CLIMART: FLUID INFRASTRUCTURES
Opening of the climate adaptation course at the ZK/U
29 November / 11:00—19:00
ZK/U BerlinSiemensstr. 27, 10551, Berlin, Germany
On November 29, 2025, ZK/U Berlin – Center for Art and Urbanistics, together with the Berlin University Alliance and On Water | PARCOURS, presents ClimArt: Fluid Infrastructures. The full-day event brings together art, science, and civic society in a dialogue on climate adaptation, resilience, and collective action in the face of a changing urban climate.
The day marks both the conclusion of the three-year ClimArt project and the opening of a new artistic parcours on the ZK/U grounds and in the adjacent garden — a series of installations and interventions that make artistic perspectives on urban climate transformation tangible. Under the title ClimArt: Fluid Infrastructures – Opening of the Artistic Parcours on Art and Climate Adaptation at ZK/U, the program explores how artistic and scientific practices can contribute to making cities more resilient to heat, drought, and shifting water cycles.
The morning begins with ClimArt presents: Artistic Responses to Heat and Drought at ZK/U, an introduction to the installations and discourses developed through ClimArt. This is followed by ClimArt walks: A Guided Tour through the Action Parcours, leading visitors through artistic works across the ZK/U site — from the Green Curtain and Rainwater Sound Sculptures to the Talking Tree — accompanied by short inputs on artistic, technical, and ecological approaches to climate adaptation in urban spaces.
In parallel, the workshop “How to File Complaints and Other Ways to Voice Concerns” by Julia Lazarus (On Water | PARCOURS / Berlin University Alliance) explores writing as a practice of civic engagement and ecological accountability.
After a shared lunch break, the afternoon continues with the panel discussion “Fluid Infrastructures: Art and Science for Climate-Resilient Futures”, bringing together artists, researchers, representatives from public administration, and local residents to discuss new forms of transdisciplinary collaboration and local strategies for climate adaptation.
In the late afternoon, ZK/U presents the Convivial Commons Congress, an interactive installation and performance imagining a non-human parliament where visitors encounter voices of trees, foxes, rain, and other urban actors. The day concludes with the lecture performance “HOLY SHIT!” by Ella Ziegler, a humorous yet thought-provoking exploration of nutrient cycles, soil, food, and ecological responsibility.
Warm meals, drinks, and informal gatherings will accompany the program throughout the day.
All sessions are free of charge; registration is recommended.
REGISTRATION
Programm
11:00 – 12:00 | ClimArt presents: Artistic responses to heat and drought at ZK/U
ClimArt – ZK/U
Insights into the past three years of the ZK/U's internal ClimArt project and the examination of climate resilience in the context of art and urban ecology. Presentation of the resulting installations, processes and collaborations between artists, scientists and the neighbourhood.
12:00 – 13:30 | ClimArt walks: Tour of the action course
ClimArt – ZK/U
Guided tour of the artistic installations of the new ClimArt parcours: from the Green Curtain to rainwater sound sculptures to the Talking Tree. With brief inputs on artistic and technical aspects as well as climate adaptation and awareness in urban spaces.
11:00 – 13:00 | Workshop: ‘How to File Complaints and Other Ways to Voice Concerns’
On Water | Parcours – Berlin University Alliance
Writing workshop by Julia Lazarus on strategies of expression and protest in ecological and political causes.
14:30 – 16:30 | Panel Discussion: Fluid Collaborations
ClimArt – ZK/U × On Water | Parcours (BUA)
A conversation between art, science, neighbourhood and administration about the joint design of climate-resilient cities. From global discourse to local practice in Moabit. With guests from the arts, research, practice and the neighbourhood.
17:00 – 18:00 | Convivial Commons Congress
ClimArt – ZK/U
Interactive installation and performance as part of a non-human parliament.
CLIMART: FLUID INFRASTRUCTURES is a Cooperation between ZK/U, Berlin University Alliance and ON WATER | PARCOURS.
ClimArt is a three-year research and art project at ZK/U exploring intersections between art, science, and neighborhood practices to address the impacts of climate change in urban environments.
The newly opened ClimArt Parcours remains as a lasting public installation—an experiential space where adaptation to the changing climate becomes a shared artistic, social, and ecological endeavor.
The ON WATER | PARCOURS, together with ON WATER | DIALOGUES of the TD Lab and the ON WATER. WaterKnowledge exhibition opening in October at the Humboldt Lab, forms a new focus area of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) on water research in Berlin. The ON WATER series promotes a dynamic, multidirectional exchange of knowledge about Berlin's blue-green infrastructure and brings together researchers from all four universities with Berlin residents, communities, and experts for collaborative research and learning.
Funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) based on a resolution of the German Bundestag.
More information on BMUKN and on our lead partner. Funding code: 67DAS274.