The consequences of man-made climate change are already visible and noticeable everywhere. From the warming and acidification of the oceans to the melting of the polar ice caps, from sea-level rise to the multifaceted extinction of species, the consequences including the threat to human existence from natural disasters, pandemics, escapes and migrations. The challenges exposed to humanity can only be overcome, if states may act together across national borders and establish an awareness of the problem in society through a small circle of scientific experts and committed activists.

The Chinese-German online dialogue series “Me(er)tamorphoses” invites scientists and artists from both countries to engage in a cross-border and interdisciplinary discussion about the manifold challenges and opportunities of the Anthropocene paradigm shift. The “protagonist” of these international dialogue series is WATER in its various aggregate states. Water is the indispensable and in the meantime highly changeable raw material of life, which forming landscapes in the form of ice and snow and giving the planet an unmistakable signature in the form of rivers, lakes or seas. The living world of water inspires art, which is reflected in the great seafaring stories throughout the centuries and stimulates the thinking of philosophy as material. While the pre-Socratic philosopher Thales of Miletus recognized “the origin and principle of all things” in water, Laozi attributed to this element the principle of “highest goodness”, which “benefits all beings without dispute”. Water thus becomes the carrier of philosophical insights which both differentiate and connect Western and Eastern thoughts. 

The series of events, which starts at the interface between science and art, was initiated jointly by “Chinese-German University College” of Tongji University Shanghai and “Theatre of the Anthropocene” of Humboldt University Berlin. Project partners include Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, DAAD and Shanghai Theatre Academy.