Where bodies and objects meet
The Object Lab at the Center for Cultural Technique offers space for innovative research and teaching at the HU Berlin, where material practices, bodies and objects are examined and investigated in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary manner. In the tradition of researching cultural techniques at the Central Institute, the focus is on practices of producing, communicating and processing knowledge. The exchange of knowledge with society and the inclusion of non-academic knowledge sources and different types of knowledge play a central role here.
Historically, the object lab was the ‘slaughterhouse’ for the neighboring Vetenary Anatomical Theatre (Tieranatomisches Theater) and has always combined craft with academic and creative knowledge. Today, very different teaching, research and event formats take place in the object lab – including performances, installations, artistic-scientific experiments and participatory projects. In addition to a wet section and a fume cupboard for experiments, the basic equipment of the object lab also includes a dance floor for performative and body-centered work.
Exhibition showcases on one side of the wall enable the presentation of selected objects from the HU’s teaching collections or other objects/materials, which are thus visible and available for specific projects. The team from the office Knowledge Exchange with Society supports the implementation of teaching and event formats that have a transdisciplinary or participatory character.
Contact: Leonie Kubigsteltig (Head of Object Lab)
A Decolonial Quartet on the Benin Bronzes: An Interview with Vincent Leonhardt
Insights into the Program “Learning and Teaching with Society” The following interview was conducted by Marlene Lüdorff, who is a student assistant at the Centre for Cultural Techniques, with Vincent Leonhardt, a participant in the ‘Overloaded: Interimperial Entanglements of Material and Photographic Collections’ seminar in August 2025. The seminar, which was
Learning and Teaching with Society in the Winter Term 2025/2026
We are delighted that nine seminars will be supported by the ‘Learning and Teaching with Society’ funding programme this winter semester! The seminars will receive seed funding of up to €1,000, as well as content-related advice and methodological support from the Knowledge Exchange with Society competence area. If you are
WisTanz at Primary Schools
During autumn break 2025, choreographer Irina Demina will collaborate with Prof. Valentina Forini, theoretical physicist at Humboldt-Universität to bring “WisTanz” to primary school children of Kolumbus Grundschule Berlin. They will co-create a workshop where the children experience within their bodies how the tiniest particles and the largest celestial bodies move,
Archiving Werkstatt der Kulturen: (Post)Migrant Histories in Berlin Arts – Insights into the program Teaching and Learning with Society
187 boxes formed the core of the seminar “Archiving Workshop of Cultures: (Post)Migrant Histories in Berlin Arts”. The materials left behind by the Werkstatt der Kulturen (WdK) are collected in these. From 1993 to 2019, the WdK was the only state-funded institution in the city dedicated to the presentation of
Teaching and Learning with Society: Call for Proposals
Seed-funding programm for courses that work in cooperation with society: apply by July 30, 2025. The program “Teaching and Learning with Society: transdisciplinary courses in the Object Lab” supports teachers and students across disciplines in shaping academic questions and seminar work in cooperation with society. The aim is to integrate
Teaching and Learning with Society: New Courses in the Object Lab (summer term 2025)
A new Seed Funding program has been established by the Office for Knowledge Exchange with Society to support transdisciplinary seminars in the Object Lab. Financial help and advice is given to shape research questions and coursework in cooperation with society. The programme in the summer term 2025 focuses on the