From the Red Tower to the red Finjan statue
Exhibition shows twin cities Kirjat Bialik and Chemnitz from a child's perspective - Invitation to the opening on 29 May, 3.30 pm
On Wednesday 29 May at 3.30 pm, an exhibition of 24 drawings by young people from Chemnitz and the Israeli twin town of Kirjat Bialik will be opened in the exhibition room on the ground floor of the town hall. In addition to Mayor Ralph Burghart and the head of the Kirjat Bialik education authority, Ami Reuven, children from the Stefan-Heym-Gymnasium, who contributed to the exhibition, will also be present. The opening marks the end of the day on which a further 23 Stolpersteine will be laid in Chemnitz in memory of people who were persecuted and murdered during the National Socialist era.
Representatives of the media are also invited.
In 24 colourful drawings, the 9 to 13-year-old pupils from the Stefan Heym High School in Chemnitz and the Rakafot School in Kiryat Bialik will talk about their homeland, their favourite places and what moves them.
The Israeli pupils provide insights into their favourite places in Kiryat Bialik, such as the dam at the natural forest of Givat Harakafot. At the same time, the children express in their pictures how citizens give each other comfort with the Israeli flags on the houses of Kiryat Bialik after the attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023 or what cultural peculiarities there are in Kiryat Bialik. These include, for example, the statue of Finjan, a large red coffee maker in a roundabout that commemorates the founding of the State of Israel. Personal explanations by the children accompany the pictures in the exhibition and help them to understand them.
In their drawings, the Chemnitz schoolchildren mainly depict architecturally significant buildings, such as the town hall and the TIETZ, the Red Tower and the Sports Forum. In the accompanying texts, they talk about the history of this place and their home town.
The exhibition takes place parallel to the 33rd Days of Jewish Culture and can be visited free of charge until 19 June during the opening hours of the town hall: Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 6 pm and Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.
After the exhibition closes on 19 June, the collection will make its way to Kiryat Bialik.
In October 2022, the town twinning between Kiryat Bialik in Israel and Chemnitz was sealed with a contract. Building on this agreement, schools, clubs and initiatives in the two cities are to maintain regular dialogue, get to know and understand each other. This children's picture exhibition contributes to this. The idea for this came about during the Days of Jewish Culture last year.