Calendar

Today’s Reick Combined Heat and Power Station houses two works of art that are not normally accessible to the public: a monumental mural (1976) by Heinz Drache in the control room and ceramic reliefs (1989) by Siegfried Schade from the former canteen. These works also depict prefabricated buildings – yet the depictions vary greatly, making them a reflection of their time.

With commentary by Dr Claudia Quiring (Dresden City Museum) and Tino Kuhnke (SachsenEnergie) on the content and the subsequent handling of the works.

• SachsenEnergie Combined Heat and Power Plant Dresden-Reick
  Liebstädter Straße 1
  01277 Dresden
• Register online or via the visitor service of the City of Dresden Museums on +49 351 488 7272 (Mon–Fri)

With this lecture on the photographic work of Genja Jonas (1895–1938), Genja Jonas’s biographer Alexander Atanassow is making his contribution to ensuring that this once so well-known and admired photographer is given her rightful place in Dresden.

As a representative of many other Jewish photographers, she is thus to be restored to the dignity that was taken from them – often at the height of their artistic careers – by the Nazis and the zeitgeist they so effectively propagated; through exclusion, the deprivation of their means of livelihood, and even physical extermination – which ultimately consigned them to oblivion.

Remembrance plays an important role. However, the focus of the lecture is on the connections between Genja Jonas and her studio within, and in relation to, the cultural landscape of the city of Dresden between 1918 and 1938. Added to this is the model of a woman’s life – that of an independent and well-connected artist in a male-dominated industry – which still appears modern today.

• With Alexander Atanassow (lecture)

Guided tour of the permanent exhibition

• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Guided tour free of charge, plus museum admission
• Meet at the ticket office

Nigunim are traditional Jewish melodies which play an important role in religious and spiritual life, particularly within Hasidism. This workshop explores their significance and invites participants to experience together the connection between song, prayer and Jewish tradition.

• With Rabbi Akiva Weingarten
• Synagogue of the Jewish Community of Dresden

In a world of increasing confrontation, understanding and reconciliation are becoming ever more important. Owing to its universality and the evocative nature of its metaphors, the language of poetry is capable of fostering a vibrant dialogue between cultures.

The German-Arabic Poetry Salon, founded by the German-speaking poet and visual artist Fouad EL-Auwad – who hails from Syria – and organised by him annually since 2005, is intended to serve as an example of this. Year after year, it creates an opportunity for cultures to meet on a literary level and to build a new bridge between the Arab and European worlds. The German-Arabic Poetry Salon is now coming to Dresden for the fifth time.

• Music: Razgar Karim (oud)
• Admission: €8, concessions €6

An event organised by Literaturforum Dresden e. V. in cooperation with the Museums of the City of Dresden and the German-Arabic Poetry Salon

• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Meeting point at the ticket office
• Guided tour free of charge, plus museum admission
• No booking required

14:00 – 18:00

Spend the Saturday before the first Sunday in Advent at our exhibition and get ready for the festive season. Here, you can make a whole host of little gifts for your loved ones yourself:

• Screen-printing on fabric bags and sofa cushions
• Baking and decorating a gingerbread platter
• A treasure hunt in the special exhibition «Platte. EAST / WEST»
• Design your own vinyl Christmas postcards or wrapping paper
• Cake and hot chocolate in the museum café

• Recommended for ages 6 and over
• Museum admission

Curator-led tour with Jahna Dahms

• Meet at the pavilion in front of the City Museum (Wilsdruffer Straße)

How is a handwritten Torah created, and what millennia-old rules govern its production? This workshop explores the traditional art of calligraphy, the materials used, and the religious significance of Hebrew script, whilst inviting participants to try their hand at writing Hebrew letters with pen and ink.

• With Jahna Dahms and Joshua Diaz
• Meet at the pavilion in front of the City Museum (Wilsdruffer Straße)

Writing is far more than a means of communication. It is the vehicle for cultural memory, religious tradition and social identity. The art historian and conceptual artist Jahna Dahms explores the writing traditions of different cultures, their historical origins, symbolic meanings and aesthetic forms of expression. The focus is on the connections between writing, art and cultural memory, as well as the question of how writing becomes a medium for dialogue across geographical, religious and temporal boundaries.

• With Jahna Dahms

Where does a writer come from? Which books, sounds and images accompany them – and when do these influences coalesce into a distinct literary voice? The new reading series “Schreibspuren” explores these questions. Following on from Jayne-Ann Igel, the Dresden-based writer and poet Marcel Beyer will be our guest.

Marcel Beyer’s writing has emerged from a widely ramified network of readings and encounters. Of particular significance is the Austrian writer Friederike Mayröcker, whose work he engaged with intensively whilst still a student. Authors such as Ernst Jandl, Paul Celan and Oskar Pastior are also among the literary voices that have accompanied him on his journey. Added to this are influences from French literature, ranging from Michel Leiris and Francis Ponge to Georges Perec and Claude Simon, as well as from William S. Burroughs and his experimental methods.

His artistic development extends far beyond books. Music and his work with sound and voice have also shaped his writing. In the 1990s, he wrote for SPEX magazine and explored techniques in which language is not merely a vehicle for meaning but also a material to be manipulated, dismantled and reassembled. His interest in language, voice, imagery and media mediation forms a common thread running through his writing.

In conversation with Marcel Beyer, the focus is on such literary milestones and turning points in his writing career. Beyer presents texts that were important to him and talks about the impact they have had on his own writing.

Moderator: Richard Stratenschulte

• Admission: €8, concessions: €5

A collaboration between Literarische Arena e. V., the Evangelical Academy of Saxony and the Museums of the City of Dresden

This event is sponsored by the City of Dresden.

Short guided tour with Gabriele Drews, Schiller & Körner in Dresden e. V.

Friedrich Schiller’s most famous poem is presented through words and music. The poet found inspiration for this work in Leipzig, where he met his friend and patron Christian Gottfried Körner. It was completed, printed and set to music for the first time in Dresden in 1785. You will hear Körner’s first musical setting and Beethoven’s best-known version.

• With Gabriele Drews from Schiller und Körner in Dresden e. V.

Every first Friday of the month, we shine a spotlight on an item from our permanent exhibition: in short guided tours lasting a maximum of 20 minutes, museum staff, members of partner organisations or members of the local community will present the special features of a selected piece of Dresden’s history.