The “hidden” gardens of the Arab and Christian cultural area were places where beauty was staged as a symbol and path towards something lying beyond. Interweaving between Orient and Occident, we embark on an intercultural journey to discover the form and effectiveness of beauty – by looking “back” with the Ancient Orientalist scholar Walter Sommerfeld, and looking “ahead” to current scientific insights with the neurocognitive psychologist Rasha Abdel Rahman (invited). A baroque harp, Persian art songs, and contemporary electronics combine to form a musical East-West divan traveling through cultures and centuries.

Moreover, what is “beauty” when applied to human relationships, to society, to nature and the future? Could it unfold a new dynamics and productive power in the social realm?