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Welcome to the A MAZE. / Berlin 2026 program! Add sessions to your profile to get an easy overview of your own schedule!

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Thursday, May 14
 

10:00 CEST

Coffee & Croissants*
Thursday May 14, 2026 10:00 - 10:30 CEST
Start your day off right and join Zuraida (A MAZE. program curator) plus guest for Coffee and Croissants! While you sit back, blissfully nomming away your breakfast (byob)*, she’ll fill you in on the latest news about the festival program and highlight the day’s speakers and panel discussions. 

*Bring your Own Breakfast 
Artists
avatar for Zuraida Buter

Zuraida Buter

program curator, A MAZE.

Thursday May 14, 2026 10:00 - 10:30 CEST
Betonhalle Stage [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

11:30 CEST

The Empires Strike Back: Union busting and corporate backlash to worker organizing and why international collaboration of union efforts is key to fight back
Thursday May 14, 2026 11:30 - 12:30 CEST
Alongside several union members from across Europe, we want to discuss the recent cases of union-busting (or attempts thereof) and how cross-border collaboration can amplify union efforts. When Rockstar Games laid off a group of union organizers, it was a signal of how the gaming industry responds to the increased efforts of organizing game developers world-wide. Similar moves in Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the US have shown that the power-that-be of the games industry will not stand idly by while game developers finally find a voice.

Content warning
Discussion of workplace harassment, mental health challenges, and labor rights in political contexts.
Artists
avatar for Isa Spitznagel (they/them)

Isa Spitznagel (they/them)

2D Artist
Isa is a concept artist and illustrator specialising in character and costume design and co-founder of Achtung Autobahn, a Berlin-based indie studio. After working as a copywriter in marketing, they pivoted to a career in the games industry, mainly working with indie studios as a... Read More →
avatar for Jack Hoxby (he/him)

Jack Hoxby (he/him)

QA Tester in the games industry and active member of the Game Workers Branch of the IWGB Union. Former committee member of the Rockstar Games Workers Union and currently engaged in a legal battle due to alleged Union busting by the company.
avatar for Janeke (she/her)

Janeke (she/her)

Janeke Zimmermann is a freelance writer and narrative designer, as well as a part-time lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin. She has supported unionization efforts in the games industry since 2019. 
avatar for Junipeer (he/they)

Junipeer (he/they)

Junipeer (pseudonym) is a representing member of the STJV, the largest video game union in France.
avatar for Violetajpg (she/them)

Violetajpg (she/them)

Part of the CSVI (Coordinadora Sindical del Videojuego - Union Coordinator of Videogames)
Thursday May 14, 2026 11:30 - 12:30 CEST
Kuppelhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

14:30 CEST

Art Games Spaces / Festivals / Community (TBA)
Thursday May 14, 2026 14:30 - 15:30 CEST
A conversation between curators, organisers and spaces. More tba soon.
Artists
avatar for Cat Bluemke

Cat Bluemke

Cat Bluemke uses game design, performance, and expanded reality to explore the dynamic relationship of work and play. Graduating in 2018 with her MFA in Design for Emerging Technologies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she is interested in discussing technology's impact... Read More →
avatar for Farfama (he/they)

Farfama (he/they)

Farfama
Farfama (he/they) is an artist, games curator, and experimental game creator currently based in Japan. His work explores themes of awe, wonder, and playful joy, drawing inspiration from nature, ritual, and everyday observation. He helps run GÆMZ Tokyo, a monthly experimental games... Read More →
avatar for Joanna Lyu (she/her)

Joanna Lyu (she/her)

China, ([[rect*]]repair)
Joanna game designer, media artist and event organizer. She co-runs [[rect*]]repair, an art-game collective on public-facing experimental games, community events and playful media.
avatar for Marie Janin (she/her)

Marie Janin (she/her)

Sickhouse
Marie Janin is co-director of Sickhouse, a playful art space in Enschede and the multidisciplinary festival The Overkill, located in the Netherlands. Sickhouse and The Overkill
programs reflect on the transformation of our society through digital culture and the role playfulness... Read More →
avatar for Sarah Bashir (she/her)

Sarah Bashir (she/her)

Sarah Bashir is a games scholar, focusing on game production studies, the history of digital and interactive media and the interrelation of games, art and culture. She initiated and currently leads Circuit Lab, a game studies lab situated at the Department of Media and Communication... Read More →
Thursday May 14, 2026 14:30 - 15:30 CEST
Betonhalle Stage [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany
  Conversations
  • about <br>

17:00 CEST

Experimental Commons: Let´s talk & create spaces for artistic exchange 
Thursday May 14, 2026 17:00 - 18:30 CEST
What happens when artists from different disciplines share space, time, and uncertainty?

Join us for a roundtable with artists from performing, visual, and digital arts, as they reflect on a three-day experimental, cross-disciplinary residency. Together, we’ll explore the challenges they encountered as well as the resources they discovered through shared space. We will also talk about the need for shared spaces in Berlin and beyond, and how opportunities and resources can be made more accessible.

Bring your thoughts, questions, and experiences into the conversation.


The roundtable will be joined by:

  • Emily Roderick
  • Maarten Isaäk De Heer
  • Veronica Carli
  • Wro Wrzesinska

Artists
avatar for Nicole Fiedler (she/her)

Nicole Fiedler (she/her)

project manager, https://www.creative-cross-collaborations.de/home
Nicole Fiedler is Head of Funding and Projects at the German Dance Association, responsible for funding and programmes, co-managing Creative Cross Collaborations Berlin, coordinating the Association of German Dance Archives, and also working as a ballroom dance teacher.

Creative Cross Collaborations Berlin (CCCberlin) is a cross-disciplinary programme for Berlin’s arts and creative scene. It brings together artists, creatives and producers from the performing arts, visual arts, as well as film and video art. At its core are exchange, collaboration a... Read More →
avatar for Sophia Herzog (she/her)

Sophia Herzog (she/her)

German Dance Association / Creative Cross Collaborations Berlin
Sophia Herzog is a professional contemporary dancer, educator, and producer who creates playful, accessible movement & performance experiences that connect people through dance, curiosity, and shared physical exploration. 

Creative Cross Collaborations Berlin (CCCberlin) is a cross-disciplinary programme for Berlin’s arts and creative scene. It brings together artists, creatives and producers from the performing arts, visual arts, as well as film and video art. At its core are exchange, collaborati... Read More →
Thursday May 14, 2026 17:00 - 18:30 CEST
MARS | Küche & Bar Gerichtstraße 35, Seiteneingang, 13347 Berlin, Germany
 
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