The Max Planck–NTU Singapore Centre for Biocultural Worlding (CBCW) is a joint initiative between the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin, Germany, and the Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA). Established in April 2026, the Centre is supported by the Max Planck Society and Nanyang Technological University, with staff and leadership based in Berlin and Singapore.
The CBCW envisions a future in which biological and cultural diversity are no longer treated as separate domains, but as mutually dependent conditions for sustaining life on this planet. In this future, insights from diverse histories and knowledge traditions inform more fair, responsible, and locally grounded responses to planetary challenges. We believe in the capacity of people, culture, and nature to generate many worlds—through relationships, practices, and meaning-making—a capacity that depends on the health and integrity of both biological and cultural diversity. This vision calls for empowering people as knowledge holders and for rethinking standards for doing research across legal, scientific, artistic, and local and Indigenous knowledge systems. By inviting people to actively rethink ownership and responsibility in decision-making processes that produce consequences for who thrives, the Centre contributes to building more robust and equitable biocultural futures.
The CBCW functions as a space where artistic practice, legal inquiry, and diverse knowledge traditions converge to explore new forms of collaboration and stewardship of biocultural worlds. The CBCW is driven by a commitment to empowering knowledge holders and communities to shape more just and sustainable planetary futures. The CBCW brings together communities from cultural practices, knowledge-holding traditions, the arts, law, sciences, and the humanities that share inclusive ways of defining shared futures. The Centre prioritizes collective and tangible field-based initiatives to understand and negotiate different worlds that are structured by the separation or integration of culture and nature. The CBCW uses methods of history of science, curatorial practice, storytelling, among others, to advance biocultural matters to public platforms, institutional partnerships, and interventions beyond academic boundaries.
What is Biocultural Worlding?
Biocultural worlding describes the active, plural, and ongoing processes through which human and non-human beings draw on entangled biological and cultural knowledges to collectively shape planetary futures with care, equity, and epistemic humility. At CBCW, biocultural worlding is simultaneously the object of inquiry and the aspiration for how the Centre itself operates: producing knowledge about the world through genuinely pluralized, accountable, and relational practices, across all the disciplines, traditions, and communities it brings together.
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About Max Planck Centres
Max Planck Institute for History of Science
The workshop brought together an international group of scholars, artists, curators, and researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), King’s College London (KCL), the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPI), and invited colleagues from the National University of Singapore (NUS). Participants came from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, including history and digital humanities, history of science and technology, anthropology, law, Chinese medicine and religion, ecology and environmental studies, Chinese studies, archaeology, museum studies, as well as artists, curators, and film scholars. Together, they explored the intersections of biological and cultural diversity through the evolving framework of Biocultural Worlding. The workshop aimed to foster transdisciplinary collaboration across the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and legal studies, while laying the groundwork for a joint research network and shared inquiry platform. Framed around four thematic sessions: (I) Methods of Synchronous Exchange of Knowledge Creation, (II) Asynchrony and Interdisciplinary Rigidity, (III) Local Stewardship of Knowledge, and (IV) Beyond Documentation, participants presented case studies, artistic practices, and on-going research that collectively questioned how ‘’worlding’’ might serve as a conceptual and practical tool to address biocultural diversity across different disciplines, epistemologies, and regions. These presentations were followed by in-depth group discussions that allowed for reflection, dialogue, and knowledge exchange across fields that might otherwise remain siloed. In addition to the four core sessions, the programme also included film screenings of short movies developed by some of the workshop’s participants. This diversity of perspectives and formats enriched the dialogue, fostering richer and more nuanced understandings of Biocultural Worlding.
Research Outputs
What is ‘Worlding’ in Biocultural Worlding Workshop
Programme
Welcome Address by Professor Ute Meta Bauer
SESSION 1: METHODS OF SYNCHRONOUS EXCHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE CREATION, Chaired by Professor Ute Meta Bauer
Case Study I: Knotting and Unknotting Nature and Culture in Amami Ōshima, Presentation by Lisa Onaga, Senior Research Scholar, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Case Study II: Boundary Objects, Knowledge Exchange,Trading Zones and Epistemic Humility in Singapore Medicinal Gardens, Presentation by Michael Stanley-Baler, Associate Professor of History, NTU SoH and NTU LKCSM, and President, International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine
Case Study III: Living Heritage and Rapprochement: In the Village of Poets, Presentation by Michael Walsh, Professor of Cultural Studies and Digital Humanities, NTU SoH
Response by Margarida Mendes, Curator and Affiliated Researcher, NOVA Institute of Communication, University of Lisbon
SESSION 2: ASYNCHRONY AND INTERDISCIPLINARY RIGIDITY, Chaired by Sushma Griffin
