A European Capital of Culture would be inconceivable without its exhibitions. Every day there are dozens of places that want to be visited. They present stories and history, art of today and from past eras, crafts and traditions, everyday culture and contemporary history. The following is just a small selection of the major exhibitions for Chemnitz 2025.
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PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail
It all comes from the mountain
The PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail will showcase works by renowned international, national and Saxon artists. The result is an exhibition in public space that tells the story of people, craftsmanship and industry and invites visitors to discover these stories.
Silver lustre & miner's death
Die Bergbau-Ausstellung
[until 29 June]
Mining has been carried out in the Ore Mountains for three and a half millennia. Silberglanz & Kumpeltod tells of power and wealth, of pioneering technical innovations, but also of the exploitation of people and nature.
Art festival tours
Contemporary art in a thermal power plant
[18 July - 17 August]
The colourful Esse, visible everywhere in Chemnitz, is part of a decommissioned lignite-fired power plant. In the midst of this impressive industrial architecture, the Begehungen art festival is dedicated to topics such as resource consumption, biodiversity and climate change - with an international exhibition, concerts, readings, films, lectures and debates.
European Realities
Realism movements of the 1920s and 1930s in Europe
[until 10 August]
European Realities brings together the realism movements of the 1920s and 1930s as a pan-European movement in one exhibition for the first time. A world that had come apart at the seams found its artistic expression in an art that emphasised reality.
Sun seeker!
Art, mining, uranium
[extended until 26 October]
In GDR times, "Wismut" mined weapons-grade uranium for the Soviet Union - and collected fine art on a grand scale. In Zwickau, at an authentic site of Wismut history, Sonnensucher! is exhibiting the most extensive art collection of a GDR company.
Edvard Munch. Fear
Munch in dialogue with contemporary positions
[10 August - 2 November]
Edvard Munch. Fear spans an arc from the historical perspective on the feeling of fear in the art of Edvard Munch to artistic works in our present day. Even today, Munch's works and their themes are immensely topical and thus remain particularly accessible.
ibug
Urban art in the industrial wasteland
[22-24.08., 29-31.08., 05-07.09]
Ibug (abbreviation for industrial brownfield redevelopment) is one of the most important festivals for urban art in Europe. International artists transform the empty halls of an abandoned building into a positive utopia of the possible.
Hallenkunst
Contemporary Art on 5000 m²
[28.08. - 12.10.2025]
Hallenkunst shows works by international artists who began their careers as graffiti or street art artists but have since turned to other techniques. Murals will also be created on various surfaces in public spaces. Artist talks and performances will be organised to accompany the exhibition.
Tales of Transformation
Industry and change
[until 16 November]
Tales of Transformation is about the rise, fall and reinvention of European industrial centres. Chemnitz was once the centre of Saxon industrialisation and was confronted with upheaval and radical change.
#3000Garages - The exhibition
The East Garage phenomenon at a glance
[until 29 November]
The #3000Garages exhibition presents the essence of garages, the cultural value of these inconspicuous little buildings - condensed and transformed: in the form of artistic works, recordings, documents and artefacts.
Open process
Documentation centre on the NSU complex in Saxony
[until 21.12.2025]
Based on the NSU complex, Offener Prozess shows stories of migration and the everyday racism that people are still exposed to today. But also their resistance to it. It depicts the continuous right-wing violence and the loud voices that stood up against it.
