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.
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.
Treasures & Tragedies
Mining in the Ore Mountains
[until 29 June]
Mining has been carried out in the Ore Mountains for three and a half millennia. Treasures & Tragedies tells of power and wealth, of pioneering technical innovations, but also of the exploitation of people and nature.
European Realities
Realism movements of the 1920s and 1930s in Europe
[27 April - 10 August]
European Realities is the first exhibition to bring together the realism movements of the 1920s and 1930s as a pan-European movement. A world that had come apart at the seams found its artistic expression in an art that emphasised reality.
Tales of Transformation
Industry and Change
[25 April - 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.
Sun seeker!
Art, mining, Uranium
[10 April - 10 August]
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's history, Sonnensucher! presents the most extensive art collection of a GDR company.
Open Process
Documentation centre on the NSU complex in Saxony
[from 17 May]
Based on the NSU complex, Open Process 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.
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.
Hallenkunst
Contemporary art on 5000 m²
Hallenkunst shows works by international artists who began their careers as graffiti or street art artists but have since turned to other techniques. Murals are also created on various surfaces in public spaces. Artist talks and performances will take place alongside the exhibition.
