The Kiss Lab is a participatory art and encounter format that explores physical closeness, touch, and nonverbal communication as social and cultural practices. The event creates a temporary space where visitors become co-creators of a collective performance. The project is carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, which oversees and coordinates the academic support and documentation. In a thoughtfully curated setting combining spatial installation, music, film, and performance, closeness is made tangible as a positively charged normality in public space. The project combines performance art, consense culture, sound art, and visual anthropology into a fleeting yet enduring work of art that permeates everyday social life through the bodies of the participants.

• News from the Kiss Lab

  If you have questions about the project, please contact annika.strauss[at]uni-muenster.de. 

• Project phases and dates

  From April to July the focus is on preparation, conceptualisation, and team‑building. In August and September the recruitment of participants and outreach to the public take place. The main event is held in November, followed by a post‑production phase from December through February 27. During this final phase the team and participants reflect on the work and organise a public film screening with a subsequent discussion.

  Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 6pm: First team meeting in the B-ratungsraum at B-Side.

  Thursday, July 2, 2026, 2-4pm: Creating a consensus-oriented, diversity-sensitive, and trauma-informed “Accountability Space” in
  practical projects, student presentation (German), Institute of Ethnology, seminar room, open to members of the Kiss Lab team

  Wednesday, July 8, 2026, 5pm: Team Preparation Workshop

  Tuesday, July 14, 2026, 12am-2pm: “The Kiss – A Cross-Cultural Perspective”, student presentation (English), Institute of Ethnology, seminar room, open to members of the Kiss Lab team

  Friday, October 16, 2026, 5 pm: Interactive lecture: Transformative potential of artistic research

  Sunday, November 8, 2026: “Kiss Lab” event