Culture Lab @Campus Germany

The German pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai presented itself as a hub of innovation and research, as CAMPUS GERMANY. The Culture Lab handled by VOSS+FISCHER and curated by Mike P. Hensel – a participatory culture programme whose spectrum presented the cultural diversity of Germany – was also based on its three laboratories: the Energy Lab, the Future City Lab and the Biodiversity Lab. In line with the theme of the Expo “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, it represented a platform for intercultural encounters.

Comprising six “sessions”, the Culture Lab brought together music, dance, visual arts, gaming, sport and science. Apart from up-and-coming talents, highlights included internationally known artists, personalities and acts.

The music sessions brought the German music scene and a multi-week musical programme onto the stage. During the dance sessions, formations such as “Together We Move” invited participants to join in the dancing. The Pavilion team and the ADTV‘s dance instructors also occasionally surprised the guests with a choreography conceived exclusively for CAMPUS GERMANY. Art projects and installations in combination with new technologies took up the theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” and provided insights into the works of up-and-coming artists.

During the games sessions, visitors of all ages were able to discover and try out the latest developments. The eSports day took place once a week, encouraging playing at the consoles. As part of the sports sessions, live transmissions of German sports events were offered and visitors could learn about German sports culture in quizzes. There were sports offers for children and young people, as well as urban street performances. Technologies and innovations from Germany were introduced during the science sessions by means of presentations, films or participatory experiments, allowing research, learning, trying out and discovering.