Until the beginning of May 2023, ideas for micro-projects could be submitted to the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 GmbH for the twelfth time. A total of 13 ideas were selected by the jury. The applicants will each receive up to 3,000 euros in support for the realisation of the projects. Five of the 13 micro-projects are to take place in the European Cultural Region.
In line with the Capital of Culture motto "C the Unseen", all projects aim to make the invisible and unseen visible and create places for dialogue and togetherness - in the form of workshops, exhibitions, theatre performances or joint celebrations, even across borders.
The micro-project participation format is aimed at associations, initiatives and individuals. It was initiated by the City of Chemnitz in 2017 to support creative projects in Chemnitz and the surrounding cultural region. The aim is to realise good ideas that bring creativity, dialogue and a sense of community as well as modern skills and topics with a European dimension to life in urban and rural areas. The micro-projects are also intended to strengthen civic engagement.
From graffiti workshops, theatre projects and European encounters - these new microprojects are being implemented:
Bad Schlema cultural (goods) railway station
The decay of the Lower Railway Station in Bad Schlema, which opened in 1858, is to be counteracted at a social level in order to establish a meeting and activity centre. In this context, KGE e. V. has set itself the task of making this monument to the industrialisation of the Ore Mountains usable by developing a place for the town's society through the active participation of young citizens in particular. To this end, an ideas competition is to be launched, artists and cultural workers are to be involved and inspiration is to be drawn from outside in order to create a space for open interaction.
Initiator/Applicant: KGE e. V.
Place of realisation: Bad Schlema, Unterer Bahnhof
A doll called hope
For two days, the Ukrainian puppet theatre Lviv (Lemberg) will present three performances of the project "The Puppet Named Hope" for children and adults. The play focuses on the war situation from within Ukraine and aims to reflect hope, which does not fade even in the most difficult moments of life. The project unites Chemnitz with the city of Lviv, which will be the European Youth Capital in 2025. In addition to the feeling of confidence, the aim is also to bring Ukrainian culture closer to the German public and to promote cultural cooperation between the two countries. The two-day tour, which will take place during the intercultural weeks in September 2023, is organised by the association AG Ukraine-Chemnitz-Europa e. V. and is aimed at everyone aged three and over.
Initiator/Applicant: AG Ukraine-Chemnitz-Europa e. V.
Place of realisation: Chemnitz, exact location to be announced
Invisible centre - on the edge of Europe
The Human Aid Collective e. V. from Chemnitz would like to use a photography exhibition to make the living conditions of refugees at Europe's external borders visible to the wider urban community. The exhibition is expected to take place as part of the intercultural weeks taking place in September 2023 and will inform, educate and raise awareness on the topic. The organisers are also planning a reading in an easily accessible location, such as a bookshop.
Initiator/Applicant: Human Aid Collective e. V.
Place of realisation: Chemnitz, exact location to be announced
"WALL OF FEMME - Urban Art Mobile" - street art for young people in rural areas and Chemnitz
The socio-cultural project by Arthur e. V. comprises a mobile graffiti and street art programme for young people aged 14 and over in Chemnitz and rural areas and focuses in particular on girls, FLINTA people and young people with a migration biography. The aim is to make a contribution to low-threshold cultural education and to introduce young people to artistic creation without any prior knowledge. The mobile system means that all the materials required can be stored in a car trailer, which remains at the respective location for the entire duration of the workshop. This means that the young people can (once again) become active on their own afterwards. The establishment of a local graffiti event in communities around Chemnitz is also conceivable. The workshops should last one to three days and take place four to six times in 2023. This time will also be used to intensify artistic exchange with the Czech Republic and Austria.
Initiator/Applicant: Arthur e. V.
Place of realisation: Chemnitz and surrounding area, exact locations to be announced
Culture connects people
The Neue Arbeit Chemnitz e. V. centre brings together a wide range of associations and cultural teams, from the neighbourhood band to the German-British Society. From June 2023, the team of amateur writers based here will be working on a poem on the topic of "Culture connects people", which will be translated into various languages. An anthology is also to be created. In autumn 2023, the first samples of what has been created will be presented in smaller readings before the poem is also to be published with the participation of the district band. The collaboration will then culminate in a musical-literary programme in 2024, which will be performed several times in public during the Capital of Culture year 2025.
Initiator:in/Applicant:in: Neue Arbeit Chemnitz e. V.
Sport and a healthy lifestyle can also be fun! A workshop day for German and Czech young people
In September 2023, a cross-border workshop day is to take place at the Punkt West children's and youth centre in Chemnitz, where around 40 German and Czech young people can acquire skills in various categories, such as "healthy homemade food" or "basketball". The association Miteinander statt Gegeneinander e. V. aims to sensitise young adults to living together in Europe. The association is supported by the cookery artist Anna Jencova, who lives in Chomutov, an interpreter and the Czech association Kultura Europe bez Hranice from Chomutov.
Initiator/Applicant: Miteinander statt Gegeneinander e. V.
Place of implementation: Chemnitz, Siegmar district/children's and youth centre Punkt West
Fritz Menzer and the secret machines of the Wanderer-Werke
What does Chemnitz have to do with the Enigma communication device? What were Allied troops looking for at the Wanderer-Werke in 1945 and what role did Fritz Menzer play? During the National Socialist era, the Saxon inventor Fritz Menzer created a variety of communication devices at the Wanderer-Werke, all with the aim of replacing the famous Enigma. While his life raises a number of questions, it is also important to examine the role of the Wanderer-Werke due to the involvement of forced labourers from the former Auschwitz concentration camp. In the micro-project, historical facts and connections, which have already been compiled as part of research with the Deutsches Museum in Munich and other partners, will be presented in a discussion evening with a film screening. An information board is also planned in the area of the former Wanderer works.
