Speak up

There are proverbs in every language in the world. What could be better than a proverb if you want to give someone a piece of wisdom or an admonition? Flowery sayings make even the most serious instruction come across with a twinkle in the eye.

But that’s where the commonality ends: Even if some proverbs are very widespread, every language, every culture, has its own winged words. Proverbs are usually rooted in everyday experience: “Life is not a pony farm” is of course only said where there are lots of pony farms.

This gave rise to the idea of launching a collection of proverbs and sayings. Throughout the summer, we were present with our team at various district festivals and action days, held workshops and interviews and asked again and again: “Does the following expression actually exist in your native language …?”

Many sayings are similar, but use completely different images. The fact that it “rains cats and dogs” in Germany certainly seems strange to an Englishman. After all, in England they say “it’s raining cats and dogs” when it rains heavily. If you can be the “black sheep” in a group in Germany, you’re more of a “white crow” elsewhere. If you trip over the edge of the carpet, you will have tomatoes on your eyes in Germany, salami in Italy and pumpkins in India.

The nice thing about proverbs is that they almost always consist of pictures or can at least be represented pictorially. So it was time to paint proverbs! The most beautiful proverbs from Germany and other cultures were captured on paper plates, which look almost framed with their ribbed edges, or on colorful paper: an elephant juggling plates and cups in a china store, an apple that doesn’t fall far from the tree, or a sausage with two ends.

Interestingly, collecting proverbs is much easier said than done. Just try to recite as many proverbs as possible right off the bat (and without googling)! You’ll literally be stumped at first. Most of the time, a saying only comes to mind at the right moment. After all, that’s what they’re there for.

But the effort is worth it. Because “the journey is the reward”. Discussing the diversity of proverbs is a remarkably good way to start a conversation. A proverb is like a window into the world of thought that lies behind the language barrier. And the pictures on the paper plates invite you to make a guessing game out of them. Which proverb is depicted on them? And why has it become naturalized in the respective language? What historical and cultural events led to this? Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, is said to have once said that a proverb is “a short sentence” based on “long experience”.

With this in mind, you are invited to view and guess the results of the collection campaign. Because, as we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words …

Birthe Mühlhoff


Dresden spricht …

Workshops, tours, writing and printing workshops under the motto “Dresden speaks many languages”

Period
03-12.2024

Porject coordination
Yvonn Spauschus (Projektleitung)
Yulia Vishnichenko · Moussa Mbarek · Nadine Wölk · Rosa Brockelt · Yuliya Firsova · Martin Mannig (workshop leader)
Rosa Brockelt · Rosa Hauch · Falk Goernert · Birthe Mühlhoff (moderation, documentation)
Adina Rieckmann · Lydia Hänsel (tourguides)
Inge · Mahsa · Karin (voluntary help)

Cooperation partners
JugendKunstschule Dresden – Standort Passage, Omse e.V., Nachbarschaftshilfeverein, Stadtteilverein Johannstadt e.V., Malteser Hilfsdienste e.V., Jugendhaus LILA as well as Chinesisch-Deutsches Zentrum e.V., Lebenshilfe Dresden e.V., GEH8 Kunstraum und Ateliers e.V., Umweltzentrum Dresden – ABC Tische and many more

Supported by

The project is funded by the State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament within the framework of the state programme Integrative Maßnahmen.