Case Study IV: Biology as Cultural History or Culture as Biological History: Anthropology and the Faultlines of Human Population Genetics, Presentation by Kriti Kapila, Senior Lecturer, Anthropology and Law, King’s College of London
Case Study V: Achieving Critical Mass at the Borneo Cultures Museum: Working to Design, Conserve and Collaborate in an Institution in Transition, Presentation by Laura Miotto, Associate Professor (Practice), NTU ADM and Co-Chair, Museum Studies and Cultural Practices and Franca Cole, Lecturer, Museum Studies and Curatorial Practices, NTU ADM and Research Fellow, Climate Transformation Programme
Response by Marc Gloede, Associate Professor, NTU ADM and Co-Chair, Museum Studies and Cultural Practices
SESSION 3: LOCAL STEWARDSHIP OF KNOWLEDGE, Chaired by Associate Professor Laura Miotto
Case Study VI: The Orang Laut as Local Stewards of a Way of Knowing, Presentation by Vivienne Wee, Anthropologist and Co-Founder of Ethnographica Private Limited Singapore
Case Study VII: Spirit Possession and the Generation of Alternative Worlds, Presentation by Kenneth Dean, Professor, Department of Chinese Studies, NUS and Director, Wan Boo Sow Research Cente for Chinese Culture
Response by Firdaus Sani, Founder of Oranglaut.sg and Black Sampan, and fourth-generation Orang Laut/Pulau descendant
SESSION 4: BEYOND DOCUMENTATION, Chaired by Dean Jon Wilson, CoHASS
Case Study VIII: Performing the Earth: A Reassessment of the “Meta Ekologi” project in relation to the contemporary Eco-Art discourse, Presentation by Marc Gloede, Associate Professor, NTU ADM and Co-chair, Museum Studies and Cultural Practices
Case Study IX: Worlding and World-Making from the Area Beyond National Jurisdiction, Presentation by Jonathan Galka, Postdoctoral Fellow, Asia Research Institute, NUS
Response by Ina Conradi Chavez, Filmmaker and Associate Professor, NTU ADM
Response by Zara Arshad, Researcher and Curator
PUBLIC KEYNOTE LECTURES
Welcome Address by Professor Ute Meta Bauer and Dean Jon Wilson
Keynote I: Oceanic Worldings, Keynote presentation by Margarida Mendes, Curator and Affiliated Researcher, NOVA Institute of Communication, University of Lisbon
Keynote II: Turtle Worlds as a Way of Living, Lisa Onaga, Senior Research Scholar, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
This research is an inquiry into curatorial, artistic, and academic networks of exchange that foster a pluriversal understanding of Southeast Asia. It will highlight the potential of open-ended curatorial, artistic and textual endeavours that formulate their own modus operandi. Analysing motivations, methods, and audiences of three distinct art initiatives by local practitioners will provide valuable insights for the writing of future cultural policies and alternative metrics to evaluate the impact of nonconforming approaches within regional studies. This will reshape and expand policies and programmes that seek to internationalise or regionalise Singapore art scenes. Acknowledging the long-term impact of such critical thinking and the creation of alternative knowledges and transnational networks would advance traditional perspectives in Southeast Asian scholarship and its funding mechanisms.
Research Outputs
Understanding Southeast Asia as a “Geocultural Formation”: Three Case Studies of Artistic Initiatives from the Region Closed-Door Forum
Programme
Welcome by Ahmad Mashadi, Introduction by Ute Meta Bauer and David Teh
ROUND-ROBIN: INTRODUCING THE CASE STUDIES, response by John Tain
The Flying Circus Project, Introduction by SEON, Presentation by Ong Keng Sen
Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary Art and Modern Art in Asia, Introduction by Ho Tzu Nyen, Presentation by Thanavi Chotrapdit, Vera Mey and Roger Nelson
The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia, Introduction by Ong Keng Sen, Presentation by Ho Tzu Nyen
CONVERSATION: PATRICK FLORES & HSU FANG-TZE, moderated by Siddhartha Perez
CONVERSATION: GRIDTHIYA GAWEEWONG & MELATI SURYODARMO, moderated by Ute Meta Bauer
PANEL: HEIDI ARBUCKLE & KATHLEEN DITZIG, moderated by David Teh
Granted by
This research project identifies regional climate change mitigation practices, specifically addressing sea level rise on coastlines along the Riau Archipelago. The project brings together artists, scientists, and local communities to co-create digital tools—such as bilingual online manuals—that support the implementation of best practices in climate resilience.
A mixed-method evaluation rubric, using both qualitative and quantitative research design, will assess the impact and effectiveness of these digital tools. The overarching objective is to understand how such tools can support local communities in strengthening their climate mitigation strategies.
This interdisciplinary approach to climate mitigation integrates local knowledge, environmental science, and research-based artistic practice. It offers the potential to develop new ways of understanding and responding to local environmental issues. Given the ecological similarities between Bintan and Singapore—particularly in their shared mangrove ecosystems—and the mutual threat of rising sea levels, the project fosters cross-border learning and cooperation.
By centering community participation and regional specificity, this research contributes to broader conversations around sustainable adaptation strategies for vulnerable coastal areas in Southeast Asia.
Key Research Outputs
Launch and Evaluation of Repository on Coastal Ecosystems, 14–15 June 2026, Bintan, Indonesia
The Climate Transformation Programme (CTP)—Cross Cutting Theme 1: Sustainable Societies, under which Professor Ute Meta Bauer serves as Senior Principal Investigator (Advisory Panel), consists of a suite of programmes that form a synergistic relay of interdisciplinary research and external outreach. The initiatives aim to cultivate a critical multiplicity of voices, perspectives, knowledges from both within and outside academic realms in the formation of ‘Sustainable Societies’ that engage with questions of climate change.
