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Photo: Studio Yukiko/HKW

Re-Imagining Quantum

As part of Berlin Science Week

Photo: Studio Yukiko/HKW

Re-Imagining Quantum

As part of Berlin Science Week

Date:

November 03, 2024, 2–3:30 p.m.

Venue:

Haus der Kulturen der Welt
Sylvia Winter Foyer
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
10557 Berlin

In English with simultaneous German translation.

The full program of Fertile Void can be found here.

Registration is not required.

The panel discussion on Re-Imagining Quantum, taking place on November 3 as part of the Berlin Science Week, offers a unique opportunity to appreciate interdisciplinary perspectives on quantum technology and its cultural references. Professionals from the arts and sciences will explore the question of how creative approaches can help integrate quantum technology into our daily lives, in order to promote wider social acceptance and use of this key technology.

“Quantum technology will change our future” – this sentence has become a maxim driving enormous investments in the technology’s development: By 2026, Germany wants to build a high-performance and internationally competitive quantum computer. Notwithstanding the belief in technological progress and the political will, the question remains how society is to gain access to this key technology: How can quantum technology be made a part of our everyday lives? How can we have a productive debate about this? How can we translate a technological discourse into a cultural asset that is widely understood, accepted, and used?

These questions will be discussed by artist Chloé Delarue and quantum physicist Dr. James Wootton. Delarue has gained a better understanding of highly complex technologies during her stays at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and ESO (European Southern Observatory) as part of the Simetría program and employs this knowledge for her artistic exploration of the relationship between humans and technology. Wootton is bringing quantum technology to computer games and is convinced that the public should have low-threshold access to quantum computing to be more open-minded about the technology. The conversation will be moderated by Tina Lorenz, head of the Hertzlab at ZKM in Karlsruhe.

The panel discussion takes place as part of Fertile Void at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) during Berlin Science Week. Fertile Void consists of a three-day event and a series of installation created by the artists-in-residence at Studio Quantum of the Goethe Institut. The aim is to explore synergies between quantum physics, art, culture, and old cosmologies.

Chloé Delarue

artist

Chloé Delarue is an artist whose work explores the aesthetic dimension of our affects through sculptures and installations. She establishes scenarios and hypotheses regarding how our emotions and perceptions are reconfigured as they become a material accessible to the computational modes of our existences. She studied visual art at Villa Arson (fr) and at HEAD-Geneva (ch). Her recent exhibitions include: Klöntal Triennale, Glaris (ch), 2024; Istituto Svizzero, Roma (it), 2024; Science Gateway, CERN, Geneva (ch), 2023; galerie frank elbaz, Paris (fr), 2023; HeK, Basel (ch), 2022. Chloé Delarue lives and works in Geneva (ch).

Dr. James Wootton

Quantum physicist, Chief Scientific Officer of Moth

Dr. James Wootton is the Chief Scientific Officer of Moth, a pioneering company bringing the power of quantum computing to the fingertips of musicians, gamers, and digital artists. After receiving his PhD from the University of Leeds, Wootton relocated to Switzerland to conduct postdoctoral research and lecture at the University of Basel. From 2018 to 2024, he developed quantum computing technology under the auspices of IBM Research, looking at gaming applications as well as research in quantum error correction.

Tina Lorenz

Head of the ZKM | Hertzlab

Tina Lorenz came of age in the Chaos Computer Club but went on to study theater studies and American literary history in Vienna and Munich. They were a lecturer for theater history at the Academy for Performing Arts Bavaria, later dramaturge at the Landestheater Oberpfalz and finally consultant for digital communication at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, before founding and leading the Digital Theatre department at the State Theatre of Augsburg from 2020 to 2023.

Tina Lorenz is a founding member of the hackspaces metalab Vienna and Binary Kitchen Regensburg. Since January 2024, they head the department of artistic research and development at Hertzlab, ZKM | Karlsruhe.