The idea behind the festival was as poetic as it was programmatic and came directly from the young festival team itself. Each festival day had its own motto - Roots, Break Out, Sprout, Bloom and Afterbloom. Over the course of the festival, the metaphor of a growing plant unfolded, symbolising the emancipation and self-empowerment of young people in Chemnitz. From taking root and breaking through the soil to blossoming and the calm afterglow, each day reflected a phase of new beginnings.
The opening event on Wednesday, Roots, made the festival spirit tangible. At the OstVISION conference organised by the German Children and Youth Foundation at the Garagencampus, young festival organisers discussed cultural spaces and new forms of youth participation with political representatives such as Petra Köpping and Susann Rüthrich. The panel "How to Keep Blooming" at the Hartmannfabrik focussed on European networking, youth participation and young people's visions for the future of the Betonblühen Festival, with the aim of anchoring the festival in Chemnitz beyond 2025.
What began as an exchange on the first day turned into practice on the following days. Under the motto Break Out, dance, sport and movement filled the city - from yoga and street football to readings and poetry slams that showed just how diverse young voices are in Chemnitz.
On Friday, Sprout gave the creative growth spurt. People sprayed, sewed and designed at Weltecho. At the C Your Power workshop, for example, young people were able to grab a spray can and transform grey walls into colourful messages. In the Threads of Unity fashion show, young people presented jackets that they had designed and made in the previous weeks in dialogue with former textile seamstresses from the former GDR - a cross-generational project that combined knowledge, craftsmanship and new ideas. The resulting pieces were then on display in an exhibition. Experiments were also conducted at the Gunzenhauser Museum: In various workshops, classical art met DJ sets and writing workshops. In a songwriting workshop, young people were able to develop lyrics together and find their own approach to making music under the guidance of Chemnitz musician Selma Juhran. In addition, Batul Al Aidi, a successful dancer from Chemnitz and director of the dance studio "Soul Studios", read from her newly published book "Out of Line", which is inspired by her life story. Visitors could also take part in a writing workshop or attend a poetry slam event.
On Saturday, the festival reached a climax under the motto Bloom. Between Transit Club and Atomino, the audience wandered from workshop to concert to club night - from indie to hip-hop to electronic beats. Yung Pepp, rémi.fr and Skrt Cobain, among others, fired things up with powerful live shows, after which the party continued into the early hours of the morning to a wide variety of music from different DJs.
On Sunday, at the closing Afterbloom, the festival was characterised by encounters and a joint review of the inspiring last few days. A hangout area with an art market, street art, smoothie bike and speedfriending was created in the Atomino. In addition, the award-winning Grand Beauty initiative presented its salon and offered open meeting spaces around the theme of beauty, where people with and without a migrant background came together. A calm but energetic conclusion with a palpable spirit of optimism for what is to come.
One thing became clear during these five days: Betonblühen should not remain a one-off event. Many of those involved would like to see the festival continue. A fresh plant is growing in Chemnitz and putting down deep roots.