The Climate Transformation Programme is led by Professor Adam Switzer (Professor, Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University). The CTP aims to develop, inspire and accelerate knowledge-based solutions and educate future leaders to establish the stable climate and environment necessary for resilient, just, and sustainable Southeast Asian societies.
Key Research Outputs
Climate Transformation: Sustainable Societies Lecture Series Cycle 1 and 2
Climate Transformation Tuesday Gatherings Cycle 1 and 2
Climate Transformation: Sustainable Societies Lecture Series Cycle 1 (November 2024–May 2025) and Cycle 2 (August 2025–April 2026)
Climate Transformation Gatherings Cycle 1 (November 2024–May 2025) and Cycle 2 (August 2025–May 2026)
Repository on Coastal Ecosystems: Bridging Artistic, Scientific and Community-Led Practices in the Riau Archipelago
Research Publications
Jamil, J and Gebert, J. V. (2026, October) Where Nipa Grows, the Mangrove Lives: Orang Suku Laut, Kawal, and the Politics of Three Plants. Madeleine Collie (CTP Visiting Researcher) and Yvonne Billimore (eds.), Follow the Plants. Preorder here
In recent years, climate change has triggered alarming environmental scenarios in the region. Artists and climate activists have reacted to these circumstances by proposing methods to create awareness and navigate the environmental collapse. This research project aimed to identify artistic inquiries focused on addressing environmental challenges in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. By establishing a methodology to evaluate the significance and impacts of each inquiry, it will investigate the capacity of these art projects to deepen the understanding of the effect of accelerated climate change in the aforementioned regions. This project aims to foster a dialogue between artistic forms of knowledge production and the scholarly knowledge generated by scientific practitioners engaged in climate change matters. This research project generated the Environmentally-Engaged Artistic Practices in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Database, with over 100 datasets of artistic research projects that are engage in environmental challenges spanning over 20 territories, it offered a first touchpoint for researchers to engage with artists that align across similar themes. This open database, was launched at the eponymous ‘Environmentally-Engaged Artistic Practices’ two-day symposium that took place during Singapore Art Week. Hosted at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, this symposium brought together local and regional artists, scientists, engineers, historians and climate initiatives to discuss the potential and possibilities of transdisciplinary and cross disciplinary collaborations geared towards climate and environmental aware inquiries and solution finding.
Research Outputs
Environmentally-Engaged Artistic Practices in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Database
Environmentally-Engaged Artistic Practices in South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Symposium
Publications
Min, S.K. (2024). Telemetric Feeling in Tita Salina and Irwan Ahmett’s The Ring of Fire (2014–Present). Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia 8(1), 67-89.
This project examines how climate crisis and cultural loss interconnect. The core objective is the co-production of knowledge that can lead to a changed understanding of environmental justice, which, in turn, will suggest changes in existing legal and policy frameworks. The project hypothesises that a fundamental connection between people and their environments has been lost in contemporary urban contexts, resulting in feelings of indifference towards the climate crisis or unexplained feelings of climate anxiety.
It deploys a research team with transdisciplinary methods to build on emerging environmental jurisprudence in the Pacific region and produce narrative visualisations demonstrating the links between cultural loss and climate change. By combining scholarly knowledge with cultural and artistic practices, the project will develop an innovative framework for addressing the impact of accelerated climate change. Using tools from visual studies and forensic architecture, from ethnography and law, to make scientific evidence on climate change socially robust and impactful, it will also create a relay between local perspectives and knowledge generated in different academic fields. Data visualisation and audiovisual presentations of ecological and cultural loss will be instrumental to transform ecological grief and loss into catalysts for climate action. Such narrative visualisations make visible the necessity to re-establish a direct relation between human societies and the environment, especially in the rapidly-changing urban fabric of a metropolis like Singapore.
Research Outputs
Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss Research Presentation, 23 March–13 October 2024, TBA21-Academy Ocean Space, Venice, Italy
Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss Research Presentation, 12 April–24 May 2024, ADM Gallery, 81 Nanyang Drive, Singapore
Special Issue: Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss (Vol. XXVII, 2024), Comparative Law Journal of the Pacific (CLJP), Victoria University of Wellington
Research Publications:
Ahmed, N., Bauer, U. M., & Lallemant-Moe, H. R. (2024, October). Introductions to Cultural loss and climate change. Comparative Law Journal of the Pacific, Special Issue: Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss.
Ahmed, N., Camus, G., Lallemant-Moe, H. R., & Rave, L. (2022, November). Cultural loss and climate change – A new field of research. Comparative Law Journal of the Pacific, 28.
Soh, K. M. (2024, May). Monsoon equinox. Issue 13: Weather. LASALLE College of the Arts.
Shaleh, A. (2024, October). Linking the commons and climate change to collective actions. Comparative Law Journal of the Pacific, Special Issue: Climate Crisis and Cultural Loss.