Initiator/Applicant: The applicant is Robert Jahn (libellulafilm I documentary & more)
Place of realisation: to be announced
In process..
Since the closure of the youth centre a few years ago, there are hardly any opportunities for young people in Lichtenstein/Sa. to take advantage of leisure activities outside of club structures or school offers. The project is intended to help activate young Lichtenstein residents and at the same time make the location more attractive in view of the increasing migration to large cities. Kultur.Palais.Lichtenstein would like to establish itself as a cultural centre in the coming years and is using the micro-project "in process ..." as an initial offer to young people. With the support of Rene Lämmel and Tino Beck, they are redesigning the façade of the building. The 2 x 3 metre surface will be covered with graffiti and other forms of urban design on three dates for three hours each. In terms of content, the sessions are divided into (familiarisation) learning, brainstorming and implementation. The focus is on the exchange of ideas within a heterogeneous group, but also on the change of design and the associated sustainability.
Initiator/Applicant: Kultur.Palais.Lichtenstein, City of Lichtenstein/Sa.
Place of realisation: Lichtenstein/Sa., Kultur.Palais.Lichtenstein
A day in the Chemnitz time machine - from the perspective of the skateboard scene
The skate team "BLANK TEAM" is celebrating its 20th anniversary and would like to share its scene culture with the people of Chemnitz. To this end, they want to organise a day-long event that is divided into three parts: Firstly, the BLANK TEAM is planning a vernissage by the Chemnitz painter "MeistärEDER", who is himself part of the team and will present works on the subject of the Chemnitz skate scene and its intersections with other subcultures. The second part is intended to promote cross-generational networking among skaters - in the form of a skate jam session that aims to revitalise empty spaces, among other things. Finally, a video premiere is to take place in which clips of local skaters from the last 20 years will be shown. The aim is to develop a sense of community that further promotes exchange and networking within the scene and beyond.
Initiator/Applicant: Skate team "BLANK TEAM"
Place of realisation: Chemnitz, exact location to be announced
Hear colours? See music? - An underground sound art presentation by Peter Piek
The visitor mine "Zinngrube Ehrenfriedersdorf" will be brought to life in a new way in collaboration with the internationally successful artist Peter Piek, who was born in Chemnitz, probably in autumn 2023. In his spectacular and special work, he transforms the architecture of the underground space into a body of sound, which is complemented by graphics and paintings that reflect the communication between colours and sounds. This creates a unique resonance space in which visitors also become a work of art as their movements influence the installation. Due to the proximity of the visitor mine, it is also possible to visit the bronze sculptures "Wild Boars" by Carl Emanuel Wolf on the PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail, as well as the special exhibition "Ehrenfriedersdorf Mining in the Mirror of Art" above ground.
Initiator/Applicant: Town of Ehrenfriedersdorf
Place of realisation: Ehrenfriedersdorf, tin mine
Paint that wall!
Chemnitz should become more colourful - ideally in conjunction with an artistically valuable attraction and meeting place at an (industrial) cultural location. The car park at the former Chemnitz appliance factory in the Altendorf district offers the perfect space thanks to the demolition of some parts of the building. A wall measuring around 34 x 4.5 metres is to be made available to graffiti artists so that they can create a large-scale artwork for the Capital of Culture year. The advertising agency Revolte will provide image ideas for this, which will be made available online for voting. The aim is to involve urban society in the creative process. Interested citizens can also participate in the artwork themselves under the guidance of the professionals as soon as it is ready to be realised.
Initiator/Applicant: Revolte GmbH
Place of realisation: Chemnitz, district of Altendorf/Chemnitzer Gerätewerk
Hello dear neighbours - a cultural day of encounters between people from Rübenau and Kalek
The project aims to connect people from Rübenau, a district of Marienberg, and the neighbouring town of Kalek in the Czech Republic. In September 2023, the premises of the Regina Hänel farm shop in Rübenau will be used to present crafts from the Ore Mountains and offer pony rides at the Kalek pony ranch. Terraher(t)z" from Rübenau will also be exhibiting their works of art made from orgonite and the Czech woodcarving artist Miroslac Adamek and his colleague Jaroslav Koděra will be demonstrating how to create works of art from wood. In addition to Erzgebirge grilled sausage, visitors can enjoy Czech goulash soup and Erzgebirge and Czech music.
Initiator/Applicant: Kultur & Natur Erzgebirge e.V. / Ronny Kienert
Place of realisation: Marienberg OT Rübenau, Landhandel Regina Hänel
In this country ... Chemnitz 1923
The musical theatre project "OPUS45" by the association Netzwerk für Demokratie und Courage e. V. will stop in Chemnitz on 21 October 2023 and perform the play "In diesem Land ... das Krisenjahr 1923". A wind quintet will play pieces from 1923 to literary texts and press articles from the same year, which will be performed by actor Roman Knizka. In a preceding workshop with theatre educators, parallels between the years 1923 and 2023 will be explored in order to enter into dialogue with Chemnitz residents regarding the situation in the city and the general threat to democracy. This is intended to create an open basis for the Capital of Culture year. The regional coordination "School without Racism - School with Courage" Chemnitz is responsible for the organisation in Chemnitz.
Initiator/Applicant: Regional Coordination "Schule ohne Rassismus - Schule mit Courage" Chemnitz, Netzwerk für Demokratie und Courage e. V.
Place of realisation: Chemnitz, exact location to be announced
