When can the exhibition be visited?

Visitation is possible on November 8, 2026, from 10 AM. The exhibition Solarceptors can be seen from September 3 to November 22, 2026.

Where does STUDIO: Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits take place?

The exhibition takes place in the STUDIO of the Kunsthalle Mannheim at Friedrichsplatz 4 in 68165 Mannheim.

What can visitors expect at the exhibition?

A virtual reality installation and an accompanying projection about the perception of light, environment, and planetary rhythms by plants.

What is the entrance fee?

The researched regular entrance fee is 16 euros.

Is the exhibition suitable for media art enthusiasts?

Yes. The exhibition combines contemporary media art, virtual reality, projection, ecological research, and cultural education.

Who curated the exhibition?

The curator is Julia-Katharina Thiemann. The curatorial assistance is provided by Alessia Tardivo.

Solarceptors: How plants see and learn to rethink our future

Name: STUDIO: Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits
Start: 2026-11-08T10:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-22T18:00:00+01:00
Location: Kunsthalle Mannheim

Solarceptors: When plants teach us to see

In the STUDIO of the Kunsthalle Mannheim, Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits transform scientific insights about plant perception into an immersive art experience. The exhibition Solarceptors opens an unusual perspective on flowers, light, and the future: Not humans are at the center, but living organisms that perceive their environment in their own way and respond to planetary rhythms.

An immersive installation between art and research

At the core are a virtual reality installation and an accompanying projection. Light, movement, space, and digital imagery combine to create a sensual exhibition atmosphere where the contemplation of the works becomes an aesthetic experience. Visitors encounter plants as sensitive beings and experience how scientific observation transitions into a poetic form of media art.

Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits: Media art with ecological awareness

The Latvian artists Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits work in Basel and Riga at the intersection of art, technology, ecology, and perception. Their art form combines installation, projection, virtual reality, and scientific research. Solarceptors focuses on the question of how flowering plants perceive light and what new models of thought emerge from this for our relationship with nature.

Curated under the banner of Imagine Futures!

The presentation is created in cooperation with the 75th International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg and is part of the anniversary program Imagine Futures!. Curator Julia-Katharina Thiemann develops an exhibition in collaboration with Alessia Tardivo that links media art, cultural education, and ecological reflection. The future does not appear here as a technological vision, but as a new way of seeing.

Art experience in the Kunsthalle Mannheim

The Kunsthalle Mannheim offers a concentrated framework for the installation for an intense aesthetic experience. Between projection, digital space, and conceptual opening, a quiet yet compelling art experience emerges. Solarceptors invites viewers to question familiar notions of perception and to reconsider the relationship between light, life, and the environment.

Conclusion: STUDIO: Rasa Smite & Raitis Smits promises an exhibition for those who want to connect contemporary art, media art, and ecological future questions. Those who wish to experience plants not just as mere nature backdrops, but as sensitive actors, will find an extraordinary contemplation of works here. The exhibition is worth a visit on-site, as its spatial impact and immersive quality can only be fully experienced in direct art engagement.