SPECTRAL / S.P.A.C.E.

SPECTRAL

SPECTRAL stands for Spatial, Performative & Expanded Cinematics – Transnational Research at Artist-run Labs.

SPECTRAL gathers six labs run by artists dedicated to analogue film practices with an experimental and DIY approach. The practices include research, curation, invention, empirical engineering, and construction in a non-hierarchical way.

We share a common enthusiasm for experimental cinema and its history, from the pioneers who invented moving image, to avant-garde and underground film and cross-media practices.

We would like to bring this heritage to new places and intertwine expanded cinematic arts with other disciplines. Collectively we use the term Expanded Cinematic Arts (E.C.A.) referring to the range of practices that we aim to encourage and develop, creating overlapping areas between film labs and a variety of contexts and aesthetic concerns.

Residency

In the context of SPECTRAL, LaborBerlin creates and provides S.P.A.C.E. (Space for Projection Art & Celluloid Experimentation), a residency program and workspace in Berlin.

For SPECTRAL, we draw inspiration from ancient projection rituals such as Asian shadow theater, magic lanterns, and phantasmagorias, as well as contemporary visual and performance arts.

Visit the SPECTRAL website ->

SPECTRAL is co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Commission.

S.P.A.C.E

Within the framework of the SPECTRAL project, LaborBerlin has established a new space where artists can work on Expanded Cinema in Berlin-Wedding.

S.P.A.C.E. (Space for Projection Art & Celluloid Experimentation) is a place for enabling artists to experiment with photo-chemical film, light, and sound, through providing access to projectors, looping devices, screens and sound equipment.

The residency is located in Berlin at Wiesenstr. 29, on the ground floor, in a space encompassing 77 sq. meters.

Since its inception numerous artists and filmmakers from LaborBerlin have been working in S.P.A.C.E., taking advantage of its proximity to lab to develop Expanded Cinema projects ranging from installations and sculptures to performances. Furthermore, three international residents have been selected from an open call in 2022 to work in S.P.A.C.E. for two months in 2023: Adina Ionescu-Muscel, Elian Mikkola and Andrea Novoa.

The results of these residencies are regularly presented in exhibitions and open studios, making of S.P.A.C.E. not only a place for development and research, but also for exchange between artists and the public.

LaborBerlin collaborates with FILMEXPLORER, an online platform dedicated to art films through critiques, interviews, podcasts, in hosting the international residents in the studio apartment of their Berlin Hub.

SPECTRAL

Residency

S.P.A.C.E. Expanded – Paradoks

S.P.A.C.E. EXPANDED – Württembergische Kunstverein Stuttgart

S.P.A.C.E. Expanded – Koncertkirken (DK)

S.P.A.C.E

S.P.A.C.E. Expanded – Paradoks

S.P.A.C.E. EXPANDED – Württembergische Kunstverein Stuttgart

S.P.A.C.E. Expanded – EMAF 2025