Photography: Elena Pagel
All good things come in threes: Art in dialogue in Nebelschütz!
Last Saturday we had the third and last appearance of Kunst im Dialog after intensive preparations in Nebelschütz. In the afternoon, our dialogue hike on the topic “Permaculture – Past with Future?” started at the Miltitz quarry. This is now a unique art and nature gem, where our partners from Steinleicht e.V. hold international sculpture workshops every year. Permaculture expert Thomas Noack explained the concept as a consistent path to a circular, sustainable, ecological agriculture that always keeps the social and cultural life of the local people in mind. Terms like beneficials, wilderness zone or energy point were discussed with the participants. What is observable phenomenon, what is scientific knowledge, what is felt hypothesis? Not everyone always agreed, but the exchange was open and extremely informative. They then went on to a permaculture lake that is currently under construction, where a permaculture education center will be built as part of the project “Njebjesa” (Sorbian for heavenly place, in allusion to the Sorbian name of Nebelschütz, Njebjelčicy).
Back in Miltitz, our destination was an old barn, where the artist Stefanie Dittmann presented the installation “So we carry the 30 years”. Statements of the residents of Nebelschütz were printed on white T-shirts using cyanotype and exhibited in an exciting room composition in the building. The artist Stefanie Dittmann described her experiences that she had gathered in conversations with the people during her two-week stay on site. Some told in detail how they experienced the changes brought about by the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification. Some were in a very positive mood, others gave free rein to their frustration with what they had experienced. And some shook their heads and remained silent. Thus both optimistic and critical comments as well as empty T-shirts were included in the installation. The approximately 40 guests had long and animated discussions, including the mayor of Nebelschütz, Thomas Zschornak.
We were very happy about this successful result after an intensive and admittedly exhausting development process on site. Sometimes the stony path leads better to the goal than the comfortable one! We would also like to thank the company PTH Group for sponsoring the T-shirts and the Neumann family who made the barn available for our campaign! This day also showed us that dialogue is important. Although Nebelschütz is known as an up-and-coming and innovative community, you can certainly encounter frustration about the last 30 years and skepticism about new ideas like permaculture. We think that Kunst im Dialog could give an impulse for an open exchange.
Kunst im Dialog
“Kunst im Dialog” wants to create space for encounters and an exchange of opinions at eye level that can counter prevailing conflicts and protect and strengthen the social context. People are to be brought into conversation and the rural perspective given a voice.
For this purpose, biographical short films and dialogue walks with local citizens will take place in three rural communities – Königstein, Nebelschütz and Oschatz.
Period
07.2021 – 07.2022
Project coordination
Marcus Oertel (project management)
Cooperation partners
Werkstatt 26
E-Werk Oschatz
Steinleicht e.V.
Supported
