Karen Barad: Live Lecture

Karen Barad, Ph.D. in quantum physics and philosophy, and one of the leading voices in material feminism and new materialisms, will visit Disseny Hub Barcelona on 13 May to deliver a lecture. Barad coined the concept “matter matters”, which gives its name to the new permanent exhibition at the Museu del Disseny-DHub: Matter Matters. Designing with the World.

Barad speaks of a world in which all material realities we coexist with are intraconnected through physicochemical, ecological, geopolitical, economic, historical, cultural, and social relations. We make and are made of these intraconnections in a constant becoming.

Karen Barad (United States, 1956) is a professor of Feminist Studies, Philosophy and History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. They were a professor at the Department of Physics before moving their academic research into the interdisciplinary field. They are known for their work on “agential realism”, a theoretical framework that combines quantum physics, post-structuralist theory, and feminist studies.

The lecture is part of the Shared Matter activity cycle, an annual public program accompanying the exhibition Matter Matters. Designing with the World. The exhibition seeks to reflect on the major challenges of current and future design in a critical moment marked by material scarcity and the climate crisis. It does so through the materiality of pieces from the Museu del Disseny's Collection and innovative contemporary works.