A week of research and teaching, learning and living (in the heart of) the museum: From 27 July to 1 August 2026, the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change” and the Institute of Cultural Anthropology/European Ethnology, are organising a one-week practical course on current topics and tasks of museums, in cooperation with the LWL-Freilichtmuseum Detmold (Westphalian State Museum of Everyday Culture). Participants will gain in-depth insights into the museum as a field of practice, a place of research, a collection and educational institution, and much more. Master’s students of cultural anthropology, history, art history and other courses in Department 8 (History/Philosophy) at the University of Münster are eligible to participate. The offer is also open to Master’s students of museum-related subjects and, where applicable, interested doctoral students from other universities. Registration deadline: 1 April 2026.

How does digitalisation change cultural participation of people with disabilities? Does it open up new ways of access, forms of expression, and spaces for self-determination – or does it create new barriers, standardisations, and exclusions? From 18 to 20 March 2026, the conference “Kulturelle Teilhabe im digitalen Wandel – Ethik, Ästhetik und Praxis des Zugangs zu kulturellen Gütern von Menschen mit Behinderungen” (“Cultural participation in the digital transformation – ethics, aesthetics and practice of access to cultural goods for people with disabilities”, in German) will adress these questions from ethical, aesthetic and practical perspectives. It brings together scientific, artistic and activist forms of knowledge and creates space for dialogue, reflection and joint practice.
The programme includes lectures, artistic contributions and participatory formats on topics such as universal design, inclusive design, ethical, legal and political frameworks, and media and technology-related perspectives. The event is aimed at researchers, students, cultural professionals, people with disabilities, representatives from politics, administration and civil society, as well as the interested public.

Prof. Dr. Reinold Schmücker, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Study, is a guest at the podcast “Digitalgespräch” hosted by the Centre Responsible Digitality (ZEVEDI) at the Technical University of Darmstadt. He talks about digital access to cultural goods. Valuable works of art and historical documents may be kept safe in special places to which the general public has access only under certain conditions – or not at all! If digital images capture what we consider essential about an interesting object, in many cases it is enough for us to look at this copy. And, as is expected in democratic societies, this should be as unobstructed as possible. Open access is the keyword here. In addition, digital processing goes beyond mere reproduction to create entirely new possibilities for access, which could even break down barriers to reception. However, the reality of digitality also includes software, hardware, and license agreements—which are subject to historical developments and decay processes and place power in the hands of private, global companies that operate according to their own rules. What does this mean for a contemporary sense of responsibility in the art and culture industry?

From 4 to 6 March 2026, the international conference “Digital Curating: Ethics of Access and Sustainability” addressed changes in curatorial practices in the wake of digital transformation and the resulting ethical, ecological and social challenges. Experts from museums, universities and cultural institutions discussed how digital technologies are expanding access to cultural heritage, challenging existing hierarchies and enabling new forms of participatory knowledge production. The focus was on questions of authenticity, representation and responsibility in dealing with digital artefacts, reproductions and virtual spaces. The possibilities and risks of artificial intelligence for curatorial processes and the ecological impact of digital infrastructures also were addressed. The aim of the conference was to open up perspectives on sustainable and equitable cultural access in the digital age and to bring together the aesthetic, ethical and ecological dimensions of globally networked cultural practice.

The Wikipedia Edit-a-thon workshop will take place from 27 February 2026 to 1 March 2026 at ZKM Karlsruhe. The workshop is a joint project of the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change”, the Center for Art and Media | ZKM Karlsruhe, and Wikimedia Germany. Who decides which artists are seen – and which receive little attention? Social media plays a role, but the most important and reliable source of information on the internet remains Wikipedia. This is where knowledge is created that is read and used worldwide. At the second edit-a-thon at ZKM Karlsruhe, students can actively help to shape this knowledge and help to give media artists greater visibility online.

On 21 February 2026, the Centre for Advanced Study welcomed Atsuki Morishima as a new Junior Fellow. He is a  is a researcher in philosophy at the Graduate School of Humanities at Osaka University (Japan), specialising in legal and political philosophy. His research focusses primarily on the legitimacy of norms and the public sphere. Morishima's particular interest is in the further change of the public sphere due to digitalisation, and the significance of this for the legitimacy of norms.

