Views from Above
Participatory textile work on the diversity of the city
Everyone experiences Chemnitz differently. The city is perceived through people and their daily journeys, through nature and architecture, through memories of other cities or hometowns. These perceptions of the city were brought into a textile form by two women together with people who wanted to do so: Sabine Hochmuth, who invited visitors to her wool garage to work together, and the Finnish artist Kati Hyyppä, who lives in Berlin. In hands-on workshops, real and imaginary objects and landscapes were created from felt and embroidery. They were sewn together to form a large carpet that showed a bird's eye view of Chemnitz and reflected the diversity of the (cultural capital) city.
This project was supportedby the Finnish Institute Berlin and KONE Garant Aufzug GmbH Chemnitz.
The workshops took place between September 2024 and September 2025 in the Wollgarage and other locations in Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region. Vogelperspektiven was part of the #3000Garagen exhibition until the end of November 2025.
Many views of one city
The bird's eye view workshops have taken place at various locations and in collaboration with different initiatives - for example with Ukraine-Haus, Inspire or UNDOYARN, at Brühl, in the Wollgarage or in the Schmidtbank-Passage at the Big Table. Since September 2024, people have been busy felting and embroidering in hands-on workshops. By the end of March 2025, over 70 participants had already created around 100 motifs. The motifs depict perspectives, places and everyday scenes of urban society: from Brühl Boulevard to the Karl Marx Monument and the zoo, sports initiatives, cultural centres and natural monuments are also represented.
Sabine Hochmuth
Sabine Hochmuth (*1972) was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt and has been running her own studio as a felt artist under the name "WollBine" since 2006, which is housed in a garage in the summer. She works with various felting techniques and materials, develops her own projects, gives workshops and accompanies various school projects. In 2024 and 2025, she opened her WollGarage for neighbourly exchange on the subject of wool and handicrafts and thus joined the #3000Garagen project.
Kati Hyyppä
Kati Hyyppä (*1976) is a Finnish artist who combines art with technology and craft. She explores different media and materials: from electronics and code to wood, recycled objects and textiles. Participation, humour and the spirit of DIY and hacker culture are the basic principles of her work. In her objects, installations and workshops, she thematises traditional knowledge, sustainability, self-built electronics and playful learning. She lives and works in Berlin.
