NRW Academy: Brain Research, Media Art, and Literature in Dialogue
“Between Image and Language – Thinking in the Telematic Society” – under this title, the NRW Academy of Sciences and Arts in Düsseldorf invited guests on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, to an evening of lectures and discussion. After an opening talk by Professor Katrin Amunts, an extended conversation followed, featuring the neuroscientist herself along with the writer Marion Poschmann and media theorist Professor Siegfried Zielinski. The evening was moderated by Mischa Kuball, artist and professor of media art.
In her lecture, Academy member Katrin Amunts highlighted key stages in the development of brain research since the early 20th century: from the early mappings by Korbinian Brodmann and the research couple Cécile and Oskar Vogt and their efforts to represent the complexity of their findings in both language and image, to the modern methods of 3D imaging, and the profound transformations currently being triggered by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in neuroscience.
In the following discussion with Siegfried Zielinski and Marion Poschmann, the relationship between visual and linguistic representation was explored from the perspectives of the natural sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Once again, the influence of generative AI shaped the debate.
The event was part of the supporting program of the NRW Academy’s 2025 annual exhibition, which was co-curated by Mischa Kuball. Under the title “überZeichnung,” 25 Academy members contributed sketches and working notes from their ongoing projects.
The exhibition remains open until Friday, December 12, 2025, at the Academy’s building (Palmenstraße 16, 40217 Düsseldorf). On display are pencil drawings and manuscripts, but also formats such as 3D prints, imprints, digital visualizations, and examples of AI-assisted drawing.