As one of the largest post-extractivist lignite mining sites in Europe, Lusatia – a region in the borderlands of Germany, Poland, and Czech Republic – is paradigmatic for the cultural, ecological, and political complexities of energy transition. Because much of its economy and sociocultural life clustered around the mining business, the steady phasing out of fossil fuels creates a vacuum that is being filled with new imaginaries for environmental and social change. Renaturated landscapes that preserve cultural and natural heritages, mining pits turned lakes to boost tourism, green hydrogen production at scale to form Germany’s clean energy hub – Lusatia is rife with competing and overlapping visions for a future that has yet to materialize.

The research studio will investigate this tipping point – from vision to materialization – by exploring the premises and promises of Lusatia’s energy transition, the actors that shape its technological development, and the environmental and social conditions and repercussions of possible future infrastructures. At this crucial point the conference looks to ask: How do imaginaries of the energy transition shape our present and how can we engage with and intervene in these imaginaries through our scholarly and artistic practice?

In order to participate in the research studio, please send your CV, portfolio (if applicable) and a short motivation letter (one page) elaborating on your background, research interests and connection to the theme of Extractive Pasts, Sustainable Futures? Documents should be submitted in one PDF file (5MB max) no later than 15.12.23 to

Find out more about the event here