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Cultural Studies & Performing Arts, Creative Arts and Design

Fragments of the Future

When:

21 July - 25 July 2025

School:

Berlin Summer University of the Arts

Institution:

Berlin University of the Arts

City:

Berlin

Country:

Germany

Language:

English

Credits:

1 EC

Fee:

530 EUR

Interested?
Fragments of the Future

About

Today we are facing a turning point in which the most serious consequences of human activity - such as the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity and ecological collapse - are becoming clearly visible.
Against the backdrop of scientific climate research, the burning of forests around the world and our immense carbon consumption, we look at carbon as a chemical element and an artistic material.
We will become involved in the process of making our own charcoal and explore its utopian potential as a means of expressing artistic vision and as a material of sustainability and transformation. Charcoal is in an extremely stable state of almost pure carbon: coal as a fossil, millions of years old, infinitely durable and yet fragile, elevated from time. Fragments of charred branches and drawing pens seem to come from the past and yet point to the future.

We will make our own charcoal from materials we find and bring with us. The objects are heated and transformed in the absence of oxygen, preserving the uniqueness of each branch for the future.
The participants will have the opportunity to develop their own individual artistic projects and presentations. Future landscapes grow out of ā€˜Fragments of the Futureā€™, utopian structures and new stories are created on paper, in book form, as large-format drawings or as installations.

Course leader

Ulrike Mohr

Course aim

Carbon, the basis of life, becomes our artistic focus. In this workshop we will work with charcoal, explore its artistic and sustainable potential and create utopian visions through drawings, books and installations that blend past, present and future visions.

Carbon is not only the basis of our daily lives, but will also be the central subject of our artistic work for the duration of the workshop. In the ā€˜Fragments of the Futureā€™ workshop, we will explore the potential and broad field of charcoal as an artistic medium.

Fee info

Fee

530 EUR

Interested?

When:

21 July - 25 July 2025

School:

Berlin Summer University of the Arts

Institution:

Berlin University of the Arts

Language:

English

Credits:

1 EC

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