Art Festival BEGEHUNGEN
Festival of contemporary art
The Begehungen Art Festival 2025 took place from 18 July to 17 August 2025 on the site of the decommissioned Chemnitz-Nord lignite-fired power plant. Under the title EVERYTHING IS INTERACTION, the exhibition brought together 32 international artistic perspectives on the social, ecological and economic consequences of environmental destruction, issues of justice and power and the associated social discourses. In addition to the exhibition, an extensive festival programme was offered with concerts, theatre, readings and performances.
The Begehungen Art Festival has been one of the city's outstanding cultural events for over 20 years. Every year, it opens up a different empty space and revitalises it with art for a short period of time. A former prison, abandoned allotments, an old brewery and an overgrown railway station have all been venues for the festival. The unconventional approach to art is its trademark. For this reason, Begehungen is not just a temporary art exhibition - they are a meeting place for people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
When? July 18, 2025 to August 17, 2025
Where? Chemnitz, Former HKW Chemnitz-Nord
Exhibition
The Begehungen Art Festival 2025 showcased large-scale installations, photographs, drawings, sculptures, video and sound artworks. A good quarter of the artworks were created specifically for the festival, including works that were created with the participation of residents of the Nord cogeneration plant.
The exhibition was created through the works selected by the artistic director, an artist-in-residence programme with European partner institutions of the festival and project ideas from the worldwide Open Call. The Open Call was reserved for artists under the age of 30, which meant that almost a third of the exhibition was characterised by young perspectives. Dr Claudia Tittel was responsible for the artistic direction of the exhibition.
Artists
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)
