The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) is launching “EINS – Science * Nature * Society”, an artistic science communication project in Eberswalde and Angermünde. Science does not always need to be explained. It can also be made visible, audible and directly experienced. Through this project, an artistic approach to science communication brings people from Eberswalde and the Uckermark into contact with one another, with nature and with scientific questions. The project is funded as part of the “Science and Me” competition organised by the Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture (MWFK).

The focus is on so-called chlorophyll prints by Berlin-based artist Charlotte Thömmes: portraits of local residents are created using sunlight on plant leaves. Under controlled lighting conditions, images are formed directly within the leaf – without any chemical development, solely through the interaction of light and the plant. In this way, a scientific process becomes an artistic experience.

People from the region become part of the artwork themselves. During public photo sessions, portraits are taken and subsequently transferred onto the leaves of regional plant species. In exhibitions in Eberswalde and Angermünde, the works are later presented as a collective portrait of society – complemented by tactile objects, smells and sounds, and special event formats. 

The plant world plays a special role in this. In Eberswalde, as a forest town and a historically established centre for forestry education and research, the forest links regional identity with current issues of sustainability, transformation and social responsibility. The chlorophyll prints make this connection tangible in a sensory way: recognising human faces in plant leaves opens up a pathway to questions about the connection between people, nature and science, sustainability, transience and cohesion.

The project is being implemented in two regions: in Eberswalde and in the Uckermark (Angermünde), there in cooperation with the Schwedt | Uckermark branch. The exhibitions will be on display at the Eberswalde Forest Botanical Garden and at the Alte Apotheke in Angermünde. 

“EINS – Science * Nature * Society” builds on earlier Science-meets-Art formats by the HNEE funded by the MWFK, including “HNEE Storytelling – the sustainability soap opera from Eberswalde” and “Once upon a time… The Eberswalde University Fairy Tale Book”. The current project continues the dialogue between science and society. 

Dates in Eberswalde

Photo opportunity
Saturday, 6 June 2026
as part of the University Information Day and Waldstadt Festival on the city campus and city festival

Exhibition of chlorophyll prints
: Friday 18 September to Sunday 27 September 2026
, Greenhouse, Eberswalde Forest Botanical Garden

Events in Angermünde / Uckermark

Photo opportunity
: Saturday, 20 June 2026
as part of the Angermünde Town Festival

Exhibition of chlorophyll prints
Friday 21 August to Sunday 30 August 2026
Old Pharmacy, Angermünde