TURNS

In February, ZKM I Hertzlab launched a new concert series called TURNS at the KUBUS, creating immersive listening experiences that transform our perspective on sound. Once a month, we invite you to explore new perspectives on electronic music, sound art, and Sound Art in the sound dome. International and local artists encourage us to expand our understanding of music – through performances, participatory installations, and interactive formats.

In the new concert series TURNS, curated by Dr. Lea Luka Sikau, minerals become a chorus, gamers become performers, and quanta become sound. With a new spatial stage, the audience is placed at the center. A place of shared experience is created where people can encounter one another anew and explore sound in a playful manner.

TURNS is structured around three thematic cycles. They combine societal discourse, artistic research, and musical expression into immersive experiences, with process and collective experimentation at the forefront.

Events

SOUNDING CYCLES (February-April 2025)

The first cycle, SOUNDING CYCLES, is dedicated to cyclical rhythms, circular movements, and repetitive vibrations. Artists stage the intrinsic dynamics of materials, bring the political moment of sound to the forefront, and interweave past traditions with motion capture. Here, among other collaborations, we work with Arts at CERN for a Collective Listening Session with Robin Meier Wiratunga.

Fri, 14.02.2025, 7:00 pm TURNS: Screaming Minerals x Three Voices

Fri, 28.03.2025, 7:00 pm TURNS: Collective Listening

Sat, 26.04.2025, 7:00 pm TURNS x Synthie Lovers Festival: Sonic Kinships – Patch, Plug, Mod

SOUNDING OUT HEALTH (May-August 2025)

In this cycle, we explore how health is interwoven with the sounds surrounding us. In our sound dome, we shed light on the mental, physical, and structural dimensions of well-being. Health is viewed beyond purely biomedical models – as a construct shaped by stigmatization, care economies, postcolonial discourses, and power structures. We listen to multispecies well-being, “Trans-Rebirth,” and planetary breath in collaboration with MONOM, the EFFEKTE Science Festival, and the University of Music Karlsruhe.

Fri, 19.05.25, 7:00 pm TURNS x Effekte: PULSING, ACHING, EXERCISING

Fri, 27.06.25, 7:00 pm TURNS

Fri, 17.07.25, 7:00 pm TURNS

SOUNDING OUT CONNECTION (September–December 2025)

In this cycle, we explore how acoustic phenomena both enable and hinder connections. Our sound dome transforms into a space where digital intimacy and shared memories come to life – from immersive soundscapes that inspire intercultural dialogues to extraterrestrial sound rituals that redefine techno-social interfaces. In doing so, we question how sound can serve as a medium for collective memories and as a catalyst for sustainable communities.

In an era marked by the dispersal of our attention, auditory experiments open up new spaces for connection. In this cycle, we investigate how immersive soundscapes and participatory sound performances overcome boundaries and forge unexpected bridges between species and their environments. Our spatial stage transforms into a pulsating network that deconstructs sonic experiences and rethinks our contemporary relationships with music.