structure participation, to build and sustain channels of inquiry, and to translate concern into coordinated action.

We therefore call on the global design community to move beyond tokenistic acknowledgment toward meaningful engagement through more substantial forms of solidarity including:

• designing for connectivity in response to restrictions on communication and civic participation inside Iran;

• actively identifying, inviting, and safeguarding the participation of those directly affected;

• providing sustained academic, institutional, and action-oriented support for Iranian designers, design students, and researchers, including mentorship, collaborative platforms, and projects that respond to present conditions;

• leveraging informational, transformation, and system design to make invisible conditions visible, to render longstanding demands for structural change legible beyond Iran, and to enable durable exchange and collaboration;

• contributing to the enrichment of discourse on design for democracy, not merely in terms of designing new ballot boxes, but in redesigning democratic infrastructures.

Alongside these actions, we invite an open and sustained dialogue within the global design community on the role articulated in this letter, not as an abstract debate, but as a collective effort to deepen and refine the language, practices, and responsibilities of design in times of crisis. Action and reflection must reinforce one another.

To break silence is not to speak for others; it is to ensure that those whose voices are constrained are not cut off from the global networks that shape knowledge and practice.

We therefore urge our colleagues worldwide to stand clearly and collectively in defense of the conditions under which dignity and shared life remain possible.

Those Who Stand
The following individuals have publicly endorsed this letter.
Names are listed upon verification.

Simon Meienberg
Jan Zurwellen
Wolfgang Jonas
Bijan Aryana
Tom Bieling
Moein Nedaei
Nila Rezaei
Felix Kosok
Maziar Rezai
Birger Sevaldson
Birgit Mager
John Thackara
Uta Brandes

Alongside these actions, we invite an open and sustained dialogue within the global design community on the role articulated in this letter, not as an abstract debate, but as a collective effort to deepen and refine the language, practices, and responsibilities of design in times of crisis. Action and reflection must reinforce one another.

link: https://designersmustact.com/

Im Kern seines Buches steht die These, dass soziale Medien nicht nur ablenken, sondern verletzen – und zwar auf eine Weise, die strukturell in ihrer Architektur verankert ist. Lovink führt hierfür den Begriff des „Copium“ ein: ein metaphorisches Opiat, das Nutzer:innen betäubt und sie in Endlosschleifen von Scrollen, Ablenkung und algorithmischer Manipulation gefangen hält. Es sind nicht die einzelnen Beiträge, Memes oder Hashtags, die das Problem ausmachen, sondern die Logik der Plattformen selbst: Sie sind Engagementmaschinen, die psychische Resonanzen in monetäre Werte verwandeln. Algorithmen amplifizieren Wut, Angst und Sensationslust, während die illusorische Nähe von Likes und Followern reale soziale Bindungen ersetzt. In dieser Analyse verschränkt Lovink medienwissenschaftliche Perspektiven mit popkulturellen Beobachtungen: Influencer-Kultur, virale Trends, TikTok‑Challenges oder Meme-Formate werden als symptomatische Phänomene einer „permanenten Permakrise“ gelesen – einer Welt, in der Aufmerksamkeit zur Währung und psychische Erschöpfung zur Norm geworden ist.

Lovink gelingt es, die gesellschaftliche Dimension dieser digitalen Dynamiken sichtbar zu machen. Unter dem Schlagwort Techno‑Feudalismus argumentiert er, dass Plattformen de facto neue Machtarchitekturen errichten: Wer den Code kontrolliert, bestimmt, was Aufmerksamkeit erhält. Wer die Daten besitzt, bestimmt, welche Identitäten sichtbar oder unsichtbar sind. Damit verschiebt sich die Debatte über soziale Medien vom individuellen Verhalten hin zur strukturellen Gewalt. Nutzer:innen sind nicht nur Opfer von algorithmischer Logik, sie sind Teil eines Systems, das sie manipuliert, marginalisiert und ausnutzt – und das zugleich die Illusion von Freiheit und Teilhabe aufrechterhält.

