Funded small cultural projects in Chemnitz: D21 Kunstraum Leipzig e. V.

Federal Ministry for Blooming Landscapes (BMBL) #Chemnitz

The fictitious Federal Ministry of Blossoming Landscapes (BMBL) is a socio-cultural project and deals with the topics of community, identity, homeland, experiential history and urban development.

As part of the preparations for the Capital of Culture 2025, the BMBL opened in Chemnitz in September 2022 to make a participatory, poetic contribution. It is making a guest appearance in Chemnitz to shed light on the current situation in Chemnitz/and East Germany just over 30 years after reunification. The project was initiated by the artist Daniel Theiler, the architect Simon Korn and the art mediator Constanze Müller.

The Federal Ministry moved into the "Glaskasten" gallery on the Sonnenberg. Various events such as exhibitions, workshops, talks and concerts took place, which were organised together with local stakeholders.

The BMBL, together with local residents willing to build, took on the design of a seating landscape, which was installed in two car parks in front of the shop. The parklet is intended to enhance the quality of life at the corner of Jakobstraße 42 and Zietenstraße. The aim of the blooming urban landscape is to improve the quality of life on Zietenstrasse and create a fairer distribution of traffic areas. The aim is to create a blossoming place of encounter and tranquillity in the urban space, giving people more space in their neighbourhood again. The flowering seating landscapes are not intended for commercial purposes.

In addition to the construction of the parklet, other activities took place every Friday to Sunday from 11 to 25 September 2022, such as the awarding of the Helmut Kohl Rose to particularly deserving Chemnitz residents, a film evening, a comic consultation hour with Chemnitz illustrator Stephanie Brittnacher, a plant rescue for plants in need of help and opportunities to get together.

The aim of the project was to hold an intensive discussion and debate about the state of Chemnitz's urban society during the project period, also with a view to 2025, and to develop solutions for the future together with local stakeholders and residents.

The Parklet construction project was supported by the City of Chemnitz's small project funding programme.