Missing pictures of female researchers from the University of Bonn
They have been pioneers in their fields and they achieved great things – but their faces are often unknown: The exhibition "Bring on the portr[AI]ts!" presents missed images forgotten female scientists with realistic portraits, without ever having been photographed in this way. With the help of artificial intelligence, photographer Gesine Born created these images to honor important women and their achievements. From April to July, 2025, at the initiative of the University of Bonn's Equal Opportunities Officer, Gabriele Alonso Rodriguez, twelve of these images have been on display at the Bonn University Museum.
Each of the 12 female researchers, whose work has shaped the development of their particular field in a different way, is being depicted through AI-generated images that explain their significance to research and their life story from a new perspective. In the process, the technology is serving as both a creative medium and a tool that puts the invisible faces of these women front and center. With the exhibition series, Gesine Born and her Bilderinstitut are challenging visitors to view the history of women in science and academia from a new angle and acknowledge them as pioneers of research. A detailed explanation of all twelve subjects in the exhibition can be found on the website of the Bilderinstitut.
“My exhibition is a call to recognize and render visible female researchers whose innovative ideas and breakthroughs were often overshadowed by their male colleagues. It offers a platform for telling their stories and demonstrating long-overdue appreciation for their extraordinary courage and their work.”—Gesine Born
Using AI for digital storytelling
The exhibition organized by the University Gender Equality Commissioner and the Bilderinstitut is showcasing missing pictures of female researchers from the University of Bonn in the University of Bonn Museum from April 2025 onward. This is being made possible by artificial intelligence. The Berlin-based science photographer Gesine Born has shone the digital spotlight on 12 exceptional female researchers from various faculties at the University of Bonn. The very latest AI technologies have been used to re-interpret old portraits and place them in a new context in order to lend a tangible visual form to the achievements of the women behind them.
Couldn't it have been like this?
Sometimes, with her portraits, Gesine Born even goes beyond the known facts of the past. For example, when a scientist who died in the 1960s is "awarded" a Nobel Prize for 1968 based on the newly created portrait, something that never actually happened. Couldn't it have been exactly like this if someone had acquired a picture of the scientist in time? The exhibition is not a classic documentary, nor does it intend to be one, but rather presents AI-assisted art. It uses a realistic-looking image to show what would have been a fitting tribute.
Artificial intelligence also draws its knowledge exclusively from the internet. However, the systematic discrimination against female scientists is just as entrenched there as it was in other media from the pre-internet era. Therefore, AI tends to perpetuate prejudices. "If even artificial intelligence believes that a scientist must be a man under any circumstances, this highlights the systematic discrimination against women in science and society," says Born. The new exhibition "Bring on the Portr[AI]ts!" is a counter to this.
Says Gender Equality Commissioner Gabriele Alonso Rodriguez: “This exhibition serves as a reminder of how, over so many years, numerous women in science and academia have remained virtually invisible despite their outstanding contributions to research. That’s something we now want to change.”
Her mit den Portr[AI]ts
Bild © Gesine Born/Bilderinstitut [KI-generiert]
Exhibition „Bring the Portr[AI]ts!“
December 1, 2025, to February 10, 2026
Foyer of the Lecture Hall Center on Poppelsdorf campus
Friedrich-Hirzebruch-Allee 5, 53115 Bonn
Open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Admission is free.
Guided tours
Guided tours of the exhibition (30 minutes) are available upon request.
Contact
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