Literature scholarship 2022/2023
Interview with Arna Aley - first literature scholarship holder of the City of Chemnitz at the end of her six-month stay
Dear Mrs Aley,
What is your impression of the people of Chemnitz? Is there a particular image that you have gained of the people of Chemnitz in recent months?
I am often asked how I would describe a "typical Chemnitz resident". Right at the beginning of my stay in the city, I got to know so many different people personally that I didn't have the opportunity to think in stereotypical terms. However, an image of people on the street has emerged in my head - which may not be true at all: People move forward very purposefully. The woman usually walks half a step ahead, the man follows a little behind. And always with their destination in mind. At any rate, drifting through the city is not typical for Chemnitz residents.
The image that the city wants to convey with the Capital of Culture is that of movers and shakers. Is that perhaps true?
Yes, absolutely. When, in the run-up to my stay, I wrote in the description of the idea for "C the Unseen! I was a bit sceptical, or rather I thought, yes, okay, that's how it's written, but what does that mean in concrete terms? I've now seen what it actually means: it's a mindset that really fascinates me. People are actively involved: in discussions, in decisions. I've never seen so many active organisations as in Chemnitz. I've also never received so much direct feedback on my work as in Chemnitz. That keeps you awake. It makes you work hard. I go to Berlin for a few days every now and then to relax and "stroll" aimlessly through Prenzlauer Berg. Perhaps this "doer" attitude comes from the "working-class culture".
And how do you feel about that?
I'm very familiar with this "mentality". I come from a working-class town in Lithuania where culture was very important. The theatre in my hometown of Panevėžys attracted so many theatre-goers from all over the former Soviet Union that a twelve-storey hotel was built right next to the theatre to accommodate the theatre pilgrims. The interplay between industry and culture also has a deep-rooted tradition in Chemnitz. The model collection in the art collections or Villa Esche are the best examples of this. I don't know whether such a cross-fertilisation of art and industry can still work today - but the interaction of down-to-earthness and cultural interest creates a productive tension that is palpable here. You could also call it "Chemnitz air".
About Arna Aley
Arna Aley was the first literature scholarship holder of the city of Chemnitz. She lived and worked here from October 2022 to March 2023 and took part in the social discourse with her contributions.
Arna Aley, born in Panevėžys, Lithuania, studied scenic writing at the Berlin University of the Arts and violoncello at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius, Lithuania. She worked as an assistant director, evening theatre director and stage musician at the Berliner Ensemble. In 2009, she switched to film and was head of the directing department for the international multimedia project "DAU" (directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky).
Arna Aley's theatre plays have been awarded numerous prizes and scholarships and have premiered at the Berliner Ensemble, among others. In 2019, she was the winner of the Berlin Senate Literature Scholarship. She translates plays from Lithuanian into German and from German into Lithuanian, including plays by Sibylle Berg.
Background: Literature scholarship 2022/2023
A total of 41 women and men from Germany and Austria applied for the scholarship.
In February 2022, the Culture Committee decided to advertise a literature scholarship for the city of Chemnitz for the first time. In line with the objectives of the cultural strategy "Giving Culture Space", the residency scholarship is intended to enable creative people and artists to become mobile. This creates an exchange between external and local creatives, but also with the urban community.
Arna Aley before the start of her literature scholarship:
"I'm really looking forward to my time here in Chemnitz. I'm not going to lock myself away and write a novel. I want to be a listener and experience people's stories".
The six-member jury that selected the scholarship holder was made up of the writer Hans Brinkmann (Chemnitz); Prof Ulrike Brummert, docteur d'Etat, cultural scientist and member of the Chemnitz Cultural Advisory Board; Dr Lutz Graner, literary scientist and member of the Chemnitz Cultural Advisory Board. Lutz Graner, literary scholar at the University of Bielefeld and owner of the Chemnitz Eichenspinner publishing house; Marcus Heinke, project manager for culture at the Chemnitz Network for Cultural and Youth Work; Kerstin Hensel, author and professor of German verse and diction at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts (Berlin), and poetry slammer Stefanie Menschner (Chemnitz).