From the programme
A selection of current highlights from the Chemnitz 2025 calendar
Chemnitz is the European Capital of Culture 2025, with more than 1000 events in the programme, in the city and in the cultural region with a further 38 municipalities.
We provide an overview of current programmes, exhibitions and events. Given the wealth of the programme, this can only be a selection. The complete overview can be found at chemnitz2025.de/veranstaltungen.
Tales of Transformation
Until 16 November at the Museum of Industry: Experience the exciting development of Chemnitz from industrialisation to the current transformation processes. The city gave the starting signal for industrialisation in Saxony and developed into the "Saxon Manchester". However, these "Manchester" cities can be found all over Europe and show that Chemnitz is not alone in its challenges: the French city of Mulhouse, Tampere in Finland, Gabrovo in Bulgaria, Łódź in Poland and, of course, the eponymous Manchester in northern England. How do they deal with their industrial heritage? What strategies do the cities have for their future and what can we learn from each other?
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Chemnitz Art Collections
European Realities
For the first time, the exhibition is dedicated to the diverse realist movements that were visible almost everywhere in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. It tells of poverty and misery, reports on the economic boom and cultural prosperity, scientific and technical progress, the big city and nightlife, emancipation and diversity. Never before has this artistic epoch been presented on such a scale.
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Beyond Geometry
until 29 June 2025, Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz: As part of the European Capital of Culture Year 2025, the exhibition is dedicated to two international star architects of their time: the visionary Frei Otto (1925-2015), born in Siegmar, Chemnitz, and the Japanese architecture icon Kengo Kuma (*1954).
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Collateral Sculptures
until 19 Dec. 2025, outdoor area of the Hartmannfabrik, a project by Chemnitz investor Udo Pfeifer and his family. The owner and the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz developed a temporary exhibition project for the Hartmannfabrik in the outdoor area. Selected artists of international renown were invited to place sculptures and works of art on the grounds and in the gardens of the Hartmannfabrik.
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Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House
opens on 6 April, The former family home of the artist Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, one of the most important German artists of the 20th century as co-founder of the expressionist group "Die Brücke", has been restored and reconstructed over the past few years in line with its listed status. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 11 am to 6 pm.
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Schneeberg braid
until 29 June 2025, Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz: Art comes from making! Applied art connects this making with all our lives, brings beauty into our everyday lives, shapes relationships and living spaces. It has been created for 146 years in the workshops of the Schneeberg University of Applied Arts, whose holdings meet those of the Chemnitz Art Collections here.
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In the region
The PURPLE PATH is open
The PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail was officially opened from 11 to 13 April. The weekend offered a varied programme of art, culture and shared experiences throughout the region.
The PURPLE PATH connects the citizens of Chemnitz with each other and with those of 38 towns and municipalities in the region. Between Mittweida and Schwarzenberg, Glauchau and Seiffen, Freiberg and Schneeberg, a sustainably conceived and designed sculpture museum is being created in public spaces.
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Sun seeker! Art and mining at Wismut
Until 10 August at the Historische Baumwollspinnerei 1896 Zwickau: During the Cold War, SDAG Wismut in the GDR mined weapons-grade uranium for the Soviet Union. At the same time, it was a legendary "state within a state" and collected fine art on a grand scale. For the first time in Zwickau, at an authentic site of Wismut's history, the exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of the largest art collection of a GDR company, comprising more than 4,200 works.
Supplemented by loans from other collections, the project offers an exemplary overview of the artistic depiction of work, mining and everyday life in the GDR. A pictorial expedition into the recent past, which also leads to the challenges of the transformation following German reunification.
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Also in Chemnitz
Silver lustre and miner's death
Until 29 June, State Museum of Archaeology SMAC: The exhibition sheds light on ore mining from both its shiny and dark sides. Objects from the Bronze Age to the 21st century bring to light what went on underground.
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John Cage. Museumcircle
Until 18 May at the Museum of Industry: the museums of a city are jointly exhibiting collection items that are randomly determined and just as randomly assigned to specific places in the exhibition space. More than 40 museums from the Capital of Culture region are taking part.
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Exhibition - Made in Saxony
Until 4 September, the "Werkschau - Made in Saxony" is presenting the most exciting projects and works from Saxony's cultural and creative industries. The exhibition shows how well thought-out design, smart solutions and unconventional ideas create added value.
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#3000 Garages
The #3000Garages project presents the approximately 30,000 garages in Chemnitz, most of which were built collectively and by the people themselves during the GDR era, as living archives, creative spaces and meeting places.
In artistic projects, the individual stories of the garage users are conveyed and creatively transformed against the backdrop of Chemnitz's city history, while festivals, workshops and art events activate the garage courtyards as socio-cultural community centres.
The following projects are currently on show: