»Field Trip« residency program

»Field Trip« – a transdisciplinary residency program between Akademie Schloss Solitude and Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Akademie Schloss Solitude together with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB), Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies (EAS) have established a residency program to foster interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and perspectives between the arts and sciences. Since 2022, »Field trip« offers an adventure of going to a new place, an experience of being in a different environment and an opportunity to experiment with ideas. The philosophy of this exchange is to motivate practices of mutual knowledge creation and dissemination through the lens of multiple epistemologies and different perspectives.

Idea of the bilateral residency program

The unique program offers artists the opportunity to engage with the researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and participate in everyday routines of scientific research. Selected fellows are invited to join scientists from the Department EAS on a six-week »Field Trip« to their working site. For the duration of the residency, the fellow has the status of a guest researcher and the chance to interact with scientists, attend daily field work and to be part of group discussions. As a continuation of the artistic-scientific exchange, a researcher from the Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies together with the fellow spends six weeks at Akademie Schloss Solitude. Since its inception, the »Field trip« collaboration has manifested through a diverse range of transdisciplinary projects, exchange formats, and events at Akademie Schloss Solitude and at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.

The third iteration of this exchange taking place in 2024, marks a new chapter in the collaboration. Selected fellows join the team of project MELA. The research group studies a rare mating behavior in mammals called lekking, which is specific to a population of Blackbuck antelopes living in Tal Chhapar Sanctuary in Rajasthan/India.

Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies

Established in 2019, the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) works closely with the University of Konstanz to gain new insights into three main topics: collective behavior, migration patterns and ecology of animal societies. MPI-AB is also part of the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour established at the University of Konstanz. Researchers at the institute focus on a wide range of species from insects to birds, fish and mammals, both in the lab and in the natural settings using cutting-edge tracking technologies, data analysis and visualization techniques. The host, the Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies (EAS) aims to investigate the question »How do animal societies emerge and function?«.

Besuch des MPI-Abs Besucherzentrum MaxCine mit Stipendiat*innen der Akademie Foto: Theo Ferreira Gomes
Akademie Schloss Solitude, Winterfest 2023
Blackbuck antelopes in the Tal Chahhapar Sanctuary in India, photo: Vivek Hari Sridhar
Somatic workshop »Animals That Are Missing« by fellowship holder Neda Kovinic as part of the »Vital Currencies« event in May 2023, photo: Jana Hochdorfer