The KOSMOS conference is taking place for the first time this year. On 20 September 2023 between 2 and 9 p.m., interested parties are cordially invited to get involved in this format, be inspired by it and thus also become part of the KOSMOS CHEMNITZ festival. The focus will be on exploring the themes and possible structure of future festival editions.
The KOSMOS conference is aimed in particular at interested associations, companies or private individuals who would like to help shape the festival in the future or are interested in an exchange of ideas. The conference will take place at two locations:
The kick-off in the university library
It starts at 2 pm in the University Library. Two parallel formats will take place in the rooms behind the bus station until 6 pm. After a short welcome, the public programme will begin at 2 pm with three impulses on the question "Which topics could play a role at a KOSMOS Festival?". Input will be provided by the European artist group "Tools for Action", the Dresden-based organisation anDemos e.V., which sees itself as an institute for applied democracy and social research, and the people behind the ERZählungen project from Thalheim, which aims to strengthen democracy work in rural areas.
This will be followed by two discussion rounds on the programme. The first, at 4 p.m., will explore the question of how cooperation can succeed - especially in relation to larger projects and plans. Can a project such as a festival be both a process and a result? Dr Doreen Mölders, Director of the LWL Museum of Archaeology Herne, Linn Jördens from the competition "Auf die Plätze! Citizen Science in your city" competition, urban scenographer Anna Hentschel and Angela Müller-Giannetti from Eucrea, the umbrella organisation for art and disability.
The second discussion round, starting at 5 p.m., will look at the bigger picture. How do other festivals actually do it? What structures do they have, how do they finance themselves and how do they manage to involve people in formats or content? Actors from various festivals have their say: Martin Naundorf talks about the OSTEN Festival, which sees itself as a festival for art and mutual interest. Katharina Good gives an insight behind the scenes of the science+fiction festival in Basel, and Anja Fehre from the Stadtmensch festival in Altenburg shares her experiences.
The in-between: the Walking Conference
After the first part of the conference day, the evening programme awaits. However, a few metres have to be covered for this. This is uncomplicated, doesn't take long and is structurally barrier-free. At 6 p.m., everyone who wants to will be taken on a not-so-ordinary walk from A to B. The meeting point is 6 pm in front of the university library at the bus station. Arrival at GALERIA Kaufhof is planned for around 6.30 pm.
The finale: "Zur Sache, Chemnitz" with ZEIT and the ZEIT Foundation at GALERIA Kaufhof
In the evening, the chairs in the GALERIA Kaufhof restaurant will be rearranged. A podium will be set up and the interactive panel discussion "Zur Sache, Chemnitz" will take place at 7 p.m. with a view of the market square and the town hall together with the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT and the ZEIT Foundation. Patrik Schwarz, editor-in-chief of the regional editions of DIE ZEIT, and August Modersohn, ZEIT im Osten, will ask the audience and interesting personalities from the worlds of culture, science and politics: "Is Chemnitz now making the East great?". Of course, Chemnitz will be the European Capital of Culture in 2025. But does the city also have an impact beyond its borders? How can Chemnitz shape the image of East Germany? Have the consequences of the 2018 riots really been overcome? And how can Chemnitz hold its own in the East German city battle with Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin? Marco Wanderwitz, Member of the Bundestag, CDU, Juliane Stückrad, ethnologist and author, Sören Uhle, Managing Director of Chemnitzer Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH and Anja Richter, Acting Director General of the Chemnitz Art Collections, will be discussing these questions on stage with the Chemnitz citizens in the audience.
The "KOSMOS EUROPE" project is one of the projects for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 programme and Kulturhauptstadt GmbH is supporting the project's development process.
