The Slightly Unusual summaery2020 – remote yet so close

This year, visitors will be able to experiment with different digital technologies in an uninhibited and hands-on form, from interactive excursions using 360-degree technology, to testing out computer games, to fulldome films that are normally only accessible in domed cinemas.  An interactive digital city tour, short film streaming and online exhibitions are just some of the features that the digital summaery is offering as entertainment in addition to new opportunities to meet various needs.  Prospective students can, for instance, learn about online study formats through livestreamed presentations where they can chat with exhibitors and lecturers. Whether it’s from your living room couch, your backyard, or from your holiday resort – the entire exhibition can be accessed wherever there's an internet connection and a computer, smartphone, or tablet. 

A New Format for a Virtual summaery

Computer science and design students from the »Experimental Games Lab« will be presenting computer games developed during the summer semester. The games can be downloaded and tested.  During this short period, the students have worked with storytelling, graphics, programming, sound design, and 3D visualization. Using the site’s commentary function, testers can communicate with the development team and offer feedback. 

If you have a case of wanderlust, »Visiting Bangladesh« is the place for you. Students from the Umweltingenieurwissenschaften study programme invite you to take a virtual trip to Bangladesh. Images from the 2019 excursion can be experienced through 360-degree shots. The audience can interactively click to learn more about the sanitary facilities and to learn about why international aid projects are not always successful.  Virtual reality glasses help make the experience even more realistic. Quiz questions have also been integrated into the project and can be used to make learning more successful. 

The »P-Bank« is another project that can be experienced virtually. The »P-Bank« is a novel sanitation system that collects urine separately from wastewater in order to recover phosphorus, a non-renewable resource.  The »P-Bank 3D« is a digital, three-dimensional image of the toilet, and allows guests to enter and access information, regardless of where they are or what time it is. The 360-degree technology used for the project is especially well-suited as an entry-level tool for the digitization at the university in teaching, learning, and gaining experience using real-world examples.  

360-degree technology is also used in the world of »immersive media« and, with the help of 360-degree streaming technology, visitors can learn about this brand new form of media art and design, and can watch student films and music visualizations. Those with VR glasses will come closest to the true fulldome projection experience, but the unique fulldome films can also be viewed on computers, laptops, tablets, or mobile phones. Among the films being presented are award-winners from the Jena FullDome Festival and other international film festivals.

The »Decolonize Weimar« project takes you on a virtual tour of the city. The project, which is part of the Medienwissenschaft and the Media Art and Design programmes, addresses colonial sites in Weimar with the goal of initiating a debate on how to research, communicate, and critically commemorate colonial history.  Students present colonial sites in Weimar using a city map and a (virtual) city tour and discuss commemoration in an urban space. Of course, those who are interested can visit these sites in person and use the interactive map as a guide. 

Those who prefer an auditory experience can listen to the »Urban Conflicts« mini podcasts. The ten-to-fifteen minute episodes examine processes of urban development that have been carried out undemocratically in European cities and beyond. Among other events, students looked at the revitalization of a former textile factory in Russia and the demolition of a theatre in Tirana and subsequent construction of a mall. The project aims to gain a better understanding of these processes and the conflicts between groups as well as between the cultural scene and commercial interests.

Take part in Idea-Finding Processes and Creative Approaches to the Digital Semester

During the summaery, typical study processes – such as working creatively under pressure – are open to exploration. The »quick & dirty - SIEBEN AUF EINEN STREICH« seminar in the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism was dedicated to this phenomenon and addressed the excessive demands on time and content in creative design. Students were themselves exemplary subjects for testing solution strategies and coping methods. The aim was not to achieve perfection or infinite intellectual sophistication, but rather to train wide ranging, efficient and intuitive design and thought as well as figuring out how to structure complex issues. The results of communicating individual approaches, thought processes and drafts will be presented online at the summaery.  

Jakob With, a Public Art and New Artistic Strategies student, is offering visitors the opportunity to attend his Master’s defence.   From 3 to 4 pm on 1. August, Wirth will be defending his Master’s thesis, titled »Penthouse à la Parasit«. Wirth was awarded the »Born to be Bauhaus« prize for this project. »Penthouse à la Parasit« is a temporary housing project installation measuring only 3.6 square metres. The project moves housing to the roofs rather than being driven out of the city, symbolizing resistance against displacement caused by the housing market. Beginning on 30. July, 2020, Wirth’s project will be installed on the roof of the University Library in Weimar. Anyone wishing to attend his defence must register at post[at]penthaus-a-la-parasit.de.

Likewise, students from »Der grüne Salon« project also worked on microarchitecture installations on a 1:1 scale. During this pandemic, they came up with communication architecture designs for the Park an der Ilm. As it was not possible to implement the installations in the park, students built selected spatial modules of the Salon, using their own four walls as home studios to stage and film the projects. The resulting modules all serve very different functions, from a greenhouse windowsill to a camera obscura, a sun sail, and a raised bed with storage function. These projects were partially implemented on terraces or balconies and in flat shares or gardens.  The accompanying videos guarantee entertainment. 

Student film makers from the Faculty of Art and Design also invite visitors to take part in a new experience. Instead of the two evening screenings in the Audimax (Somernachtstape and the Media Reel), current short films from Media Art and Design and Visuelle Kommunikation will be shown under the title »Summer Reel« on Friday, 31. July starting at 9 pm. Animated films, documentaries, and playful music-oriented productions reflect the cinematic diversity of the Faculty of Art and Design and can be viewed via livestream.  Another new feature is the Publikumspreis (audience award): Viewers can vote online for their favourite film. Artistic assistant Lena Liberta and student Nadine Katschmarek will guide viewers throughout the event. 

»remote« Opening Programme 

The summaery2020 will open on Thursday, 30. July via livestream.  Prof. Dr. Winfried Speitkamp, President of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, will be giving a digital welcome to visitors at 5 pm. This will be followed by a programme featuring talks with a number of guests who will be discussing current topics while summaery opening projects are presented and livestreamed.  Music will be provided this year by new wave, synthpop band from Weimar, iULL. 

All information on summaery and the projects presented can be found at www.uni-weimar.de/summaery.

summaery2020
30. July until  2. August 2020
Opening:
Thursday 30. July 2020 5 pm to 7 pm