Chemnitz Hat Festival: Festival of street art
8th Hat Festival 2025
30 May to 1 June 2025
For three days from 30 May to 1 June 2025, the 8th HUTFESTIVAL - the festival of street art - will transform the alleyways and squares in Chemnitz city centre into a large open-air stage full of live music, clowning, artistry, juggling, fire shows, walking acts, art and street food. With diverse street artists and acts from many European nations, including local artists, the festival promises a spectacle full of surprises, amazement and magic. At every corner you will discover funny, entertaining, touching, artistic and culinary delights.
Artist registration
Live music, performance art, juggling, body art, dance, fire shows or clowning - a colourful mixture of different art forms, spectacular, touching, interactive - that is the HUTFESTIVAL.
Applications and programme proposals can be submitted all year round.
Review: 7th Hat Festival 2024
24 to 26 May
The 7th Hat Festival attracted around 55,000 visitors to the city centre from 24 to 26 May with international street art.
Chemnitz city centre was transformed into a large open-air theatre over three days. Over 350 street artists and acts from twelve nations took to the stage. During the opening show on Friday, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze symbolically handed over the hat to the street artists together with Conrad Wawra alias the Kaosclown.
While the 55,000 or so guests of all ages strolled around the festival site well protected and in good spirits throughout, the weather remained changeable this year with some heavy rain showers. On Saturday afternoon, the programme had to be interrupted for around two hours due to a thunderstorm. "But that didn't dampen the good mood," said Dr Ralf Schulze, organiser and Managing Director of C³ Chemnitzer Veranstaltungszentren GmbH. Visitors were invited to have their photo taken with their self-designed and decorated hats. This way, they become part of the photo exhibition, which was already on display this year in the Galerie Roter Turm and will be continued and further developed in 2025 - in keeping with the motto of the European Capital of Culture Year 2025 "C the Unseen", which aims to show and rediscover the previously unseen.
A look back: Chapeau Chemnitz - 6th HUTFESTIVAL from 19 to 21 May 2023
Multifaceted, international street art attracted around 65,000 visitors to the city centre
Chemnitz city centre was transformed into a large open-air theatre for the 6th time, showcasing multifaceted, international street art.
There was something to discover everywhere on eight stages with matching hat names and numerous activity areas: 180 artists and acts from ten nations (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, France, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland and Germany) presented the different facets of street art in its most beautiful form with live music, performance art, juggling, body art, dance, fire shows and clowning. In addition to many cultural attractions, there was also art at the "Market of Beautiful Things" and culinary delights to discover.
Review 2022
27 to 29 May
Chemnitz city centre was transformed into a large open-air stage for the 5th time, showcasing the most diverse facets of street art in its most beautiful form. For three whole days, musicians, jugglers, artists, clowns and performance artists once again conquered Chemnitz city centre and made children's eyes light up and smiling faces appear on the stages.
The festival thrives on surprises, amazement, dreams and magic. You stroll through the alleyways and across the market squares and discover funny, entertaining and touching things on every corner.
Review 2021
40,000 guests experience a multi-faceted street art festival
The 4th Festival of Street Art took place in Chemnitz from 3 to 5 September 2021. In summery temperatures and in a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere, around 40,000 guests experienced a multi-faceted street art festival.
Chemnitz city centre around the market square became a huge open-air stage - there was something to discover everywhere on a total of nine stages with matching hat names and other activity areas: 100 artists and acts from 10 nations (Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Slovenia) presented the different facets of street art in its most beautiful form with live music, performance art, juggling, body art, dance, fire shows or clowning.
Review 2020
HUTFESTIVAL on Tour brought street art to Chemnitz and the cultural region
The HUTFESTIVAL went on tour from 9 to 11 October 2020 and brought street art directly to people's everyday places.
For three days, the HUTFESTIVAL toured through Chemnitz districts and the cultural region. 43 venues were on the programme: from Annaberg to Zwickau, from primary schools to retirement homes, from garden centres to football clubs, from farms to market squares. The colourful selection of venues was suggested in advance by local residents and attracted young and old alike. At each of these locations, a colourful hat mobile conjured up street art for 30 - 60 minutes. A total of seven hat mobiles were on the road. Despite cool temperatures and a few rain showers, between 20 and 510 people gathered at the various venues. You could see smiling faces and many creative, home-made hats. Around 8,500 guests attended the charming and somewhat different "mobile" festival under the special conditions.
Review 2019
Second hat festival inspires with multifaceted street art
65,000 visitors experienced a festival with the best that street art has to offer. Over 250 programme contributions showcased multifaceted street art and ensured that the streets and squares were full.
Numerous visitors flocked to Chemnitz Neumarkt for the opening on Friday. The three-day festival was heralded in with the collective singing of Patrick Schulze's specially composed song "A Hat Full of Dreams". An impressive sight was created when children released 300 colourful balloons.
The kick-off was followed by 250 contributions until Sunday. The city centre was transformed into a large open-air stage with musicians, artists, jugglers, dancers, stilt walkers and comedians. Visitors were treated to all kinds of funny, breathtaking and touching performances. Among the crowd-pullers were the artistry of the Italian-Argentine "Duo Masawa", the cheerful music of the Dutch band "de utlopers"the Canadian circus show "devil in disguise", clowning from Italy with "Fausto Giori" or the imaginative costumes of "Elfe Sorgenfrei" and "Troll Trolly".
But it wasn't just at the 12 stage venues that there was something new to discover almost around the clock. A market of beautiful things, graffiti to take part in and the hat installation made of colourful hats attracted a lot of attention. Another highlight of the Hat Festival was on Saturday evening, when the motto was: "Chapeau Chemnitz!" A giant top hat, accompanied by a colourful parade of artists, musicians and performers, made its way across the festival grounds to the finale on the market square. On the stage, many performers presented a firework display of entertainment art. The "Banda Internationale" played at the end.
Many people from Chemnitz had accepted the idea of the festival and invited friends and acquaintances from outside to show the city from its best side. It is an important confirmation for the Capital of Culture application that culture with low-threshold access can work very well in the city centre.