Saxony: Chemnitz pushes cultural capital projects | STERN.de

Saxony
Chemnitz is pushing cultural capital projects

Under the impression of right-wing extremist riots, the people of Chemnitz put together their application for the Capital of Culture and prevailed against the strong competition in autumn 2020.

One of the main concerns is to activate the “quiet center” of society. Can it work? The displeasure with the Corona measures is currently again giving a boost to right-wing extremists in Saxony, who drum up for illegal elevators every week. And in some places violence is breaking out again. Program director Stefan Schmidtke does not believe that artists can be put off by this. “I’m sure that culture and dealing with culture can make a difference here.”

“Switching from the abstract to the practical”

The “Bid Book” with which Chemnitz won the bid for European Capital of Culture 2025 is 100 pages long – alongside Nova Gorica in Slovenia. Schmidtke, who has been at the helm of the Capital of Culture GmbH since the beginning of December, speaks of a “collection of ideas”. “The next step is to turn it into a resilient program. We are at the point of switching from the abstract to the practical. ” The book contains 72 ideas from which concrete projects can now be made. These have priority, but it is planned to open the doors again for further suggestions in the future. A finished program is then to be presented to the EU in summer 2023.

The first stakes were driven in last year. With a tour to Prague, cyclists gave a foretaste of the “European Peace Ride”, which is intended to celebrate sports culture. In November, the large-scale “We Parapom” project was started with the planting of the first trees – the prelude to a parade of up to 4,000 apple trees across the city. It is intended to symbolically overcome boundaries, bring people together and reflect on how we deal with the environment and food. Meanwhile, the art expert Alexander Ochs is constantly on the move around Chemnitz to develop the “Purple Path”. The art and culture trail is intended to connect the city with the surrounding area. A nutcracker was also sent to the ISS space station for this purpose.

In a recent monitoring, the EU jury praised the progress and “the high level of professionalism” of the Chemnitz team, but also gave them some homework. The concept of the «maker» must be worked out more precisely. Otherwise it is a pure fashion term, under which everything is to be understood. And the experts call for more depth with a view to dealing with people on the right-wing fringes of society and their views. Creative ways must be found to deal with the spread of right-wing ideas in parts of the population without excluding these people.

The focus should be on the “quiet center”

Because the Capital of Culture 2025 does not just want to be a project for urban development, but also has social development on the flags. The declared aim is to focus on the “quiet center”. What is meant are those people who do not take part in political debates, do not get involved in politics and thus indirectly encourage social radicalization. However, there is still skepticism that it will be possible to activate this “silent center”, as a survey by the Chemnitz University of Technology showed among clubs, associations and initiatives.

“My goal is to create atmospheres where people feel comfortable,” emphasizes Schmidtke. Then they would also have other thoughts. In 2022, he wants to whet the appetite for 2025 in parallel to building sustainable structures. In addition to a choir festival, a festival under the title “Makers United” is planned as a meeting of cultural workers and citizens in the city. And the parade of apple trees will also continue to grow. In the future, even more areas are to be unsealed and more trees are to be placed in the ground in spring and autumn.

dpa