In June 2026 I worked as technical lead for Reclaiming Data - Art and Memory in the Age of Digital Archives, a symposium and exhibition at Flutgraben e.V. in Berlin.

The project brought together artists, researchers, students, and cultural institutions to examine how artificial intelligence, digital archives, and data infrastructures are changing collective memory. The symposium ran from 12 to 13 June 2026, while the exhibition remained open from 12 to 21 June 2026. The official programme framed the central questions clearly: how do digital archives shape what is remembered, what is rewritten, and what disappears? The event moved between keynote, screening, workshops, panels, performance, and exhibition, so the technical setup had to support both discursive and spatial formats.

My Role

My role covered the practical and technical layer that made the symposium and exhibition work in the space. I was responsible for technical planning, curation planning support, installation, videography, photography, and live technical operation throughout the symposium.

During the public programme I handled the technical work for the stage, lighting, and projection. For the exhibition setup, I worked on the installation together with the artists and my colleague Fang Tsai.

The work moved across several modes:

• planning the technical requirements before the event
• supporting the translation of curatorial decisions into spatial and technical setups
• installing exhibition works in the venue
• handling stage, lighting, and projection during the symposium
• documenting the event through video and photography
• staying available for technical changes during the run

Working Across Formats

What made Reclaiming Data technically interesting was the variety of formats packed into a short period. A keynote, film screening, aftertalk, workshops, panels, roundtable, live performance, and exhibition each require a different rhythm from the room.

For a symposium, the technical system should disappear when it works. Speakers need to be heard clearly, projections need to be readable, transitions need to stay calm, and the room should not feel like it is waiting for equipment. For an exhibition, the same technical layer becomes part of the spatial experience. Projection, lighting, screens, cables, and timing all affect how the work is read.

That meant the job was not only to connect equipment, but to keep the structure flexible enough for artists, speakers, moderators, and visitors to move through the programme without unnecessary friction.

Exhibition And Collaboration

The exhibition extended the symposium’s questions into the space of Flutgraben e.V. The official programme included artistic positions by Nora Al-Badri, Juan Covelli, Egor Kraft, Yagmur Uckunkaya / Artur Cipriani, Minne Atairu, Nouf Aljowaysir, and a live performance by Jiawen Wang.

Installing the exhibition required close attention to each work’s needs while also keeping the whole room coherent. I worked with the artists and with Fang Tsai on the practical installation process, balancing the technical requirements of individual works with the larger flow of the exhibition.

Credits

Reclaiming Data was a collaboration by DOCKdigital, New Practice / Design & Computation, and Körber-Stiftung’s eCommemoration programme. It was supported by Technologiestiftung Berlin as part of kulturBdigital and by Burg Hülshoff - Center for Literature. The project was curated by Jonny-Bix Bongers.

Official project page: Reclaiming Data - Art and Memory in the Age of Digital Archives