Shared Habitats: Interdisciplinary Artistic Practices from the Contemporary Bauhaus

Shared Habitats: Interdisciplinary Artistic Practices from the Contemporary Bauhaus  promotional image

Join us for a conversation on interdisciplinary artistic practices featuring faculty from the Media Art & Design program at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in Germany, followed by an audience Q&A and a reception with light refreshments.

This program aligns with Hydrocommons: A Bauhaus-UIowa Collaboration (September 21–25), a new partnership between the two schools’ art programs. During their week-long visit to the School of Arts, Art History, and Design, the three artists will lead studio sessions in Sculpture & Intermedia on artistic practices in wetland ecologies, including hands-on visit to a local Iowa River wetland.

Speakers:

  • Ursula Damm

  • Kerstin Ergenzinger

  • Mindaugas Gapševičius
    Faculty of the Media Art & Design program at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany

Moderator:

  • Elizabeth McTernan
    Assistant Professor and Head of Sculpture & Intermedia at the School of Art, Art History, and Design at the University of Iowa

About the Artists:

Ursula Damm is a German artist whose work combines sculpture, technology, and interactive environments to explore the relationships between humans, animals, and living systems. Through installations that draw on computer science, ecology, and social structures, she creates spaces that encourage new ways of understanding the connections between nature and technology. Her work has been exhibited internationally at museums, galleries, and major media arts festivals.

Kerstin Ergenzinger is a sonic and visual artist and Professor of Acoustic Ecologies and Sound Studies at Bauhaus University Weimar. Working across sound, sculpture, movement, light, and drawing, her practice investigates how people perceive and connect with complex environmental systems. Her recent work focuses on translating environmental and climate data into immersive artistic experiences that foster awareness of the natural world.

Mindaugas Gapševičius is a Lithuanian artist and researcher whose work explores the intersection of creativity, technology, biology, and environmental processes. Through interdisciplinary projects and experimental research initiatives, he investigates the relationships between humans, non-human agents, and ecological systems. His work has been presented internationally at leading media arts festivals, museums, and research platforms.

Hydrocommons: A Bauhaus–UIowa Collaboration is generously funded by the Global Research Partnership Award from the Stanley-UI Foundation Support Organization (co-PIs: Steve McGuire and Elizabeth McTernan); UI School of Art, Art History, and Design; and the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies.

Wednesday, September 23, 2026 2:30pm to 4:00pm
Stanley Museum of Art
160 West Burlington Street, Iowa City, IA 52242
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Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Stanley Museum of Art in advance at 319-335-1727 or stanley-museum@uiowa.edu.