Opening weekend: Assembling Grounds

Keynote by Sria Chatterjee (video call), Head of Research Initiatives, Paul Mellon Centre London
in English language

Introduction and moderation by Daria Mille

Recently, the question of how to represent the sentience of plants has aroused great interest among contemporary artists working in plant science. In this keynote Sria Chatterjee asks why artists are invested in making visible ideas of plant intelligence and consciousness. Where have some of these art and science collaborations led? Does making human audiences empathize with plants as agential beings work towards multispecies justice? Wondering about these ideas, the keynote serves as an impulse for the following panels and events of the opening days. 

Panel discussion with Jahnavi Phalkey, Ravi Agarwal, Bettina Korintenberg, Amruta Nemivant
in English language

Moderated by Mira Hirtz

The panel discussion brings together participants involved in the travelling exhibition »Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground«, which toured India and Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. We will use a brief review of this exhibition's experiences and themes to address current issues: What role can institutions and exhibitions play in making the world a place worth living in for humans and non-humans? What knowledge should be preserved for this purpose, and what formats can be used to activate it?

Welcoming address
Alistair Hudson, ZKM | Karlsruhe's Scientific and Artistic Director

Greetings
Dr. Frank Mentrup, Lord Mayor, City of Karlsruhe
Johannes Ebert, Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut

Introduction
Daria Mille, Curator, ZKM | Karlsruhe
Mira Hirtz, Curator, ZKM | Karlsruhe

Performance
Mallika Das Sutar, artist of the exhibition »Assembling Grounds«, refers in her performance to Alponas - geometric patterns that are traditionally drawn with rice flour in front of house entrances in India. Through this artwork, the artist explores the close intertwining of her community's cultural identity in Kolkata with the cycles of harvest and agriculture.

Opening hours
The exhibition rooms and the mint Bar in the ZKM foyer are open from 7:30 to 11 pm

Panel discussion with Abhijit Patil, Julia Ihls, Maksud Ali Mondal and Eva-Maria Lopez
in English language

Moderated by Daria Mille

The four artists explore new connections to the life forms around us with very different approaches in their works. They approach other beings and ecological systems in an exploratory, poetic, and often process-oriented manner. The focus of the conversation is encounters with non-human entities and their life structures as a starting point for artistic research, speculative narratives, and new forms of coexistence.

Performance by Mallika Das Sutar

Mallika Das Sutar, artist of the exhibition »Assembling Grounds«, refers in her performance to Alponas - geometric patterns that are traditionally drawn with rice flour in front of house entrances in India. Through this artwork, the artist explores the close intertwining of her community's cultural identity in Kolkata with the cycles of harvest and agriculture.

Panel discussion with Nilanjan Bhattacharya, Parag Tandel and Hema Shironi
in English language

Moderated by Mira Hirtz

During this talk, three artists from the exhibition will present their work, which is characterized by collaboration and exchange with local groups and communities. The resulting close connection to local knowledge and practices forms extraordinary methods of artistic practice. These unique encounters will be discussed.

Since the »Critical Zones« exhibition, the Katzenwedelwiese in Beiertheim-Bulach has been part of ZKM. Together with designer Oliver-Selim Boualam, artist Stéphane Verlet-Bottéro creates ceramics on the meadow using the traditional Raku firing technique. Along with students from Prof. Kristina Buch's class at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Karlsruhe and the Karlsruhe University of Music, they invite you to a diverse encounter with the meadow, which will include a soundsiesta, a tea ceremony, a poetry performance, culinary impressions, and music that comes from the meadow.

By: Stéphane V. Bottéro, Oliver-Selim Boualam, Astarti Athanasiadou, Maria Bitzer, Morgane Britscher, Maria Butt, Bürgerverein Beiertheim, Bürgerverein Bulach, Elias Christl, Max Clausen, Jonathan Dölger, Lisa Eigmüller, Regine Frisch, Aldizar Ahmad Ghifari, Ina Grabosch, Christian Haardt, Mira Hirtz, Hanna Jurisch, Andy Koch, Lina Kolb, Johannes Marmon, Joni Marmon, Lucia Mattes, Daria Mille, Oliver Say, Sayaka Shinkai, Shivay La Multiple, Holly Smith, Streuobstinitiative, David Tanner, Alexander Thelen, Luise Tormählen, Camilla Wondrak