Open Space – Active Matter on Stage

»Matters of Activity« is opening its doors!

We are surrounded by matter that is vibrant and active. Yet we often treat matter as if it were passive. Instead of using active material properties and structures, industrial and digital manufacturing, as well as conventional approaches to engineering, design and architecture, still heavily rely on the passivation of materials and external energy is added.

Given the massive environmental and sociopolitical challenges posed by anthropogenic climate change, the Cluster »Matters of Activity« (MoA) believes that seriously considering and radically rethinking the inherent activity of matter is essential to move towards more sustainable, resilient, and just modes of making, producing, and living. However, to ask about the inherent activity of matter is not just an academic question or a problem of design and engineering. Understanding the activity of matter from as many different angles and perspectives as possible might help to avoid prolonging a damaging past of passive materiality into the future.

What can we learn from the inherent structures of materials? What would this mean for design, architecture, technology, medicine and everyday life? Would it be possible to make almost everything from a few, mostly organic materials? Last but not least: What other ideas, imaginaries, and speculations of nature, culture, design, gender or politics are linked to the notion of active matter? Let’s discuss it at the MoA’s Open Space with workshops and hands-on sessions!

This is a 2-day event – Join us also for Threads: Localities & Temporalities of a Fiber Bio-Economy and Open Space Part II!