Upcoming events
TRACES Talk Series Summer 2026 – Research Station Lutherplatz
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12.05.26 – Wolfgang Ullrich: Memocracy
Until recently, it would have been unimaginable for the government of a world power to communicate on a large scale using memes and AI-generated images—or even to design its policies from the outset to be meme-worthy. In the U.S., this has been the case since the start of Donald Trump’s second term. This means that even the toughest political decisions are translated into pithy, entertaining formats, thereby masking their true nature. It also means, however, that the government’s own supporters and “meme warriors” in turn constantly circulate memes with which they support the respective policies and often intensify them even further. The lecture analyzes this novel form of visual politics and its setting: social media platforms, where the Darwinian “survival of the fittest” logic functions as a model for society and the political system as a whole.
19.05.26 – Jesko Fezer: Biased curation and active remembrance against the far right
Biased design is an attempt to add a practical dimension to the idea that design can have a socially emancipatory effect. By repositioning design in relation to its users, those affected by it, as well as their social reality and environment, the aim is to anchor the claim of politically engaged design more firmly in the social sphere—the very sphere it is intended to address. Using biased exhibition projects by the Cooperative for Representation Policy and one-sided memory policy projects by the St. Pauli Public Design Advisory Service in public space, the claim of design partisanship will be discussed.
26.05.26 – Beth von Undall: Screens and Controllers
I want to ask: what is a good way for an artist to present a video-game in an exhibition context?
The presentation of video games within the context of contemporary art is still relatively new. While game engines and hardware are becoming more accessible to artists, art institutions are still struggling to show video-game works, nonetheless, distinct aesthetic formalisms are emerging.
This talk takes a look at a range of artists’ video-game installations and traces their stylistic lineage through game-dev conventions (Gamescom, GDC, Dreamhack), late night gaming cafes, LAN parties, and living room setups, etc.
An obvious problem for showing video games in exhibition contexts is the scope of play and time investment. Few video games are brief experiences, and many require the player to pay close attention to engage with their narratives, mechanics, and game worlds. Such resources are scarce in the gallery, and scarce in the art institution.
Projekt 1
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