Complete success: Begehungen 2025 art festival 18/08/2025

The Begehungen art festival was founded in Chemnitz in 2003. It is one of the most renowned art events in Saxony and attracts thousands of visitors every year. Since 2010, the art festival has changed its venue every year. Since then, a former prison, empty cultural centres, abandoned allotment gardens, an old brewery, disused department stores and schools, a drained swimming pool, an orphaned museum and an overgrown railway station have been the festival's venues. The Begehungen art festival sees itself as an inclusive and accessible festival. Access to all programme items and the exhibition is free of charge. The festival is largely organised by the voluntary work of the members of Begehungen e. V. and many helpers.

The northern CHP plant was built in 1957. The expansion of the HKW Nord to its current size began in the early 1980s. On 18 January 2024, the lignite-fired power plant was shut down by the operator eins energie in Sachsen GmbH & Co.

The CHP plant's chimney is known far beyond the city limits. At a good 300 metres, it is the tallest structure in Saxony. In 2013, the functional building was transformed into a widely visible work of art and one of Chemnitz's most popular landmarks. The work by French artist Daniel Buren is called Seven Colours for a Chimney and is part of the PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail.

The Begehungen art festival utilises an area of around one hectare, including the historically significant cooling tower 1 and various technical installations such as the huge metal deionised tanks. An exhibition area of more than 2,000 square metres will be created in three large halls.

The company eins energie in sachsen GmbH und Co KG is the owner of the festival site and a co-operation partner of the Begehungen 2025 art festival.

Ana Alenso (VE) - Lara Almarcegui (NL/ES) - AWOL Collective (VE/ES/RS) - Ursula Biemann & Paulo Tavares (CH/BR) - Böhler & Orendt (DE/RO) - Borek Brindák (SK) - Daniel Canogar (ES/US) - Abie Franklin & Daniel Hölzl (GB/AT) - Tim Gassauer (DE) - Elza Gubanova (UA) - Sarah Damai Hoogman (NL) - Clemens Hornemann (DE) - Anne Duk Hee Jordan (KR/DE) - Nadia Kaabi-Linke (DE/TN/UA) - Diana Lelonek (PL) - Tea Mäkipää (FI) - Gisle Nataas (NO) - Olaf Nicolai (DE) - Uriel Orlow (CH) - Johanna M. Reich (DE) - Amparo Sard (ES) - Katharina Sauermann (AT) - Günther & Loredana Selichar (AT/IT) - Hito Steyerl (DE) - Gregor Schneider (DE) - Daniel Otero Torres (CO) - Rikuo Ueda (JP) - Anna Weberberger (AT) - Valeria Zane & Victor Nebbiolo di Castri (IT/FR)

Dr Claudia Tittel (*1973 in Jena, Germany) is an internationally active curator and cultural manager. Over the past 20 years, she has curated numerous exhibitions with and for international cultural institutions such as the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the Akademie der Künste Berlin, the Klinger-Forum Leipzig, the Kunstsammlung Gera, the National Gallery Vilnius and others. Her curatorial work combines critical contemporary themes such as the climate crisis and social change with post-colonial discourses. Tittel was a fellow at the International College for Cultural Technology Research and Media Philosophy in Weimar and taught at various renowned universities, including the Berlin University of the Arts, the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig, the Bauhaus University Weimar, the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre, etc.. From 2020 to 2022, she was Head of the City of Gera's Department of Culture and played a key role in shaping the city's cultural development. She chaired the steering committee for Gera's bid to become European Capital of Culture 2025 and headed the Wilhelm and Lotte Neufeld Foundation for Book Art until 2023. She is also the founder and co-operator of the Häselburg cultural centre in Gera. Since 2023, she has lived and worked in Gera (Germany) and Valencia (Spain).