Panel discussion about Rare Earths
To mark the artistic intervention “Seltene Erden - 17 Fragmente"(Rare Earths – 17 Fragments) by Philine Rinnert, the Netzwerk Naturwissen will open a temporary excavation site on May 5th, 2026, in collaboration with the artist, at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. The work focuses on so-called Rare Earths: a group of 17 metals that are central components of digital technologies and the energy transition. The intervention explores the material, political and epistemic dimensions of these raw materials and examines what becomes visible and what remains invisible within global contexts of production and knowledge.
The accompanying panel discussion on May 5th at 6 pm will address these questions from various perspectives. The focus will be on the role of rare earths in the past, present and future: their significance for technological innovation and economic development, as well as challenges relating to sustainability, recycling and resource use. Geopolitical dependencies, global supply chains and the environmental and social consequences of their extraction will also be discussed.
Furthermore, the focus will be on questions of visibility and invisibility: Which material foundations of our digital and energy infrastructure remain hidden in everyday life? Which political and economic dynamics shape our perception of them? And what role can cultural institutions play in highlighting these connections and bringing them up for discussion?
Last but not least, a museum perspective is also brought into the discussion: what does it mean to address raw materials such as rare earths in a natural history museum? What connections exist with museum practices of collecting, organising and displaying – and how can the material, ecological and political dimensions of such substances be addressed in the exhibition space?
The panel discussion is conceived as an open, multi-perspective forum bringing together diverse experiences and viewpoints from the worlds of academia, business, politics, journalism, art and museum practice.
Following the discussion, the exhibition will be opened.
On the panel:
- Simone Ehrenberg-Silies (Consultant, Institute for Innovation and Technology)
- Ursula Klein (History of Science scholar, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science)
- Franziska Lederer (Head of the BioKollekt research group at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf)
- Andreas Pietsch (Managing Director of Noble Elements)
- Sebastian Tappe (Professor of Ore Deposits & Petrology at TU Freiberg)
Moderation: Stephanie Rohde (Deutschlandfunk)