Witten/Herdecke University transforms itself into a digital playing field

Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) and artist Julie C. Stamm are inviting you to a special artistic event on campus: they are transforming the forecourt on Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße into a walk-in playing field on 18 September from 12:45 to 14:15. Citizens of the city of Witten and anyone else who is interested can take part in this so-called "tunnel bingo".

For the game, the artist mixes data from different sources - such as historical maps and dance movement notations - in such a way that their origin is no longer clearly recognisable. Participants experience the consequences of training an artificial intelligence with data sets whose origin is not clearly traceable and which could be distorted, outdated, incomplete or prejudiced. In this way, the game combines a view of today's digital challenges with historical, local structures.

Game shows how data distortions can have an impact

Equipped with digital playing cards, the players embark on an extraordinary exploration tour: a map navigates them across the campus along a route based both on spatial paths of historical dance choreographies and on maps of old drainage tunnels in Witten; the result is a playful approach to the location and its history. At the same time, the performance invites visitors to trace the effect of data distortions in their own bodies - and thus forms the starting point for a subsequent discussion.

• Meeting point: University forecourt (Alfred-Herrenhausen-Straße 48, 58455 Witten) at 12:45 p.m.
• Participation fees: Participation is free of charge. No previous knowledge is required.
• Prerequisite: To take part in the game, participants need a smartphone and must scan a QR code. Detailed information will be provided on site.
• Registration: Please send a short informal registration by email to theresa.busse@uni-wh.de.

After the game, all those interested can share their personal impressions and reflect on how data gaps arise in everyday life. They will then transfer what they have experienced to health research: How and why do data gaps arise there? What opportunities do digital and artistic approaches offer for new perspectives and what solutions can be derived from them?

The artistic action thus connects the sensory experience with the thematic focus of the GENESIS-DH Summer School(Gender Equity in Clinical Studis through Innovations and Solutions in Digital Health), which will take place at the UW/H from 16-18 September 2025. It is organised by the Junior Professorship of Digital Health in cooperation with the Chair of Health Informatics and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. The artistic action "Tunnel Bingo" was conceived in cooperation with the Chair of Digital Arts and Cultural Mediation. 
 

About the artist

Julie C. Stamm is a freelance contemporary artist and dancer and is currently a "Digital Fellow" in the Wittener Kulturforum's No end to the road programme. Her work operates at the interface of choreography, neuroaesthetics - the neurobiological foundations of aesthetic sensations - and computational arts, a form of digital art. She explores parallels between data, code and movement and develops collaborative, site-specific works that combine digital and physical spaces. The starting point is often games or so-called Impossible Tasks. Stamm has also worked with brain-computer interfaces that translate brain signals into control signals for technical devices, thus combining dance with neuroscience. Her artistic practice centres on the question: "How can we (mis)use technology and the digital in such a way that it brings us closer to our own bodies again?"