The living room of the Capital of Culture Office is moving into the Palace of Culture: for one afternoon on Saturday, August 19, from 2 to 6 pm, it will be setting up its sofa landscape in the Potemkin Institute and inviting visitors to talk about culture, Europe and the city. What do they mean, are they important, or are they just Potemkin villages?

Discuss with members of Freundeskreis2025 e.V. and staff of the Capital of Culture Office and share your ideas and thoughts with them.

The walkabouts about yourself:

<The Potemkin Institute really exists! Believe us! The name of the institute comes from the phrase "Potemkin villages". The legend says: The Russian general Gregor Alexandrovich Potemkin deceived his ruler Catherine the Great He did not show her real villages but only painted stage sets. But the legend of the Potemkin villages is not true. This story may have been invented by the Saxon politician Georg von Helbig in order to denigrate the general Potemkin.

This legend is the starting point of our research. The Potemkin Institute investigates the relationship between appearance and reality. How to lie correctly? How do you cover up bad relationships? How do you prevent revolution? The 14th edition of the art and culture festival Begehungen shows the results of this research.

We invite you! Together with you we want to discover these truths. Together with you we want to question these lies. Together with you, we want to open up spaces: socially, politically and with all senses.

The Potemkin Institute has moved into the Rabenstein Palace of Culture This building is a monument of socialist classicism in Chemnitz. The building was constructed in 1951 for hard working miners. There was a theatre hall, a dance hall, restaurant and café, as well as other rooms for leisure activities. Later the GDR television used the building. Entertainment shows were produced in the Karl-Marx-Stadt studio. The Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk used the studio until 1999, after which parties were celebrated in the building. Since then the place has been decaying. In 2017, the Potemkin Institute will open in this historic cultural palace..

A jury has selected 26 artists* from different countries around the world. They show contemporary art of different styles. There is also a varied accompanying programme. This includes film, theatre, music, guided tours through the exhibition and much more.

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www.begehungen-chemnitz.de