The conference “Strukturwandel des Publikums? Konsequenzen des digitalen Wandels für den Zugang zum Theater” (“Structural transformation of the audience? Consequences of digital change for access to theatre”, in German) from 5 to 7 February 2026 focused on the transformation of theatre in the present day. Audiences and performers no longer always share the same physical space; immediate co-presence is being transformed by digital formats. Theatre streaming, hybrid performances, immersive spaces and interactive performances are changing the relationship between stage and audience and also raise the question who makes theatre – and for whom. How is digital transformation changing the conditions of access to theatre, opening up new opportunities for participation and posing potential challenges? How are the aesthetics and social functions of theatre changing, and what are the consequences for the relationship between stage and audience? Does theatre still represent an independent art form alongside film and gaming?

On 26 January 2026, Prof. Dr. Nosheen Fatima Warraich (Lahore/Pakistan) gave her Fellow Lecture on the topic of “Ethical and Responsible Use of AI in Research and Information Science”. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how we conduct research, manage data, and share knowledge. While its potential to boost efficiency and innovation is clear, it also raises crucial ethical questions that researchers and information professionals must thoughtfully address. The lecture discussed how AI tools influence data collection, organization, discovery, and decision-making, as well as the risks they bring – such as bias, misinformation, privacy concerns, and the loss of human judgment. By reflecting on real-world examples, participants learned how to identify and address these ethical challenges while making the most of AI’s capabilities.

On 22 January 2026, Prof. Dr. Nosheen Fatima Warraich, Senior Fellow of the Centre for Advanced Study and Professor at the Institute of Information Management, University of the Punjab in Lahore (Pakistan), gave a lecture for students on the topic of “Mastering the Art of Systematic Literature Review – Techniques, Tools, and Best Practices” at the University Library of FernUniversität Hagen. The lecture is available as a video.
 

The Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change” and the pilot phase “Digitisation and Provision of (Still) Copyright-Protected Objects”, both funded by the German Research foundation (DFG), are joining forces to improve access to digital cultural content. Through joint publications, workshops, and research grants, the partners aim to leverage potential for cooperation. The two initiatives complement each other seamlessly in their respective objectives, thus opening up the field of digital access to cultural heritage from legal, ethical, and curatorial perspectives.
 

On 15 January 2025, Sebastian Freytag gave a guest lecture on the topic of “Vorstellung / Nachstellung. Künstlerische Rekonstruktion einer Ausstellung” (“Presentation / Re-enactment. Artistic Reconstruction of an Exhibition”). The lecture focused on the artistic reconstruction of the so-called “Vorgartenausstellung” of 1964, an unconventional action by artists Konrad Lueg, Manfred Kuttner, Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter in front of the Parnass Gallery in Wuppertal in 1964. In an installation conceived for the Von der Heydt Museum and modified for ZADIK, the KONSORTIUM group approached this historical event on the basis of photographs and archive documents. Freytag showed how processes of repetition and re-enactment give rise to new perspectives on art-historical narratives. The lecture provided insight into an artistic practice that does not preserve history, but rather creates new approaches to groundbreaking events in art history through contemporary forms of aesthetic and institutional engagement.

On 13 January 2026, the Centre for Advanced Study welcomed Prof. Dr. Nosheen Fatima Warraich as a new Senior Fellow. She is a Professor at the Institute of Information Management (IIM), University of the Punjab in Lahore (Pakistan), where she currently also serves as the Director of the Women’s Development Centre. Her research focusses primarily on issues of information management, human information behaviour, and AI applications in knowledge systems. She also advances these issues through various engagements with the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T).

On 12 January 2026, Prof. Dr. Annette Gilbert gave her Fellow Lecture on the topic of “‘We believe this work is culturally important’ – Reprints im Spannungsfeld von Merkantilisierung und Gemeinnutz“ (“‘We believe this work is culturally important’ – Reprints in the field of tension between commercialisation and public benefit”). The lecture focused on the contemporary reprint industry, which claims to be committed to cultural heritage and has made it its mission to make it (re)accessible. However, this noble cause all too often conceals a business model that takes advantage of the mass retro-digitisation driven by Google & Co., which has made countless public domain works available again, allowing them to be (re)commercialised with little effort. In doing so, they are not only profiting from the fruits of others’ labour. Given the lack of quality control in fully automated production processes, they also damage the works they claim to be saving.

Prof. Dr. Ursula Frohne and Prof. Dr. Reinold Schmücker, the directors of the Centre for Advanced Study, are guests on the “RadiHum – Digital Humanities Podcast” (in German). As part of the series “Barriers, obstacles and opportunities for participation in the digital humanities”, they talk about the topic of “Access to cultural goods in the digital sphere”. The discussion focuses on so-called second-order access conditions (such as proprietary software, license conditions, or infrastructural decisions made by large companies) security and authenticity in the digital space, digital barrier poverty, and case studies on human rights and ethical aspects. From minute 33:33, listeners learn more about the everyday work of the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change”.