Spectral Dialogues

a chance to step directly into the world of light-based science. Surrounded by researchers and engineers, you’ll explore how photonics — the science of light — can inspire new materials, forms, and ideas for your creative practice. In this collaborative space, experimentation is encouraged: unexpected intersections between art and science can lead to striking visual concepts, interactive installations, or entirely new ways of perceiving light. Beyond the creative exchange, you’ll also meet like-minded collaborators and potential partners for future projects, exhibitions, or interdisciplinary ventures. Please consider: You do not need to have any prior knowledge about photonics or physics at all. There will be experts of all kind to help you take a dip into this research area, explain certain aspects and answer any open questions.

provides an opportunity to experience your research through a completely different lens. Collaborating with artists and designers can open new pathways for innovation, communication, and creativity — helping you see familiar problems in unfamiliar ways. By translating complex scientific ideas into tangible experiences or artworks, you’ll explore how science can connect with the public on emotional and sensory levels. The event is also a space to exchange knowledge, build networks across disciplines, and develop new ways of presenting and communicating research results.

If you’re passionate about making science accessible, this hackathon offers a living laboratory for creative communication. You’ll witness and participate in the transformation of complex photonics concepts into engaging, sensory experiences — an invaluable opportunity to observe how stories about science are built through artistic collaboration. It’s a chance to connect with both researchers and artists who share your enthusiasm for curiosity-driven exchange, and to gather inspiration for future communication formats, from installations and performances to interactive media and storytelling.