Dennoch bleibt Lovink nicht bei der bloßen Diagnose. Sein Aufruf zum kollektiven Rückzug aus den sozialen Medien ist ebenso programmatisch wie visionär. Es geht ihm nicht um asketische Selbstgeißelung oder technologische Abstinenz, sondern um die bewusste Wiederaneignung digitaler Mündigkeit. In diesem Sinne ist “Die Brutalität der Plattform” kein reines Kulturkritikbuch, sondern auch ein Manifest für Selbstbestimmung im digitalen Zeitalter. Erwähnt sei hier seine Idee des Dreamful Computing: Die Fähigkeit zu träumen und offline zu reflektieren wird als notwendiger Gegenpol zu permanenter digitaler Stimulation gedacht – eine Praxis, die psychische Integrität, kollektive Imagination und kreative Subversion ermöglichen soll.

Lovinks Stärke liegt auch in seiner stilistischen Klarheit. Anders als viele medienwissenschaftliche Arbeiten liest sich das Buch nicht als nüchterne Theorieabhandlung, sondern als essayistisches, pointiertes Dokument der Gegenwart. Popkultur, Meme-Analysen, philosophische Reflexionen und politische Theorie verschränken sich zu einem dichten, zugleich lebendigen Text, der die Widersprüche digitaler Gesellschaften aufzeigt: Hier die Lust an permanenter Vernetzung, dort die strukturelle Gewalt der Plattformen, zwischen denen die Nutzenden zerrieben werden.

Sicher, sein Vorschlag des kollektiven Rückzugs scheint ambitioniert. Und konkrete, gesellschaftlich-politische Umsetzungsstrategien werden eher skizziert als ausgearbeitet. Doch gerade die Radikalität seines Ansatzes macht das Buch wertvoll: Es konfrontiert uns mit der nach wie vor unbequemen Frage, wie viel Macht wir den Plattformen freiwillig noch überlassen und welche Konsequenzen die digitale Transformation Ebenen hat. Lovink zeigt, dass die sozialen Medien längst nicht mehr nur Technik, sondern gesellschaftliche Infrastruktur sind – und dass ihre Gewalt strukturell, subtil und alltäglich ist.

Lovink, Geert (2025):
Die Brutalität der Plattform – Von der radikalen Kritik zum Exodus der Sozialen Medien.
Bielefeld: transcript, Digitale Gesellschaft, 246 Seiten.
ISBN 978‑3‑8376‑8005‑8.

Against this backdrop, the project “GoBean” by HfG Offenbach design students Aranza V. Sanchez and Song Yeon Lee has been nominated for the Concept Award at the Green Product Award. The project was developed at the Institute for Material Design at HfG Offenbach in cooperation with the Höchster Porzellan Manufaktur (supervised by Prof. Dr. Markus Holzbach).

“GoBean” is a 100 percent compostable, ergonomically shaped coffee cup sleeve that offers a sustainable alternative to conventional disposable sleeves. It is made from locally collected coffee grounds and natural binders and is both water- and heat-resistant. The material fully decomposes within approximately three weeks or can be reused for planting. The business model incentivizes cafés to supply coffee grounds for production, giving waste a second life.

Since 2013, the Green Concept Award has recognized outstanding products and services that have not yet been launched on the market. Certified by the Green Future Club and supported by the IKEA Stiftung, the award honors forward-looking innovations that address ecological, social, and functional challenges through exceptional design.

The exhibited positions span installation, photography, text, sculpture, performance, and digital practices. Through the interplay of different works and modes of observation, a network of relations emerges that maps the field of the social. Artistic research thus becomes a revelatory process, making social structures visible and opening them up for discussion—without claiming completeness.

Social Findings is part of the teaching practice of the course “Social Art”, led by Prof. Alexander Oppermann and lecturer Luca Ganz, and directly connects to the seminar’s inquiries into the (digital) transformation of society as both a condition and a subject of artistic practice. The opening takes place on February 20 at 6 pm, followed by a performance day on February 21. The exhibition is open daily from 3 to 6 pm (closed on Mondays).

