Collecting, Preserving and Exhibiting Games at ZKM / Karlsruhe

Ludic Method Soirée
Date: 22.05.2025
Time: 16:00
Guest: Laura C. Schmidt 
Location: Experimental Game Cultures Studio

The ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe is an internationally renowned cultural institution. Founded in 1989, the ZKM | Karlsruhe stands worldwide for an open concept of art in the digital age. With its art collection, publications, archives, and artistic and scientific research on the electronic arts, it promotes a program of interdisciplinary projects and international cooperation. The ZKM | Karlsruhe also has a long history of working with games: with the opening of the exhibition »The World of Games« in the fall of 1997, the ZKM | Karlsruhe was one of the first art institutions worldwide to offer computer game culture a permanent public platform in an art context. Since then, the presentation of games has been repeatedly redesigned in a series of different exhibitions,leading to the current edition, »zkm_gameplay. the next level.« With around 80 exhibits from 1972 to the present day - most of them playable - visitors are invited to experience the cultural phenomenon up close. Against the background of the ZKM's special expertise in exhibiting and preserving media art and video games, the lecture will provide an insight into the work of the ZKM | Karlsruhe, the game exhibition, and the challenges of collecting and exhibiting games.

A picture of an exhibition space. There are people of all ages and genders playing different games on screens. They are sitting on tetris like blocks. You can read one of the game titles: "Chain Reaction". The vibes are chill and very colourful.

Laura C. Schmidt studied Fine Arts (B.A.) at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, and completed her Master's degree in Multimedia and Visual Arts at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain. She studied Interaction Design at the University of Applied Sciences Joanneum in Graz, Austria, and Public Interest Design at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. Since 2023 she has been a curator with a focus on games at the ZKM | Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, where she previously worked in various functions since 2020. Her main curatorial interest lies at the intersection of media art, gaming and digital culture.