Jule Hillgärtner studied theatre, film, and media studies, as well as art education, in Frankfurt. In retrospect, she sees this particular combination as having provided her with an ideal foundation for the work she does today. Her approach to contemporary art has always been an expansive one, with her practice encompassing performative and participatory elements, as well as art education. At the same time, however, she has always been keenly aware that art has a tendency to be associated with a certain degree of academic detachment. Yet in her view, it is possible for contemporary art to be complex and intellectually rigorous without coming across as unapproachable or inaccessible. ‘The fact that I place so much emphasis on education has a great deal to do with my own personal background—with the fact that I grew up in a decidedly non-academic household’, she explains. ‘That’s why I always strive to act as a kind of mediator, so that I can help make contemporary art more accessible.’

She looks back on her time as a student with great fondness and enthusiasm, as well as the numerous projects to which she contributed and the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Frankfurt—a place she describes as having been particularly influential for both her and her work. It was also there that she first discovered her love of photography. A subsequent exhibition she would go on to co-curate with Andreas Bee at the MMK in 2001 played a decisive role in determining the topic of her Master’s thesis, which focused on war photography. The exhibition in question, titled Szenenwechsel XX, featured work by photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus. Niedringhaus had shot the images several years earlier while documenting the Kosovo War for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA). Hillgärtner found herself taken by questions of contextual displacement within the museum space and how this might influence the way viewers perceived the work. ‘All of a sudden, these photographs had been put into frames and hung on the museum wall. I found them incredibly moving—and, from a purely photographic perspective, also visually very striking. What happens when images like these are shown in this kind of context?’ This exhibition, Hillgärtner explains, would ultimately prove to be a turning point for her.

Hillgärtner worked as a freelancer for eight years, with a focus on curatorial and educational endeavours. She later moved to Braunschweig, where she would serve as the director of the Kunstverein Braunschweig for ten years. For the last two years, she has headed the Science and Art Lab at the TU Braunschweig alongside Henrike Wenzel.

The Science and Art Lab in the ForschungRegion’s Science Showcase, photo: TU Braunschweig

Shifts in context also play a key role in her work at the TU Braunschweig. ‘In many cases it’s a question of blurring or completely overcoming entrenched boundaries’, she explains, referring to an interaction or exchange that spans in all directions. The project brings together artistic and scientific lines of inquiry and provides space for artistic practice within the institutional framework of a technical university.

‘At some point, we came to the realisation that the single most important word in “Science and Art Lab” was “and”. Because it’s all about connection and interaction.’ Later in the conversation, Hillgärtner makes it clear that ‘We’re not an offshoot of scientific communication. And art certainly isn’t either.’ The objective is not to utilise art as a vehicle through which to make research clearer or more accessible. Rather, the idea is to draw on a range of different perspectives with a view to fostering dialogue and encounters and promoting transdisciplinary thinking and approaches.

A central component of the lab is its residency programme, which gives artists the chance to make contact with scientists and work at the TU Braunschweig over a three-month period. In the process, new perspectives make their way into the research context. Hillgärtner reports that the exchange has been ‘received with great enthusiasm. It’s been a very positive experience overall. Beyond a certain level, the researchers, whether students or professors, generally exhibit a sense of excitement and curiosity and seem genuinely interested in the people they’re working with; they approach things with complete openness.’

Openness is also a guiding principle for Jule Hillgärtner and Henrike Wenzel when it comes to determining the lab’s event formats, which are designed to be low threshold and accessible to the widest possible audience. In this context, the emphasis is not on academic titles or long-winded professional resumés: ‘We hold everyone in the highest regard. At the same time, we’ve noticed that people really appreciate the fact that we’re actively working to lower existing barriers as much as possible, so that the lab can be, become, and remain truly accessible to all.’ So far, visitors have responded positively to this approach, irrespective of their individual level of expertise.

For a period in late summer 2026, the project was featured on several occasions at the Wissenschaftsschaufenster (Science Showcase) in Braunschweig’s city centre. The intention was to offer the local community a glimpse into current research projects and to promote dialogue—and it certainly proved successful in this regard. Whenever the information board was set up outside, Hillgärtner explains, members of the project team would be on hand, and visitors were welcome to come inside. People passing by could see from outside that something was going on. They would stop at the information board, read a little, and then take a look inside. Sometimes, in moments like these, Hillgärtner would strike up a brief conversation, tell people about the venue, give them a flyer, or invite them to another event. ‘So much has happened as a result of this incredible showcase—it’s really boosted our visibility.’ On more than one occasion, what began as a passing, curious glance led to someone attending a subsequent event. ‘This brings us back to the question of public engagement. We want to make it easy for people to come inside. The whole point is to convey a sense of openness and accessibility, and to engage in genuine conversation with the local community—with the public.’

Reflecting on her transition from a traditional art institution, the Kunstverein, to the Science and Art Lab at the TU Braunschweig, Hillgärtner notes ‘At the Kunstverein, everyone knew exactly why they were there. Here, the scope is much broader, and we approach the public in a different way. It’s quite a shift.’ For Hillgärtner, it remains important to stay connected to other contexts within contemporary art; in this respect, she mentions her work at the HBK Braunschweig (Braunschweig University of Art), which includes a seminar in which she visits a range of exhibition venues in the surrounding area. She see experiences like these as ‘moments of joy that also feed back into my work here at the Science and Art Lab. It’s like a braid, with different strands woven together.’

Toward the end of our conversation, Hillgärtner again reflects on how the project might also inspire future approaches to public engagement and education—approaches that ‘perhaps no longer see nature and culture as entirely separate realms’. She sums up this ambition by explaining ‘That’s always the aim: to bring together things that, at first glance, you wouldn’t think belonged together.’ She identifies the promotion of transdisciplinary thinking and practice as a fundamental goal of the Science and Art Lab: ‘We’re convinced that the challenges of the present and the future are so complex that they cannot possibly be solved within the confines of individual disciplines. We need to think across disciplines. We need to bring things together.’

Jule Hillgärtner runs the Science and Art Lab at the TU Braunschweig. Before that, she served as the director of the internationally renowned Kunstverein Braunschweig for ten years. She studied theatre, film, and media studies and art education in Frankfurt am Main and wrote her PhD on the topic of war correspondence. She has organised exhibitions for events including the F/Stop Festival in Leipzig and has worked at Frankfurt’s Museum für moderne Kunst (Museum for Modern Art, MMK) and the Frankfurter Kunstverein, as well as at the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) in Berlin. She has taught at the University of Art and Design Offenbach (HFG) and at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. Hillgärtner sits on a number of juries and, as a member of the extended acquisitions committee for the Federal Collection of Contemporary Art, has, among other things, been instrumental in several important purchases that reflect a diverse, forward-looking acquisitions policy.

Born in 1998 in Bielefeld, Paula A. Knust Rosales (she/her) is currently studying Fine Art at the HBK Braunschweig in Natalie Czech’s class for Expanded Photography, Media and Poetics, as well as Art Education under Martin Krenn.