The new track, in one month. From 12,000 EUR.

Process.

1. Discussion: technology, team, desired outcome (object, application or story), timeframe, location.
2. Curation: FUNKEN suggests two or three artists. You have a say in the decision.
3. Kick-off with the suitcase: Your team packs materials, tools, images and traces of everyday life, whilst the artist brings their own creative input.
4. Four weeks: The artist works at your company or laboratory, in tandem with your team, following the FUNKEN Kolleg model. Weekly reflection with the Creative Catalyst.
5. Public showing, at your premises, at FUNKEN or at a partner’s venue.
6. Handover: documentation, images, an object or application, rights of use, and a discussion about what might come next.

What emerges. Reliably: an object, an application or a story as a finished result; a public presentation; documentation – as illustrated by the ‘FUNKEN Kolleg’ catalogue for five collaborations. Possibly: a prototype and a technical question that nobody had asked before. In our collaborations, we have time and again seen how the artists’ questions became fixed points around which the teams organised their work. This has given rise to new ideas, communication strategies, demonstrators for trade fairs, and in some cases new developments and access to new markets. Change stems from experiments that generate ideas before a technology is fully developed. Those who simply buy the solution miss out on the journey.

What you provide. A dedicated point of contact, access to technology, a laboratory or workshop for four weeks, time for weekly reflection, and a venue or a date for the showing.

Price and services. From 12,000 EUR. Included: fee, Creative Catalyst, production up to a specified limit, showing, documentation. Not included: production exceeding the specified limit, travel outside the region. The artwork remains with the artist; you are granted a right of use for exhibition and communication; all content is non-exclusive unless otherwise agreed. Technical specifications are agreed on a project-by-project basis. The object for the trade fair as a separate commission: 8,000 to 15,000 EUR depending on production costs, with an option to purchase. Capacity for 2027: four to six collaborations.

Reference. Pinpoint, based in Chemnitz, builds indoor positioning systems. At the FUNKEN Kolleg 2025, the company spent four weeks working with Matthias Millhoff (embeat), Frederike Moormann, Lefteris Krysalis and Diana Karle on the question of what can make movement in a space audible. Result: ‘Rattling landscapes, humming engines’ – a walk-in sound archive of Chemnitz’s automotive history, triggered by visitors’ footsteps – and a prototype that Pinpoint subsequently refined. Five months later, the company showcased the second iteration at the Maschinenbauhalle on Gießerstraße: Vox Ex Machina, head-tracked spatial audio with indoor geolocation, available as a smartphone app. The technology did not exist prior to the collaboration. One year after the Kolleg, Pinpoint now lists museums as a dedicated field of application. “The collaboration was a bit like a playground for finding out what our technology is truly capable of,” Ian Jagiella, Pinpoint GmbH. → Results: Vox Ex Machina, FUNKEN Kolleg, Catalogue 2025