Participating artists:
Julien Nagel Fontes Pereira · Lukas Meißauer · Alex Barth López · Lena Blaschke · Marlene de Lauro · Lisa Fink · Nelly Habelt · Mattes Hartema · Jonas Kindinger · Simon Löhrer · Greta Maldener · Nicolas Marino · Mod · Momo

“Worlding” refers to the ongoing performative process through which worlds and worldviews are continuously produced. As such, worlding is never complete; it remains open to negotiation. Art is uniquely suited to simulate, make tangible, and critically reflect on new forms of worlding. The thematic group exhibition AI-Worlding examines the impact of AI systems on the production of worlds and worldviews from an artistic perspective.

At its core is the artistic experiment as a research tool: on the one hand, to render perceptible the limits of the supposedly limitless possibility spaces of generative models; on the other, to explore the constantly shifting relationship between humans and AI systems. When does AI function merely as a tool, when does it become a co-creator—and at what point does its agency turn into a determining force in social and artistic processes? How do AI systems influence worldings, and conversely, can worldings reshape the way we interact with these systems?

These questions form the foundation of the exhibition, developed in collaboration between the Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt and saasfee.pavillon. An interdisciplinary team from the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach—led by Alex Oppermann, Professor of Electronic Media, together with Mattis Kuhn and Leon-Etienne Kühr (Heads of the AI Lab), and Natalie Wilke (Electronic Media Department), in collaboration with students—brings together artistic research and societal reflection within this project.

Poster: Farzam Mehdizadeh

The exhibition presents a wide range of contemporary artistic positions developed specifically for the Museum Angewandte Kunst: generated images and texts, paintings, video works, immersive environments, and interactive sound and spatial installations. The thematic focus makes clear that there is not one single AI, but rather diverse AI systems with varied applications. The relationship between human and technology is repeatedly put into question: at times AI operates as a passive tool, at others as a co-creator, and in some cases it assumes a substantial role in artistic decision-making processes.

Several artists feed aspects of their identity, memories, or working processes into AI models and systems, probing—or perforating—the boundaries between human and algorithmic production, between extension and reduction of the self. Visitors, too, often become part of these processes: through the AI-based processing of exhibition data, certain works generate dynamic feedback loops in which technology and human interaction exist in constant interplay.

The exhibition also negotiates the relationship between synthetic data and its real-world origins. Which norms, biases, and exclusions are reproduced or amplified by AI systems? Artists address the standardization of digital body images and their feedback effects on physical bodies. Across the works, past and present overlap, as altered memories and perceptions give rise to new realities.

AI-Worlding invites audiences to experience AI-based worldings and to reflect on our relationship with technology—both as individuals and as a society.

Participating Artists
allapopp, Anton Andrienko, Elisa Deutloff, Egor Dmitriev, Xiangyu Fu, Chelsea Hartmann, Marlon Hesse, Ava Leandra Kleber, Max Kreis, Mattis Kuhn, Leon-Etienne Kühr, Seongsin Lee, Ting-Chun Liu, June Pauli, saasfee* (Alex Oppermann, Al Dhanab, Maciej Medrala), Evgeny Tverdokhlebov, Natalie Wilke.

Opening at Museum Angewandte Kunst
12. Februar 2026, 19 Uhr
Schaumainkai 17, 60594 Frankfurt am Main

Opening at saasfee.pavillon
19. Februar 2026
Bleichstraße 64-66, 60313 Frankfurt am Main

This tension is particularly evident in the realm of design. Everyday objects, furniture, and graphic works reveal how the city’s aesthetics oscillated between artisanal tradition and functional innovation. Many designs still rely on ornamentation, warm materials, and bourgeois comfort, while at the same time clear lines, sober forms, and a new functional logic begin to emerge. Design here is not an autonomous aesthetic experiment but a response to changed living conditions. The exhibition makes it clear that in Cologne, design was conceived as an integral part of daily life: living, working, and leisure were reorganized without abandoning the emotional attachment to familiar forms.

The art on display follows a similarly mediating approach. Cologne is not presented as a center of radical avant-garde movements, but as a city in which multiple artistic currents coexisted. Expressionist and New Objectivity works respond to the experiences of war, social tensions, and societal change, without entirely abandoning local traditions. Notably, art was deeply embedded in urban structures: museums, associations, and exhibitions functioned as spaces of exchange, where art was understood as a commentary on society. The exhibition conveys an image of art that seeks less to provoke than to guide and reflect.

