What happens when we think of materials not as passive substances, but as active co-creators of our world? From 10 April to 12 October 2025, the ‘＿matter Festival’ will transform Berlin into an open laboratory for materials research and design. New material perspectives will be made tangible in exhibitions, workshops and talks at twelve locations.
Whether organic, artificial, living or technological, materials influence our lives in many different ways. The ＿matter Festival 2025, organised by the Cluster of Excellence ‘Matters of Activity’ at the Humboldt University of Berlin, uses transdisciplinary formats to explore the active potential of matter. The aim is to renegotiate the role of materials in the context of the climate crisis, resource consumption and social change. The focus is not only on scientific findings, but also on sensory experiences, speculative designs and collaborative practices that initiate ecological and social transformations.
The diverse festival programme brings together international players from the fields of art, design, science and architecture. The exhibition ‘Johtingeaidnu – The Path Within’, which opens at the Schering Stiftung on 10 April and combines nomadic knowledge from the Arctic with epigenetics, sets an initial poetic-scientific accent. In May, parallel to the Gallery Weekend, the project ‘What if the Ocean Were a City?’ will create an artificial reef in the river Spree – a lively impulse for ecological urban development. ‘Vegetal Companions’, starting in June at the Späth Arboretum, focuses on the coexistence of plant life forms and invites visitors to walks, screenings and discussions. And those interested in textile architecture can immerse themselves in the world of flax, willow and mushroom threads at the ‘Entangled’ workshop in July.
For more information and the full programme: www.matters-of-activity.de
Share on Social Media
