Matters of Activity is an interdisciplinary research project at Humboldt University of Berlin that promotes a new culture of materials. With over 200 researchers, it develops sustainable solutions in architecture, robotics, and more, to rediscover analog activities in the digital age.
The Cluster of Excellence "Matters of Activity," located at Humboldt University of Berlin, is an interdisciplinary research project dedicated to creating a new culture of materials. Our central vision is to rediscover analog activity in images, spaces, and materials in the age of the digital and virtual.
Our mission is to create a foundation for a new material culture in which biology and technology, spirit and material, nature and culture are interconnected in new ways. We emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary research and the development of sustainable practices and structures in areas such as architecture, soft robotics, textiles, materials, digital filters, and surgical cutting techniques.
The Cluster of Excellence "Matters of Activity" collaborates closely with various institutions, including Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces, Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin, and Kunstgewerbemuseum - State Museums of Berlin.
We regularly organize workshops, conferences, and exhibitions that present our research findings and initiatives to the public. Examples include events such as "Sensing Common Grounds," "Toward a New Culture of the Material," and the exhibition "Bakteriopolis" at the Museum fĂĽr Naturkunde.
The Cluster of Excellence "Matters of Activity" is a dynamic interdisciplinary laboratory that embodies the legacy of over 200 years of Humboldt University of Berlin and 100 years of Bauhaus. We are convinced that the analog will play a new central role in fundamental research in the digital age.
