The space | lab is running '23 event series consisted of four events that dealt with socially relevant topics in a multifaceted and in-depth manner. Each event invited both an artistic and a scientific perspective, whereby the boundaries between the disciplines remained deliberately blurred. Both positions exchanged ideas in inspiring dialogs.

Following on from the festival in 2022, some talks took place in neighboring locations, allowing the impetus of the event series to extend beyond the boundaries of the original location. The entire series repeatedly made subtle connections to the concrete surroundings of the space | lab, and the lively discussions built bridges between art, science and the local context.

Archives - A task for eternity? 10.02.2023 @Kunstraum jETZT

Our first guests were the artist Foteini Papadopuolou with her work "MOVEMENT JOURNALS/ MOVING JOURNALS" - an experiment in processes of transformation and practices of remembering movement" and Dr. Claudia Kauertz, the director of the Essen City Archive.

First, the audience was able to view the work "MJ/MJ" and ask the artist questions. Afterwards, they went together from the art space to space|lab, where a conversation between Foteini Papadoupolou and Dr. Claudia Kauertz about the importance of archiving, the eternal task of the Essen City Archive and questions about archiving the ephemeral art form of dance. The theme of the second event moved from the preservation of the past to the future and the present.

KI - About cyborgs, chatbots and chthulucene 05.04.2023 @space | lab

In the second event, we invited artist and PhD student Anne Küper and media artist Till Bödeker to talk about AI and the opportunities and difficulties of Chat GPT. After an introduction to the history of AI, both presented their artistic works that deal with or use AI. Like all other events, this one was moderated, but Chat GPT was also considered a discussion partner. In between, questions were put to the AI and the guests could decide for themselves whether they were satisfied with the answer and wanted to continue communicating with Chat GPT or not.

Sounds of our city - noise or sound? 03.05.23. @space | lab and surrounding

On this evening, together with our guests, sound artist Frank Niehusmann and dramaturge Anna Zahner, we asked ourselves "Is music that describes nothing pure noise?". After an introduction to sound art, which primarily uses city noises, we listened to sound examples by Frank Niehusmann. Afterwards, the audience went outside and each person memorized a sound, which we then took back into space|lab.

Assembly - How do we want to live together? 02.06.23. @sapce | lab, Weberplatz

For the closing event, we invited a number of speakers who deal with visions of the future and the question of wasy of living together.

First, Prof. Yasemin Utku from the Institute of Urban Design and Planning Practice, Faculty of Architecture at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, reported on her observations on consumer-free inner cities and the collaborative use of public spaces.

This led to an interesting discussion on the use of city centers. This was followed by a performative intervention by Johannes Karl and Patricia Bechtold from the äöü collective. With thoughts on the public and shared use of urban spaces, the performers took us out onto Weberplatz and performed parts of their latest work on the subject of the future in costume. The intertwining of their artistic intervention, the children playing on the square and a group of young people who were there, tied in well with the previous discussion. The evening was rounded off with an acoustic set by Maria Trautmann and Maika Küster from the band Wir hatten was mit Björn.