BODIES OF WATER.

Art Laboratory Berlin welcomes you to the two-day festival BODIES OF WATER exploring themes around urban waterways, in context of the ongoing series ON WATER | PARCOURS by the Berlin University Alliance (BUA). With the art science collective DIY Hack the Panke and scientists from the fields of ecohydrology and medicine, we will explore what forms an urban river takes and what lives in and around the Panke river. There will be workshops, walks, talks, reading sessions, panel discussions, and performances for participants of all ages.

Let’s embark on a multi sensorial and transdisciplinary journey along one of Berlin’s fastest flowing bodies of water! Join us on 21 and 22 June to explore our connectedness to water, urban waterways, and the river Panke through learning, crafting, sensing, walking, and listening. (Online registration HERE!)

FESTIVAL Program | Short Version

Detailed festival program with biographies HERE!

SATURDAY, 21 June 2025

9:30 – 10:00
CHECK-IN
Let’s get together at the festival site (PA58, Prinzenallee 58) and check in for the events.

10:00 – 11:00
Reading Session and Water Sample Collection
HYDRO ENCOUNTERS – BECOMING COMPANIONS

With Sybille Neumeyer (artist, researcher) and Fara Peluso (bio artist, bio designer, researcher)

In a reading session at the riverside of Panke, we will collect samples of water and narratives of bodies of and in water as an invitation to amplify perspectives on symbiosis, microbial diversities and waters as shared resources. Readings from different genres and sensorial exercises allow hydrofeminist reconfiguration of “alien” towards more-than-human commoning, stewardship and companionship. (The texts are in English. The discussion is in English with options for asking questions in German).

11:30 – 14:30
Workshop
AMPLIFYING RIVER COMMUNITIES

With Prof. Dr. India Mansour (microbiologist, Rillig Lab | Ecologies of Plants, FU Berlin), Dr. Joana MacLean (microbiologist, Rillig Lab | Ecologies of Plants, FU Berlin), Sybille Neumeyer (artist, researcher), Fara Peluso (bio artist, bio designer, researcher)

Get to know your microbial neighbours! This workshop invites citizens of all ages to encounter some of the smallest inhabitants of the river Panke using various DIY practices. This hybrid, disciplinary workshop led by practitioners of different backgrounds – art, design, science and speculation – is an ecosystem of knowing and learning about microorganisms such as algae. Bilingual workshop (German/English)

15:00 – 18:00
Workshop
BERLIN FLOWS

With Dr. Kat Austen (artist, chemist), Nenad Popov (media artist and sound artist), Sarah Hermanutz (artist, researcher), Dr Maria Warter (ecohydrologist, The Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries / IGB), Dr. Christian Marx (ecohydrologist, The Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries / IGB)

It’s said you never cross the same river twice, because the water is constantly changing. In this workshop we will explore the Panke river through the water and the character of its flow. Artists and scientists will guide participants in playfully experimenting by means of science, art, and exploration, with interventions that invite the River Panke to become our collaborator in a collective performance to embrace flow and flux without fear – for the river and for ourselves.

18:30 – 20:00
Panel Discussion
WATER, BODIES, AND PLANETARY HEALTH

Speakers:
Dr. Kat Austen (artist, chemist),
Hélène Furaha Hauch (Medical scholar, Charité) and N.N.
Moderation: Prof. Regine Rapp, Christian de Lutz (Art Laboratory Berlin)

This cross-disciplinary panel looks into the ways that human-made pollutants enter Berlin’s waterways and how they affect the organisms and ecologies there – in the context of “planetary health”. What are the roles of pharmaceuticals, industrial and agricultural products, and microplastics in urban waterways? How can we improve the current situation? The speakers have a background in medical research, eco hydrology and a trans-disciplinary artistic research on water chemistry.

20:00 – 20:15
SOUND PERFORMANCE

Based on workshop BERLIN FLOWS from the afternoon, the artists Nenad Popov, Kat Austen, and Sarah Hermanutz will share with the public some sound samples recorded at and in the river Panke. The presentation will also highlight various experimental approaches of artistic research on water.

20:15
RECEPTION

Let’s get together with some drinks and snacks, exchange ideas, and end the dense festival day together.

SUNDAY, 22 June 2025

Detailed festival program with biographies HERE!

9:30 – 10:00
CHECK-IN

Let’s get together at the festival site (PA58, Prinzenallee 58) and check in for the events.

10:00 – 13:00
Workshop
BERLIN FLOWS

With Dr. Kat Austen (artist, chemist), Nenad Popov (media artist and sound artist), Sarah Hermanutz (artist, researcher), Dr Maria Warter (ecohydrologist, The Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries / IGB), Dr. Christian Marx (ecohydrologist, The Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries / IGB)

It’s said you never cross the same river twice, because the water is constantly changing. In this workshop we will explore the Panke river through the water and the character of its flow.  Artists and scientists will guide participants in playfully experimenting by means of science, art, and exploration, with interventions that invite the River Panke to become our collaborator in a collective performance to embrace flow and flux without fear – for the river and for ourselves. (Repetition of Saturday’s workshop)

13:00 – 14:00
Lunch Talk
ATMOSPHERIC WATER HARVESTING (AWH)

With Johannes Müller, Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT)

The increasing global water scarcity – intensified by climate change – requires innovative and sustainable solutions. This talk delves into upcoming challenges and presents a new device to remotely harvest potable water with renewable energy. The talk will be in English, but questions and answers can be also communicated in German. (Bring your own lunch)

14:00 – 17:00
Workshop
AMPLIFYING RIVER COMMUNITIES

With Prof. Dr. India Mansour (microbiologist, Rillig Lab | Ecologies of Plants, FU Berlin), Dr. Joana MacLean (microbiologist, Rillig Lab | Ecologies of Plants, FU Berlin), Sybille Neumeyer (artist, researcher), Fara Peluso (bio artist, bio designer, researcher)

Get to know your microbial neighbours! This workshop invites citizens of all ages to encounter some of the smallest inhabitants of the river Panke using various DIY practices. This hybrid, disciplinary workshop led by practitioners of different backgrounds – art, design, science and speculation – is an ecosystem of knowing and learning about microorganisms such as algae. Bilingual workshop, German/English. (Repetition of Saturday’s workshop)

17:00 – 18:00
Walk along the Panke
MICROBIAL PARADE

With Dr. Prof. India Mansour (microbiologist, Rillig Lab | Ecologies of Plants, FU Berlin), Dr. Joana MacLean (microbiologist, Rillig Lab | Ecologies of Plants, FU Berlin), Sybille Neumeyer (artist, researcher), Fara Peluso (bio artist, bio designer, researcher)

Join us for the closing event of the festival, where DIY art, science, and community come together to celebrate the hidden life of the river Panke. During the Microbial Parade, we will march down the river with our large floating sculptures that were crafted upon microscopic observations from river (micro)organisms during the workshop Amplifying River Communities. Each sculpture is a magnified interpretation of forms, patterns, and structures observed under the microscope, transforming the invisible life of the river into tangible, visible sculptures. It is a collective celebration for the river Panke, her human and nonhuman neighbours, the microbial communities, and other invisible inhabitants of this urban water stream. Together, we will walk along the riverbanks, accompany our floating sculptures on the water, and try to imagine new ways to care for and connect with our urban environment. The event is open to everyone: Neighbors, families, friends, and anyone curious about the river’s ecology or the creative process.


Detailed festival program with biographies HERE!