Susanne Stauch

social.transformation.system.design.research

ON GESTALTUNG lecture series | weißensee kunsthochschule berlin | Excellence Cluster “Matters of Activity” Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

“The capacity of Gestaltung is not reserved for design or the arts. It underlies all cognition and knowledge. The structures of our imaginative powers and the grammar of our thinking are based on the structures of our perception and the scope of our capacity for articulation and action. This lecture series will take a closer look at the origins of creativity and how the creative forces can be trained and renewed.” (Jörg Petruschat)

As part of the seminar “Theorien der Gestaltung” we have invited different representatives of a new and extended understanding of the design concept who open our perception towards the role and responsibility we step into as we become designers. It has been an honor to participate in making this lecture series happen and it has been a great eye and heart opener for all the participants.

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Designing Exit Strategies – weißensee kunsthochschule berlin

I am very delighted about the invitation by Prof. Jörg Petruschat to teach a design theory class of my own choice, so I am diving right into the purpose we have dedicated for our organisation Supernova Institute. Instead of being overwhelmed or paralysed by the complexity of the current global crisis, we are joining the quest for future-oriented solutions that take into account the well-being of all living species on our beautiful planet (humans, animals, plants).

This course is inviting the students to critically reflect the appropriateness and cost of the mindset, lifestyle and consumptional habits of the global north (aka. capitalism), and to learn about regenerative projects and attempts of living a more simple, reduced, local life focused around well-being and community. We will take off with scanning through relevant literature and theories, look at design methods and how to embed them meaningfully into the design process, using this to go through a couple of iterative design sprints to come up with first ideas and suggestions for future-oriented concepts of living consciously and intentionally interconnected.

See Project

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Blockchain for Culture Panel at Re:publica 2018

At this year’s Re:publica POP, I will debate together with Karim Chabrak (Coinsence), Peter Harris (Resonate), Kei Kreutler (Gnosis), and moderated by wonderful Ela Kagel (Supermarkt), about the impact blockchain already has and will have on our cultural and social structures, discussing topics like how to run a successful of coop, a systemic design approach, data-privacy and a new definition of development work. The way I see it: blockchain finally merges technology, design and spirituality and creates the next stage of consciousness. Don’t miss it!

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Talk at DGTF Conference, Halle Burg Giebichenstein

At this year’s conference of the German Foundation for Design Theory and Research I was invited to speak about the projects I conducted with the University of Arts Berlin in Nairobi, Kenya. In my talk I presented theses and conclusions I draw from the experience of the collaborative work we did there to address a more contemporary, just and realistic approach towards international development and how design could actually contribute towards this change.

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Project Lead for Nyendo.Lernen NGO

Starting in October I will take over the project management for the work with the CIFEFA schools in Kangemi and Kawangware, Nairobi, Kenya. The cooperation will be run through Supernova Institute as one of our coop’s pilot projects, trying to build networks both in Nairobi and within Africa connecting people from similar projects. Our first attempt is to implement urban gardening structures in a big co-creation workshop in early 2018, that have beed designed by participants of the Regenerate! project during my professorship Berlin University of Arts. I am super happy to join the team and hopefully will be able to create resourceful synergies!

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