Photo exhibition "Grenzerfahrungen" at the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre
Exhibition opening: 4 June, 6 pm, VHS Gallery
On Tuesday, 4 June 2019, 6 p.m., the exhibition "Grenzerfahrungen" (Border Experiences) by photo circles from Chemnitz and Würselen will open in the TIETZ, VHS Gallery on the 4th floor. Chemnitz Social Mayor Ralph Burghart and the Mayor of Würselen Arno Nelles will welcome the visitors. The exhibition can be seen until 19 July during the opening hours of the adult education centre. Admission is free.
The exhibition is the result of an "East-West" exchange project carried out in 2018 and 2019 by the two photo circles set up by Vladimir Shvemmer from Würselen near Aachen in the border triangle, close to the border with the Netherlands and Belgium, and Chemnitz. Over the two years, works have been created that deal with the theme of "border experiences" using the means of art photography.
The almost 80 photographs deal with the subject in very different ways. The photographers' life backgrounds and identities are as diverse as their approaches. The exhibition therefore presents a wide range of border experiences, which encourages further exchange, exploring and overcoming borders and reflecting on the dividing but also identity-forming nature of borders.
Initiator Vladimir Shvemmer has already overcome borders with his own biography. He came to Germany with his family almost fifteen years ago, initially to Würselen. He had lived in his native city of Chelyabinsk in Russia for almost 60 years, where he studied history and worked as a vice-rector at the Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical University for 34 years. Photography also became his great passion. The Shvemmers have been in Chemnitz since the end of 2016. As in Würselen, he also set up a photo circle here in Chemnitz and brought together people from Chemnitz with an interest in photography with those from Würselen. The photo circles have visited each other in recent years. The result is the Border Experiences project, which also serves as a contribution to the exchange between East and West Germany. The exhibition will also be shown in Würselen in January 2020.
All interested parties are cordially invited to the exhibition opening. In addition to welcoming remarks by the mayors of Chemnitz and Würselen, Wolfgang Berthel from Würselen, a native of Chemnitz, will give an introduction to the exhibition. The event will be accompanied by musical contributions.