Participating artists:Veneta Androva (BG) Anna Baranowski (DE/PL) Anna Sophia Barth (DE) Danica Dakić (BU) Anna Ehrenstein (AL) Inmia Femenía (ES) María Cecilia Guelfi (AR) Jana Gunstheimer (DE) Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze (GE) Frenzy Höhne (DE) Emanuel Mathias (DE) Aristeo Mora (MEX) Martina Pinosa (IT) Vico Rosenberg (DE) Cindy Sherman (US) Federico Solmi (IT/US)Hito Steyerl (DE/JP) Saša Tatić (BU) Miloš Trakilović (NL/BU) Jiawen Uffline (CN) Atelier Van Lieshout(NL) Erwin Wurm (AU) kanaluntersuchung (Frank Maibier/Andreas Winkler) & Chris Münster (DE)
Curated by Claudia Tittel (DE/ES)
Venue:Schauspielhaus Chemnitz
Zieschestraße 28
09111 Chemnitz
Every year, the Begehungen arts festival makes use of vacant venues. In 2026, the Chemnitz Schauspielhaus will be the venue. Since 2022, it has been unable to be used as a theatre due to structural defects. A lively debate is currently taking place in political and civil society circles regarding renovation and new construction.
This debate is not only centred on the specific building, but is representative of wider discussions about the value of culture and how to deal with the architectural heritage of the GDR. During its guest performance at the Schauspielhaus, the Begehungen art festival aims to keep the space open for these discussions.
As a historical site of staging, the theatre directly refers to the mechanisms of the production and mediation of reality. In the context of digital media, AI-driven image generation and accelerated public spheres, the boundaries between reality and simulation are increasingly dissolving. In this field of tension, democratic processes of negotiation come under pressure, whilst authoritarian and technocratic models of governance gain influence.
The Begehungen art festival aims to reflect on the dangerous strategies of staging reality under the theme IN THE IMAGINATION through the medium of art, whilst also countering these narratives with something powerful.