A similar pattern emerges in architecture and urban planning. Despite limited resources, Cologne developed ambitious visions of itself as a modern metropolis. New residential districts, transportation projects, and exhibition halls reflect a functional, forward-looking approach closely tied to social reform ideas. Architecture is understood not only as a formal discipline but as a means to improve living conditions. At the same time, the historic urban fabric remains present, creating the impression of a consciously chosen coexistence of old and new. Modernity appears not as a rupture, but as an extension of the existing.

The exhibition comes alive particularly when it focuses on the city’s cultural life. Theater, music, carnival, dance halls, and early cinemas paint a picture of a society that, despite political uncertainty, sought pleasure, community, and forms of expression. The “Cologne gemütlichkeit” is not presented as a nostalgic cliché but as a social practice that fostered cohesion and made modernization feasible. New media and leisure forms transformed urban life and contributed to the development of a modern, widely accessible cultural consciousness.

“The panel exhibition takes a look behind the scenes: from the end of the war and the British occupation to city life, leisure and the arts. Cologne is a city on the move yet still rooted in tradition, oscillating between a cosy local identity and big-city modernity. Much like today.

After the British withdrawal in early 1926, Butzweilerhof Airport develops into the “Air Hub of the West”. When the Cologne–Paris air route opens in May 1926, Adenauer lets himself be photographed in the cockpit – a striking image of a city embracing the future. Despite its challenges, the Weimar Republic promises progress. The global economic crisis is still years away, the Nazis just a tiny fringe group. Much that once seemed impossible now looks within reach – also and especially in Cologne. This young democracy’s future collapse is by no means a foregone conclusion.“ [1]

The exhibition impresses with its calm, nuanced narrative. It avoids simplistic narratives of progress and instead shows how modernity in Cologne was lived as a process of negotiation—between tradition and renewal, local identity and international influence. These subtle tensions make “Gemütlichkeit und Moderne. Cologne 1918–1926” a remarkable exhibition, one that bridges historical distance with striking relevance and invites reflection on the interplay of city, culture, and social change.

Comfort and Modernity
Cologne 1918–1926
Exhibition venue:
LVR-Landeshaus, Cologne-Deutz
Kennedy-Ufer 2, 50679 Cologne

11 December 2025 – 15 March 2026
Open daily, Monday to Sunday, 10 am–6 pm
Free admission

Events (in German only)
Individual tours at: museenkoeln.de

Öffentliche Führung des Museumsdienstes Köln
Sa., 21. Februar 2026, 14 Uhr

Kuratorenführung – Mit Dr. Mario Kramp durch die Ausstellung
Do., 26. Februar 2026, 18 Uhr

Senior*innenführung des Museumsdienstes Köln
Sa., 7. März 2026, 14 Uhr

[1] https://www.koelnisches-stadtmuseum.de/en/special-exhibition/

Virtuelle Räume, reale Wahrnehmung

Die gezeigten Arbeiten durchqueren unterschiedliche Aggregatszustände der Designforschung und kommen in unterschiedlichen Medienformaten daher (objekthaft, textlich/sprachlich, virtuell, interaktiv, audio-/visuell, performativ). So zum Beispiel die Diplomarbeit von Lennard Ludig („Die konstruierte Präsenz – Analyse gestalterischer Strategien in sozialen VR“). Ludig entwickelt darin eine differenzierte Phänomenologie sozialer und immersiver Virtual-Reality-Umgebungen. Seine Arbeit überzeugt in zweifacher Hinsicht: Zum einen gelingt es ihm, auch ungeübte Leser:innen in die untersuchten digitalen Räume hineinzuziehen und deren Atmosphären, Interaktionsformen und ästhetische Strategien anschaulich erfahrbar zu machen. Zum anderen gleicht er seine Beobachtungen systematisch mit raumtheoretischen Konzepten von Jan Gehl, Marc Augé, Lucius Burckhardt und anderen ab.

