Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: News

In her work »Beyond the Funky«, Ayça Tugran creates surreal visual worlds that make us realise how much animal life is reduced to function and usability in the capitalist system. She contrasts the sentimental portrayal of domestic pets with the diversity of wild species and envisions a coexistence beyond control, categorisation and profit-driven thinking. In »Habitat«, Kevin Blackistone presents a floating terrarium as a metaphor for Earth’s fragile ecosystems and finite resources. He consciously juxtaposes these with fantasies of space colonisation.

Both explore with how urban media façades can be used as a storytelling tool to raise awareness of environmental issues among the general public. The master’s degree in »Digital Technologies in Architecture and Design«, which was recently renamed from its predecessor »MediaArchitecture«, acknowledges the growing importance of digital technologies in art, design and architecture and at the same time strengthens the interdisciplinary profile of degree programmes at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.

Professor Reinhard König, programme head of the master MediArchitecture and Digital Technoligies in Architecture and Design emphasises that: »Our participation in Ars Electronica shows how our students use digital technologies not only technically, but also in a socially reflective manner.«

About »Ars Electronica«
The Ars Electronica 2025 is entitled »PANIC - yes/no« and is dedicated to the widespread uncertainty prompted by numerous crises, exploring how art can help to overcome this. Ars Electronica is one of the most important festivals for art, technology and society in the world taking place 3 to 7 September 2025 in Linz. The Campus Exhibition brings together contributions from over 30 international universities, opening up new perspectives at the interface between design, research and technology.

The projects by Ayça Tugran and Kevin Blackistone were created in the 2024 summer semester during the »Beyond the Screen« module of the master’s degree in MediaArchitecture under the direction of Professor Reinhard König (Professorship for Computer Science in Architecture and Urbanism), Susa Pop (Public Art Lab Berlin, Connecting Cities) and Carolina Garcia (MFA in Media Art & Design). Both digital works were originally created for monumental urban displays in Asia and Europe as part of a trilateral cooperation between the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, the China Academy of Art, and Nanyang Technological University.