Organised by Friederike Schäfer, Research Area 2: "Travelling Matters" in cooperation with Mateo Chacón Pino (University of Kassel/documenta Institut).

Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in research both in exhibition studies and in environmental humanities, particularly at the intersection of art and ecology. However, a cohesive interdisciplinary field combining these two areas has yet to be fully established. The Working Group "Exhibition Ecologies" was founded in 2024 with the aim of examining exhibitions through the lens of ecological perspectives and creating an international research network of scholars dedicated to this topic. The group responds to the urgent need for developing suitable methodologies and theories to address the intricate intersection of exhibitions and ecologies, focusing on aesthetics, epistemologies, infrastructures, and ideologies.

The conceptual framework of 'Exhibition Ecologies' explores the multifaceted relationships between exhibitions and ecologies, resources, aesthetics, media, and technology as a global phenomenon. These interrelations are understood as a multiplicity of ecologies within and surrounding exhibitions—encompassing the material, systemic, political, and historical conditions that constitute exhibitions. Furthermore, the framework considers the temporal, intellectual, and aesthetic dimensions of exhibitions, positioning them as cultural practices that shape and mediate ecological and planetary understandings. 

This meeting will focus on advancing working concepts and methodologies related to 'Exhibition Ecologies'. The workshop will be framed by two keynotes, to which the interested public is warmly invited.

Programme

Workshop (by invitation only)

Title tba

Public lecture by Hannah Baader (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz)

Location:
Freie Universität Berlin
EXC 2020 "Temporal Communities"
Room 00.07
Otto-von-Simson Straße 15
14195 Berlin

Fragile Ecologies Across Aesthetics and Politics

Public lecture by Shannon Jackson (University of California, Berkeley) 

Location:
Künstlerhaus Bethanien
Kohlfurter Str. 41-43
10999 Berlin 

Current members of the Working Group "Exhibition Ecologies":

Dr. Friederike Schäfer (Freie Universität Berlin/EXC 2020, initiator)
Mateo Chacón Pino (University of Kassel/documenta Institute, initiator)
Dr. Linn Burchert (Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich)
Dr. Lee Chichester (Ruhr University Bochum)
Dr. Regine Ehleiter (University of Münster)
Dr. Michael Klipphahn-Karge (Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich)
Vis. Prof. Dr. Fiona McGovern (University of Kassel)
Magali Wagner (University of Bern/SNF project "Mediating the Ecological Imperative: Formats and Modes of Engagement")

Critical Friends:

Dr. Hannah Baader (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz)
Prof. Dr. Shannon Jackson (University of California, Berkeley)
Prof. Dr. Liliana Gómez (University of Kassel/documenta Institute)
Dr. Maria Bremer (Ruhr University Bochum)
Isabelle Lindermann (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)