Begriffe wie der Nicht-Ort, der Transit-Ort, die Heterotopie oder die Lobby als Agora werden auf soziale VR-Plattformen übertragen und kritisch befragt. Dabei zeigt sich, dass manche dieser Konzepte überraschend tragfähig sind, während andere an ihre Grenzen stoßen. Besonders aufschlussreich wird die Analyse dort, wo Ludig Aspekte der Körperlichkeit einbezieht und mit Sherry Turkles Überlegungen zu digitalen Identitätsentwürfen verbindet. Die performative Vielheit von Avataren und Selbstbildern erscheint als Signatur eines postmodernen Lebens, in dem Identität fluide und situativ wird. Überzeugend ist auch die Gegenüberstellung unterschiedlicher Bild- und Raumstrategien – zwischen Realismus beziehungsweise Mimesis und bewusst ästhetischer Konstruktion. Ludig veranschaulicht eindrücklich, dass der Begriff des Realismus im VR-Kontext ambivalent ist, da selbst physikalisch unmögliche Umgebungen als real verarbeitet werden können, sofern sie in sich kohärent gestaltet sind.

Urbane Analysen und gesellschaftliche Bildpolitiken

Eine weitere Auswahl an Abschlussarbeiten im Lehrgebiet zeichnen sich durch analytische Tiefe aus. Marie-Josephine Pavesi legt mit „Spielplätze in Paris und Berlin“ eine detailreiche Vergleichsanalyse vor, aus der sich vielfältige Rückschlüsse auf pädagogische Modelle, Regelwerke und Konzepte von Offenheit ableiten lassen. Besonders spannend ist ihre Beobachtung, dass bestimmte Ästhetiken und Formsprachen von Spielplätzen weniger aus autonomen Gestaltungsentscheidungen entstehen, sondern häufig Ergebnis normativer Vorgaben und sicherheitslogischer Rahmenbedingungen sind.

Sophie Mosdell untersucht in ihrer Master Thesis „Material als Marke“, wie Materialität selbst zur identitätsstiftenden Größe wird und Markenkommunikation prägt. Carola Schulz widmet sich in ihrer Diplomarbeit „Urbane Utopien – wie transformiert sich urbaner Raum am Beispiel Kranichstein“ den Dynamiken städtischer Transformation zwischen Vision und gelebter Realität. Svea Marlen Rauch analysiert in „Ein verzerrtes Bild – Antisemitismus in digitalen Bildkulturen“ die Persistenz antisemitischer Stereotype und ihre visuellen Strategien im digitalen Raum. Mi Düver fragt in „Artefakte in Transition“ nach Objekten im Übergang und nach Bedeutungsverschiebungen in gesellschaftlichen, insbesondere geschlechtlichen Transformationsprozessen.

Ein zentrales Exponat bildet die interaktive Installation „Intelligence in the Fog“ von Konrad Kebbel. Die Arbeit reflektiert unser Verhältnis zur Künstlichen Intelligenz und stellt die Frage, ob wir technischen Systemen mehr Intelligenz zuschreiben, als sie tatsächlich besitzen. Das scheinbare Gegenüber bleibt undurchsichtig; sein Innenleben entzieht sich der Zuschreibung. Gerade diese Unbestimmtheit macht die Projektionen sichtbar, mit denen wir KI aufladen.

Design und Sprache: Transparent und Veränderbar

Großen Raum in beiden Räumen nimmt das Projekt „Design und& Sprache“ ein, geleitet von Prof. Dr. Tom Bieling und M.A. Jonathan Kuhlmann, gemeinsam mit M.A. Susanne Wieland und Dipl. Des. Amelie Mattas. Im ersten Semester des Studiengangs Design werden zwei jeweils sechswöchige Workshops durchgeführt, die das Bewusstsein für die subtile Wirkung von Gestaltung schärfen. Die Studierenden setzen sich mit den Begriffen „transparent“ und „veränderbar“ auseinander und entwickeln eigenständige Zugänge, die in rund 60 Projekten sichtbar werden.

