Research projects

The Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD) at the Technical University of Berlin and the Schering Foundation are happy to announce the Berlin-based artist duo kennedy+swan as BIFOLD Artists in Residence 2024/2025. Until June 2025, kennedy+swan will collaborate with BIFOLD researchers as part of the “Art of Entanglement” Artist in Residence program, which aims to bridge artistic and scientific perspectives on artificial intelligence. The artists will receive a total of €30,000 to realize a project of their choice, which will be showcased in a public exhibition at the “UNI_versum” at TU Berlin in June 2025.

“These eight months give us the exciting opportunity to work with the brilliant minds at BIFOLD, exploring the intersections of art, technology, and artificial intelligence. We look forward to expanding our artistic practice in new ways and pushing the boundaries of what creativity can mean in the digital age,” said the duo. Founded in 2013, kennedy+swan is the collaborative art practice of Bianca Kennedy and Swan Collective. Their work explores the future of non-human intelligence and its impact on plants, animals, machines, and humans. By envisioning utopias that transcend human dominance, they highlight the ecological benefits of hybrid life forms and examine the complex relationship between humanity and biotechnology.

They create immersive video, VR, and AR installations that blur the boundaries between analog and digital worlds through animation techniques such as drawings, stereoscopic films, 3D-scanned landscapes, and custom characters. The duo investigates the impacts of artificial intelligence on society and ecology, aligning perfectly with the residency's mission. As Berlin-based artists working at the interface of technology, data science, and creative practice, kennedy+swan embody the innovative spirit the “Art of Entanglement” residency seeks to promote.

kennedy+swan will work closely with BIFOLD researchers, merging scientific insights with artistic expression to explore various dimensions of artificial intelligence. This fusion of art and science will culminate in a public exhibition at the “UNI_versum” at TU Berlin.

The second round of the residency program, “Art of Entanglement,” constitutes the partnership between BIFOLD and the Schering Foundation. The artists were selected by a jury of renowned experts in art and science, led by the Schering Foundation. The jury included BIFOLD directors Prof. Dr. Volker Markl and Prof. Dr. Klaus-Robert Müller, along with curators Clara Herrmann, head of the Junge Akademie at the Academy of the Arts, and Clara Meister, director of the Hoffmann Collection.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with kennedy+swan and the Schering Foundation. In the first residency, we already witnessed how stimulating and inspiring the combination of artistic work and fundamental research can be. In the subsequent exhibition, several thousand people took the opportunity to engage with the topic of artificial intelligence in a unique way. We are excited to build on this and look forward to developing the residency together,” said the BIFOLD directors, Prof. Dr. Volker Markl and Prof. Dr. Klaus-Robert Müller.

“kennedy+swan’s innovative work embodies the creative exchange between art and science that our foundation promotes. Their collaboration with BIFOLD researchers will open new perspectives on artificial intelligence, enriching the scientific discourse and inspiring societal engagement with technology. We warmly congratulate kennedy+swan on their residency and eagerly anticipate the creative ideas that will arise from this exchange,” added Dr. Katja Naie, Executive Director of the Schering Foundation.

The Berlin-based BIFOLD research center was established in 2019 from two predecessor projects and has been permanently funded by the state of Berlin and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research since July 1, 2022. It conducts agile fundamental research at the intersections of Big Data Management (BM) and Machine Learning (ML), the main drivers of innovation in artificial intelligence applications.

The Schering Foundation supports the life sciences, contemporary art, and scientific and cultural education. Its focus lies on projects at the intersection of science and art. The foundation is active in developing its own projects and programs, which it implements independently or in partnership with other organizations. Founded in 2002 by the Schering AG, Berlin, the independent, non-profit foundation has an endowment of €35 million.

Further information:
Katharina Jung
BIFOLD – Head of Communications
Tel.: 030 314-70851
Email: katharina.jung@tu-berlin.de

Dr. Katja Naie
Vorständin
Schering Stiftung
Tel.: 030 20622962
Email: press@scheringstiftung.de