Data Dreams Summer School

How is data reshaping our cities — and who gets to shape that change?

21 Sep 2026 – 26 Sep 2026

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Berliner Str. 60
60311 Frankfurt am Main

apply here (contribution of 50€ for food etc.)

The Data Dreams Summer School invites FLINTA* individuals to engage with urban data from a feminist perspective in a creative and interdisciplinary way. The school brings together perspectives from research, art, design and municipal practice to create new approaches to digital, data-driven questions about the urban future.

The Data Dreams Summer School invites FLINTA* individuals to engage with urban data from a feminist perspective in a creative and interdisciplinary way.

At the heart of the summer school is the question of how data shapes our everyday life in public space: Which data is collected in cities? Who gathers it — and for what purpose? Which perspectives are missing from data-driven decision-making? And how can digital systems be designed to be fairer, more transparent and more human-centred?

Through field trips and discussions with practitioners, participants will learn about the infrastructures and processes of public data collection and discuss them from a feminist perspective. The shared reflection will open up new ways of understanding how data shapes our perception of the city — and how alternative visions of the future can be imagined.

Together with mentors from the fields of art and research, the participants will be developing their own artistic, performative, or speculative projects that critically engage with this data. Throughout the week, they will work independently or collaboratively on concepts, interventions, installations, visualisations or prototype ideas, which are presented publicly at the end of the summer school.

The summer school sees itself as a low-threshold space for experimentation for FLINTA* people interested in digital topics, social questions and creative practice — whether they come from design, art, computer science, or the cultural, social or human sciences.

Key questions:

What data is collected in cities—by whom, and who has access to it?
Which perspectives are made visible, and which remain invisible?
What interests and power structures shape digital infrastructures?
How can data be made more equitable, transparent, and people-centered?
What role can art and design play in this?

Potential project approaches:

Critical mappings and visualisations
Speculative design concepts
Artistic interventions
Data-based installations
Storytelling and narratives around urban data
Participatory or interactive formats

What can you expect?

In-depth discussions within the Summer School group and reflection on issues in the context of design, art, urban development, and computer science
Guidance from mentors in the fields of art and research
Creative and collaborative work phases, with the opportunity to work on your own projekt, to develop and implement your own ideas, concepts, and interventions
Access to a small materials budget
Keynote talks, excursions, and insights into urban data infrastructures—including a visit to the Frankfurt Environmental Agency’s weather station and the VGF’s central workshop—as well as discussions with experts in science
Public final presentation followed by a small exhibition of the projects, sketches and results at display – Space for Digital Practice

Who is it for?

The Summer School is for FLINTA* people who are interested in digital topics, social issues, and creative design. No prior knowledge is required. We welcome perspectives from:

Design
Art
Computer Science
Cultural and Social Sciences
Humanities
Media
and many other disciplines

What matters most is curiosity, openness, and a desire to work together to develop new perspectives on data and the city.

Apply now!

Space is limited: We’d like to get to know you through a short registration form and bring together a diverse group with different perspectives. Find the registration form here!

It is important to us that financial considerations do not prevent anyone from participating. If necessary, you can apply for a partial or full scholarship as part of the registration process.

ACCESS: If you need any form of support to make your attendance possible, let us know. We have access to funding for e.g. Sign Language interpreters as well as assistance.

Project Website: www.data-dreams.net

Partners

The Summer School is part of NODE’s Open Data Experiments program, in cooperation with the Smart City Office and the Department of Culture and Science of the City of Frankfurt am Main, as well as the Chair of Educational Theory and Practices of Critical Computational Literacy at the Center for Critical Computational Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, funded by Crespo Foundation.