Der Begriff „transparent“ wird in seiner Vielschichtigkeit ausgelotet – als Zustand, Haltung, Beziehung, räumliche Qualität oder soziale Praxis. Die daraus hervorgegangenen Arbeiten hinterfragen gewohnte Sichtweisen, beziehen Nutzer:innen aktiv ein und verschieben Maßstäbe und Funktionen. In diesem Zusammenhang entstehen unter anderem visuelle Stadtanalysen zum Thema Transparenz: Fuheng Nan und Jean-Luc Klaucken untersuchen Räume, Luke Klemann analysiert Prozesse, Arnold Schmidgen und Lorenz Recken widmen sich typografischen Dimensionen, Ricarda Heurer und Sarah Rohde erforschen Zeichen, Mykhailo Slukin und Sofia Gal nehmen Werbung in den Blick, während Anna Dristos und David Untermann architektonische Aspekte analysieren.

Der Begriff „veränderbar“ rückt Transformation als Kernkompetenz des Designs ins Zentrum. Objekte ändern sich, Module werden ausgetauscht, Systeme hinterfragt. Veränderung betrifft dabei nicht nur physische Artefakte, sondern auch Wahrnehmung, Haltung und Selbstverständnis. Filmische Arbeiten vertiefen diese Auseinandersetzung: Lukas Gall reflektiert in „Urban Changes“ urbane Transformationsprozesse, Fionn Husemann und Anton Birke zeigen in „Anton arbeitet“ Verschiebungen im Arbeitsalltag, Xenia Christoph untersucht in „Papier“ Material und Prozess, Franka Bahlke thematisiert den „Arbeitsprozess“, Konrad Kebbel widmet sich einer „Reflektion Veränderbarkeit“ und Yasmine BenMoussa nähert sich in „The Quiet Change“ leisen, kaum wahrnehmbaren Transformationen.

Poster: Carlotta Hick

Effizienz der Ineffizienz

Mit dem Seminar/Projekt „Effizienz der Ineffizienz“ wird ein bewusstes Gegengewicht zur Logik von Optimierung, Beschleunigung und Verwertbarkeit gesetzt. Ausgehend von Theorien der Rationalisierung bei Max Weber, von Kritiken des Effizienzdenkens bei Hartmut Rosa und Byung-Chul Han sowie von Gegenmodellen bei Georges Bataille und Ivan Illich wird Ineffizienz nicht als Defizit, sondern als produktive Ressource verstanden. Sie kann Freiräume eröffnen, Routinen irritieren und neue Perspektiven ermöglichen.

Roman Jakowlew zeigt mit „Hug.“ ein Objekt, das um den Kopf gelegt wird, sanften Druck ausübt, visuell und akustisch abschirmt und als stilles Angebot zum Innehalten dient. Emil Navid Kirchgessner entwickelt mit „Lock & Walk“ eine Box, die das Smartphone einschließt und eine zufällige Route ausdruckt – ein Impuls zu mehr Achtsamkeit und zur bewussten Erfahrung der Umgebung. Samuel Schön versteht „[Not Just] Another Brick in the Wall“ als skulpturalen Widerstand gegen soziale Isolation und als Rückführung des Smartphones zum Werkzeug realer Begegnung. Lotte Landgraf thematisiert in „Memento Somni“ Schlaf als verdrängtes Grundbedürfnis in einer leistungsorientierten Gesellschaft. Außerdem zu sehen: die „Pausenuhr“ von Jonas Giese und die achtsame Kalender-App „ANTIAGENDA“ von Anna Kurfiß.

Design als Gemeinschaft und Debatte

Weitere gezeigte Seminare wie „Im Auge des Sturms – Wellenbewegungen des öko-sozialen Wandels im Design“, „Design und Gemeinschaft“ oder „Pro und Contra – Design als Debatte“ verdeutlichen, dass Gestaltung hier als historisch eingebettete, gemeinschaftsstiftende und diskursive Praxis verstanden wird. Design schafft Begegnungen oder verhindert sie, stiftet Identität oder grenzt aus, formuliert Argumente und provoziert Widerspruch.

