Photo Lena Giovanazzi
Transformation everywhere!
Skilled in researching, curating, writing, teaching, project and publication management, science communication, and systemic coaching
I am a Berlin-based art and visual historian and curator exploring how art and design negotiate time, space, and transformation in a world shaped by ecological and technological change. My interdisciplinary practice spans research and curation, focusing on the development of multimedia exhibitions, community-driven programs, educational formats, and publication projects in the visual and performing arts—in collaboration with international cultural institutions including Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne, and Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Alte Nationalgalerie, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin, Museum Berggruen, Neue Nationalgalerie).
Since 2022, I have been curating Dragoner.0x––Super Contemporary Arts Fest, an annual exhibition project held at the Dragonerareal in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The project was initiated by artists Yasmin Alt, Jan Hrdlicka, art historian Luis Bortt, and myself, with the aim of researching and shaping public space in collaboration with the citizens of Berlin and other-than-human entities through curatorial and artistic practices on site.
Currently based at the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« (MoA) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as Research Associate (since 2024). In my current role as editor of MoA's upcoming publication on »active matter« and »radical interdisciplinarity in the making« (together with Claudia Mareis and Carolin Ott), I seek to highlight the ongoing inspiring work and research at the Cluster and beyond within the framework of a »book as exhibition«.
My research, rooted in the art historical theory of form, explores artistic and design practices—including research, curatorial, and archival approaches—with a focus on their transversal, resilient and facilitative qualities in relation to time, space, and agency. Drawing on new materialism, science and technology studies (STS), as well as environmental humanities, I address art and design and their mediation—whether in writing, teaching, curating, or public engagement—as a dynamic interplay between society, science, technology, and ecology. Central to my inquiry is how these creative processes and their re/imagination, re/construction, and re/generation can open new perspectives across differences—especially in times of crisis. This interdisciplinary approach enables me to address complex themes in collection and exhibition work in a way that is audience-oriented, innovative, and sustainable. I understand curating—taking care––as both a reflexive research and worldbuilding technique, and moreover as a strategy of resilience.
In my PhD thesis »Ecologies of Re/Staging—Strategies of Transformation in Otto Piene's Light Ballet« situated in the field of art and visual studies I research on the analog and digital re/stagings of time-based and inter-media art from the late 1950s until today and their potential for sustainable archival and curatorial practices. The focus is put on artist Otto Piene who experimented with natural phenomena, light and slide installations. My PhD project is part of MoA's Structured Doctoral Program »Matters of Activity« (2022-2025). From 2020 to 2024, I was awarded a full time PhD scholarship by the Gerda Henkel Foundation.
Not only interested in entanglements of visual interpretations of natural phenomena and social discourses in art and design, but also in change management and sustainable new work strategies, I support individuals and teams in navigating change, fostering sustainable workflows, and aligning inner values with outer expression (ECA-certified systemic business coach since 2023).
Clients and collaborations
Berlinische Galerie. Museum für Moderne Kunst, Berlin, Germany
Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material«, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Deutsche Bank KunstHalle (now PalaisPopulaire), Berlin, Germany
Ernst Wilhelm Nay Stiftung, Cologne, Germany
Freunde der Nationalgalerie e.V., Berlin, Germany
Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus e.V., Berlin, Germany
Galerie Sprüth Magers, Berlin
gute aussichten gGmbH, Neustadt/Weinstrasse, Germany
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany
Institut für Raumexperimente, Universität der Künste Berlin, Germany
Kirchner Museum Davos, Switzerland
Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany
LVR – LandesMuseum Bonn, Germany
LWL – Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster, Germany
märz galerie mannheim, Germany
Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, Germany
Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany
Otto Piene Estate, Groton, Massachusetts, USA
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V., Munich, Germany
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York City, USA
Studio George Condo, New York City, USA
Systemisches Institut Hamburg, Germany
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran, Iran
ZERO foundation, Düsseldorf, Germany
ZusammenStelle Rathausblock, Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
Networks
Art | Material | Ecology Working Group
Art Science Collaborations: Establishing a Research Agenda
Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material«
Deutscher Verband für Kunstgeschichte e. V.
Dragoner.0x––Super Contemporary Arts Fest
Freundeskreis Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House
Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Universitat de València, Spain, alumni
Universität Heidelberg, Germany, alumni