The conference is organised on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of founding Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. As with the founding of the school, the most important gesture is not retrospective, but prospective. We ask questions and set challenges for ourselves toward a possible future of studies and research in art and design, with a focus on the university and its connections to ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.

On February 16 at 18:00, the conference opening will take place in the “Big Studio” of the university with opening remarks by Peter Weibel. Hans Belting, honorary chair of the conference, will also deliver an opening speech. Together with Peter Weibel and Siegfried Zielinski he will guide the international dialogue. The conference sessions on February 17 and 18 will take place in the ZKM “Cube”. In addition, the conference will be accompanied by artistic interventions.

To discuss the boldest ideas, we invited intellectuals and artists from all over the world, such as Rakhee Balaram (India, USA, France), Andrea Buddensieg (Germany), Andrés Burbano (Colombia), Tsong-Zung Chan und Gao Shiming (People’s Republic of China), Angela Harutyunyan (Lebanon), Echo Ho (Germany), Karla Jasso (Mexico), Marcello Mercado (Argentina), Julian Murphet (Australia), Yvette Mutumba and Julia Grosse (Germany), Stephanie Njerenga (Fondi Workshop, African collaborative design & engineering), Jacqueline Nsiah (Ghana), Julian Oliver (New Zealand, Germany), Nikos Papastergiadis (Australia), Miklós Peternák (Hungary), Ebadur Rahman (Bangladesh, USA), Irit Rogoff (Great Britain) and Jeffrey Shaw (Australia, People’s Republic of China/Hong Kong). Our guests will hold input presentations on potential spaces in research and teaching in art and design, followed by open discussions.

The conference is conceived and organised by Siegfried Zielinski, Daniel Irrgang, Ali Gharib, and colleagues of the university and of ZKM. It is supported by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts as well as by the EU-founded project IMAGIT. The conference results will be published as an English reader.

Conference language: English