In diesem Zusammenhang wird auch das kürzlich noch im Frankfurter Museum für Angewandte Kunst gezeigte Projekt „SPEAK UP“ zu sehen sein (Paul Berger, Devin Can, Hannah Heruday, Clara Maldener, David Martin Maurer-Laube, Zachary Mentzons, Mia Schreiber, Simon Schmidt-Meinzer, Susanne Wieland, Tom Bieling (Supervision)). SPEAK UP versteht sich als erste mobile Speakers’ Corner der Welt. Flexibel einsetzbar auf Plätzen, in Parks, auf Schulhöfen oder bei Demonstrationen, bringt sie das Prinzip freier Rede dorthin, wo Menschen sind und wo Diskurs abagehanden gekommen scheint. Demokratie braucht Raum – und mit SPEAK UP wird dieser Raum beweglich.

On Monday, 9th February, Nicholas Conrad’s talk at HfG Offenbach traces the emergence and long-term development of material culture, from the earliest evidence of systematic tool production around 3.3 million years ago to the present. A central question is when humans first acquired abilities that can be described as intellectual, creative, and symbolic in a modern sense. To address this, the lecture examines the technologies and symbolic practices of late archaic humans and the first anatomically modern humans who migrated out of Africa and spread across Eurasia.

Special attention is given to the innovative tools, figurative artworks, and musical instruments dating to around 40,000 years ago that were discovered in caves of the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. Based on these finds and their archaeological contexts, the talk explores where, when, and why figurative art, music, and religious behavior emerged. The evidence suggests that by at least 40,000 years ago, humans were already as creative and artistically capable as people today.

Poster: Johanna Siebein

About the speaker

Nicholas Conard is an American archaeologist and one of the leading scholars in the study of the origins of human culture, art, and symbolic behavior. He is Professor of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology at the University of Tübingen and has conducted research in Europe, Africa, and the Near East. Over several decades, he has played a central role in establishing the Swabian Jura as a key region for understanding early modern human creativity.

Conard has directed excavations at internationally significant Paleolithic sites such as Hohle Fels, Vogelherd, and Geißenklösterle. His work includes the discovery and analysis of some of the world’s oldest known figurative artworks carved from mammoth ivory, as well as the earliest known musical instruments, including bone and ivory flutes. These findings have had a lasting impact on debates about the emergence of symbolic thinking, art, music, and religion in early Homo sapiens.

His research emphasizes the close interdependence of technology, social organization, and symbolic expression, arguing that art and music were not marginal phenomena but central elements of early human societies. Several of the sites associated with his work are now part of the UNESCO World Heritage “Caves and Ice Age Art of the Swabian Jura.”

About the Monday Talks

With the “Monday Talks” series, the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Offenbach invites inspiring figures from art, design, and related disciplines. The series aims to connect design with broader social, cultural, and historical perspectives. All interested members of the public are warmly invited.

9 February 2026, at 6:00 pm at

HfG Aula
Main Building, 1st Floor
Schlossstraße 31
Offenbach
Germany

Ausgangspunkt des bei Mimesis International erschienen Buches ist die Beobachtung, dass urbane Versiegelung zunehmend durch spontane Degradationsprozesse oder gezielte Desealing-Interventionen aufgebrochen wird. Bortolotti und Geroldi fragen, welche Entwurfsstrategien geeignet sind, diese „mineralische Kruste“ so zu transformieren, dass ökologische Funktionen reaktiviert, neue räumliche Qualitäten geschaffen und Materialkreisläufe vor Ort geschlossen werden können. Besonders überzeugend ist dabei der Ansatz, Abbruchmaterialien – Beton, Asphalt, Zuschläge – nicht als Abfall, sondern als gestalterische Ressource zu begreifen.

Theoretisch verankert ist das Buch in einem erweiterten Verständnis von „open ground“. Angelehnt an bodenwissenschaftliche Konzepte des „open soil gradient“ interpretieren die Autor:innen Offenheit nicht nur als physische Durchlässigkeit, sondern als Fähigkeit des Bodens, Austauschprozesse zwischen Atmosphäre, Untergrund, Grundwasser und biologischen Akteuren zu ermöglichen. Diese Perspektive verbindet aktuelle Debatten der urbanen Ökologie mit Landschaftsarchitektur, Architektur und Städtebau und knüpft an Forschungen zu spontaner urbaner Natur an, wie sie etwa von Matthew Gandy beschrieben wurden.

