GRADE - Die (Post-)Graduiertenakademie der Goethe-Universität

Friday, October 23rd, 2026 | 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

We cordially invite you to a guided group tour at EUMETSAT – the European operational satellite agency for monitoring weather, climate, and the environment from space. EUMETSAT is an intergovernmental organisation operating geostationary satellites over Europe, Africa, and the Indian Ocean. In addition, EUMETSAT is a partner in the cooperative sea level monitoring missions involving Europe and the United States. The data and products from EUMETSAT's satellites are vital to weather forecasting and make a significant contribution to the monitoring of the environment and climate change.

• Target Group: Early Career Researchers (R1, R2) from TU Darmstadt, GU Frankfurt, JGU Mainz
• Language: English
• Date and Time: October 23^rd, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm
• Location: The precise meeting point will be communicated after your registration.

We look forward to your participation in this event!

Please register here

Friday, 6 November 2026, starting at 14:00

Join us on a walk on the archeological trail at the Heidetränk Oppidum, a large Celtic hilltop settlement, which was already abandoned by the time the Romans came. As the settlement has never been excavated, please don’t expect an outdoor museum.  We will walk through scenic and possible colourful Taunus hills, with some great views onto Frankfurt and beyond, and get glimpses into the past from information boards telling about the history and the life in Hessen more than 2.000 years ago.  It is not a guided tour! 

The trail is about 4.5 km long on gravel paths (and a short section on grassy ground), with some steeper parts, it goes up a total of 170m.  If you like, we can refresh ourselves (or warm up, depending on the weather) at the Waldtraut restaurant after the walk.

Please note:  Should the weather be very bad, very rainy and wet or stormy, we may have to postpone it for about a week.

Duration: approx. 2 hours (approx. 4,5 km;  with about 170m up and down) on gravel paths

Meeting point to be communicated upon registration.

Registration: by email to Brigitte Held, held@grade.uni-frankfurt.de, please state which university (Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Mainz) you belong to.

Thursday, December 3rd, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm | Darmstadt

This event offers a private tour of the art exhibition THREADS OF LIFE at the Kunstforum of TU Darmstadt. With “THREADS OF LIFE. Corina Gertz & Hannah Maria Schmutterer”, the Kunstforum der TU Darmstadt presents an exhibition that focuses on textile practices, cultural identity, and questions of visibility. The title is intended as a programmatic motif: Threads of Life refers to the diverse connections between fabric, body, history, and memory, which both artists make visible in their own unique ways.

Photographer Corina Gertz presents works from her ongoing series The Averted Portrait, which she has been working on worldwide for many years. In her photographs, she portrays women in traditional clothing—but always from behind. The face remains hidden, and the clothing itself becomes a symbol of history, craftsmanship, origin, and social belonging. The result is a quiet yet powerful exploration of themes such as diversity, inclusion, and the values of a democratic society.

Hannah Maria Schmutterer expands this dialogue with works that interweave textile art, painting, poetry, and performance. Her works explore how femininity, memory, and cultural attributions are inscribed in fabrics—and how these meanings can be transformed through artistic practice. By sewing, unraveling, and reconnecting materials, personal and collective threads of life become tangible and are linked anew.

Together, Gertz and Schmutterer weave together different perspectives on femininity, memory, and cultural identity into a multi-layered tapestry of images: THREADS OF LIFE. Corina Gertz & Hannah Maria Schmutterer thus becomes a sensual and intellectual resonance chamber in which photography, textiles, and theory are woven together into a fabric of history, present, and future.

The exhibition ties in closely with the theme of World Design Capital Frankfurt Rhine-Main 2026 – »Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life.« Both artistic positions reflect in different but interwoven ways on how aesthetic design can contribute to a deeper understanding of democracy, diversity, and cultural identity.

After the exhibition, there will be the opportunity to visit the Darmstadt Christmas Market together.

• Target Group: Early Career Researchers (R1, R2) from TU Darmstadt, GU Frankfurt, JGU Mainz
• Language: English
• Date and Time: December 3^rd, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm (exhibition) and 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm (Christmas Market)
• Location: The precise meeting point will be communicated after your registration.

We look forward to your participation in this event!

Please register here