PRELUDE: ECHOES OF RA opens our theme year, which will unfold until the partial solar eclipse on August 12, 2026. The evening builds on previous IGAL – Intergalactic Lusatia activities and serves as a conceptual starting point for a longer trajectory that brings together science, art, and regional culture.
 

It also marks the first public step of our collaboration with the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA), a partnership that will be further developed through events, workshops, and artistic research formats over the coming year.
 

At its core, PRELUDE explores cosmological thinking, regional knowledge systems, and the ways in which patterns, rituals, and data shape how places are perceived and understood.

Programme


Part I · from 6:30 pm

The evening opens with a lecture performance by Hannah Klitzke, combining poetry, references to the Görlitz-based natural philosopher Jakob Böhme, AI-generated voices, and electronic sound. The performance was developed in collaboration with Jonas Herb Kilb and sets the conceptual tone for the night.
 

This is followed by a joint contribution by Jakob Gruhl and Karoline Schneider / Krawcec, bringing together digital pattern processing and artistic research into Sorbian material culture. Through Drasta Digital, visual projections, text, and sound, sorbian dress codes, cowrie shells, and the tradition of Easter riding are approached as systems of knowledge and cultural memory, translated into contemporary artistic form.
 

The programme then turns towards the physical landscape of Lusatia. Dr. Mike Lindner (DZA) introduces seismological perspectives on the region, including the measurement of subtle ground vibrations and the seismic traces of Easter riding. These insights are complemented by artistic reflections on how scientific data can be interpreted and transformed through visual and sonic means.
 

Throughout the first part, the programme is accompanied by film installations, short works from the Summer Film Academy, live moderation, and intermittent live sound elements, including theremin-based interventions.
 

Break

Bar · snacks · film loops · informal exchange

Part II · from approx. 8:30 pm

The second part begins with an audiovisual sequence combining mapping, projections, and electronic sound. The Kunsthalle becomes an immersive environment in which image, data, and sound intersect.

This is followed by the screening of KOSMONAUT, a short film produced during the Summer Film Academy 2025.
 

The evening concludes with the listening session NOISSES SEOCHE NEDLOG, conceived and performed by Lotti Oeken. Drawing on material from the NASA Golden Record, the session unfolds as a performative exploration of echoes, distortions, and fragmented narratives. Text, voice, and image impulses interact in an open structure, accompanied by a video installation emerging from the artistic exchange between DZA × Rashomon.
 

The programme ends with time for conversation, questions, and shared reflection.

 

Participants

Hannah Klitzke

Text · Lecture Performance · Sound & AI

Hannah Klitzke works at the intersection of poetry, performance, and sound. Her texts and performances engage with East German identity cultures, with a particular focus on the perspectives of East German women. For PRELUDE: ECHOES OF RA, she developed a lecture performance together with Jonas Herb Kilb, combining poetry, Jakob Böhme’s language, AI-generated voices, and electronic sound. She studies painting/graphic art at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB) and theatre studies at Leipzig University.

 

Jakob Gruhl

Artist · Electronic Music · Software & Immersive Media
More: ectoplastic.com/jkube

Jakob Gruhl works at the intersection of art, technology, and mediation, with a focus on software-based and immersive media. He is co-founder of Ectoplastic and ZiMMT and co-developer of the apps Mazetools and Sonic Moves. As a native Sorb, he combines electronic music with bilingual texts and collaborative performance formats. As co-initiator of Drasta Digital, he works on the digital transformation and contextualisation of Sorbian dress and pattern systems.

 

Karoline Schneider / Krawcec

Visual Artist · Art Mediation · Artistic Research
Website: karolineschneider.me
 

Karoline Schneider / Krawcec is a visual artist and art mediator. In her artistic PhD research, she investigates cowrie shells on the horse harnesses of Sorbian Catholic Easter riders from feminist, postcolonial, and natureculture perspectives. Her work explores how traditions can be reinterpreted and transformed through mutual respect and contemporary artistic practice. She has been an active member of kolektiw WAKUUM since 2022.

 

Dr. Mike Lindner

Seismologist · Low Seismic Lab (DZA)
 

Dr. Mike Lindner is a seismologist at the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA). His research focuses on the detection and interpretation of subtle ground vibrations, with particular attention to the geological conditions of Lusatia and the transitions between natural and human-made movement patterns. He is also interested in regional history and cultural contexts.

 

Daniel Häfner / Kamjenaŕ

Video Projections · Visual Thinking
 

Daniel Kamjenaŕ works with video projections and mapping, exploring Sorbian visual language beyond traditional dress and decorative motifs. As a folk artist, he connects symbols and works by Sorbian/Wendish cultural practitioners with contemporary technical tools and visual strategies.

 

Vanessa Ivan

Time-Based Media · Theremin · Artistic & Cultural Practice
 

Vanessa Ivan is an artist working in time-based media and currently affiliated with the Academy of Arts. She works as a freelance artist and cultural manager, combining media-based processes with performative sound practices, particularly using the theremin. For PRELUDE: ECHOES OF RA, she contributes live sound elements and supports the audiovisual mapping with sonic and visual accents.

 

Lotti Oeken

Direction · Performance · Video
Website: https://lotti-oeken.com
 

Lotti Oeken works in the fields of directing, performance, and video. Her practice explores bodies, memory, and the social landscapes of post-reunification biographies. Transitions, frictions, and gaps shape her visual and textual language. For PRELUDE: ECHOES OF RA, she creates the performative framework for the listening session NOISSES SEOCHE NEDLOG, engaging with material from the NASA Golden Record through an open interplay of voice, image, and distortion.

 

Dr. Stefan Ohm

Astrophysicist · Knowledge Transfer · German Center for Astrophysics (DZA)
https://stefanohm.com
 

Stefan Ohm is an astrophysicist and head of the Department for Regional Networking and Knowledge Transfer at the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA). His work focuses on connecting research with regional partners and developing new forms of collaboration between science, culture, and society.