Einen zentralen Bestandteil des Buches bildet die Dokumentation der interdisziplinären Summer School in Porto di Mare, einem ehemaligen Industrie- und Gewerbegebiet im Südosten Mailands. Eingebettet in europäische Forschungszusammenhänge (u. a. IDEA League, Horizon Europe) wird hier Entsiegelung als „research by design“ erprobt. Besonders hervorzuheben ist der kollaborative Ansatz, der Studierende und Forschende aus Landschaftsarchitektur, Architektur, Stadtplanung, Umwelttechnik, Geologie und Informatik zusammenbringt. Diese Vielstimmigkeit prägt nicht nur die Projekte, sondern auch den argumentativen Aufbau des Buches.

Strukturiert entlang der drei miteinander verflochtenen Entwurfsdimensionen „designing with materials“, „designing with soil“ und „designing with ecosystems“ zeigt Open Ground, wie eng materielle, topografische und ökologische Entscheidungen miteinander verbunden sind. Die vorgestellten studentischen Projekte – von gezielten Schnitten in Asphaltflächen über Materiallager und Schuttmounds bis hin zu multispezies-orientierten Habitaten und sensorgestützten Lernlandschaften – verdeutlichen, dass die Art und Weise des Aufbrechens versiegelter Flächen maßgeblich die zukünftigen Nutzungs- und Entwicklungsoptionen bestimmt.

Besonders stark ist das Buch dort, wo es die ästhetische Dimension der Entsiegelung ernst nimmt. Die Autor:innen argumentieren überzeugend, dass Schnitte, Brüche, Risse und Materialumlagerungen nicht bloß technische Vorgänge sind, sondern neue Formen urbaner Landschaft hervorbringen können – zwischen kontrollierter Gestaltung und bewusster Offenheit für spontane ökologische Prozesse. Referenzen zu realisierten Projekten internationaler Büros wie D.I.R.T. Studio, Wagon Landscaping, GTL Landschaftsarchitektur oder Openfabric erweitern den Blick über den akademischen Kontext hinaus und verorten die Forschung klar in der Praxis.

Der Projektteil versammelt konkrete Entwurfsansätze zu Materialien, Boden und Ökosystemen – etwa Cuts & Cracks, Circul(Art), Ground to Mound oder Eco-Dwellings – und zeigt, wie Entsiegelung und regenerative Strategien praktisch umgesetzt werden können. Abschließend ordnen Cecilia Furlan und Francesca Rizzetto die Arbeiten theoretisch im Kontext von regenerativem Design.

Kritisch ließe sich anmerken, dass die im Buch gezeigten Ansätze teilweise stark kontextgebunden sind und ihre Übertragbarkeit auf andere regulatorische oder kontaminationsbezogene Rahmenbedingungen nicht immer vollständig diskutiert wird. Gleichzeitig liegt gerade hierin eine der Stärken der Publikation: Sie plädiert für orts- und situationsspezifische Strategien statt für universelle Rezepte.

Das als Open Access erhältliche Buch kann somit als ein wichtiger Beitrag zur aktuellen Debatte um Bodenschutz, Kreislaufwirtschaft und urbane Biodiversität gewertet werden. Es richtet sich dabei nicht nur an Landschaftsarchitekt:innen und Architekt:innen, sondern auch an Planer:innen, Stadtverwaltungen und Forschende, die Entsiegelung als gestalterisches, politisches und ökologisches Handlungsfeld begreifen wollen. Es macht deutlich, dass die Frage, wie wir entsiegeln, ebenso entscheidend ist wie die Tatsache, dass wir es tun.

–> Download Open Access PDF

Andrea Bortolotti, Chiara Geroldi & Cecilia Furlan (Eds.) (2025):
Open Ground – Depaving Urban Surfaces
Milano: Mimesis International
ISBN: 978-88-6977-506-2
https://mimesisinternational.com/