Stone Techno Symposium

Before the music begins, we invite you to explore the deeper layers beneath Stone Techno.

On July 9, one day before the festival opens, geologist and Stone Techno co-founder Achim G. Reisdorf and biochemist Carsten Berndt welcome guests, especially visitors of the festival, to the first Stone Techno Symposium at UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein.

The symposium brings together researchers, museum experts and cultural practitioners to explore the unique conditions that made Stone Techno possible. Through a series of talks and discussions, participants will journey across geological, biological, historical and cultural timescales, uncovering the forces that shaped the Ruhr region and Zollverein itself, as well as our stone-/mineral-based life.

Topics include:
• The Science of behind Stone Techno
• Coal, Water, Life
• Sonic Stones
• Minerals of Life
• Toxicity of Minerals
• Stones in Contemporary Art
• Exchange & Discussion

Programme

13:30
Dr. Achim G. Reisdorf (Ruhr Museum, Essen)
The Science of Stone Techno

14:00
Prof. Sonja Rückert & Prof. Alexander Probst (University of Duisburg-Essen)
From Coal to Clear Water: Life Within Rocks

15:00
Julia Zanke
Sonic Stones

15:30
Break

16:00
Prof. Jan Riemer (University of Cologne) & Dr. Carsten Berndt (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Minerals of Life

17:00
Prof. Julia Bornhorst (University of Wuppertal)
Toxicity of Minerals

17:30
Dr. Kerstin Flasche (University of Duisburg-Essen)
Stones and Minerals in Contemporary Art

18:00
Open Discussion & Exchange

Experts from universities, museums and research institutions have been invited to share their perspectives on the importance of stones and minerals for local landscape, industry and society, but also for life in general. The symposium will provide a stone-based view on history, science, and art. Together, these interconnected narratives reveal how a former industrial complex became a contemporary meeting place for culture and creativity—and ultimately the home of Stone Techno.

More than a conference, the Stone Techno Symposium is an invitation to reflect on time, place and connection. It offers a space to engage with the deeper histories embedded in the festival grounds and to explore the relationships between people, technology, culture and the natural world.

Join us for a day of curiosity, dialogue and discovery before the festival begins.

Venue: Ruhr Museum, Kokskohlenbunker (Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex)
Kokskohlenbunker A16 - Google Maps
Free admission.
No registration required.