In May 2012 the administrative district of Görlitz, in collaboration with Europahaus Görlitz e. V., hosted an international Pleinair with the aim of introducing the Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia region to artists from different European countries.
With the theme CITY-space-art the Pleinair relates especially to the unique historical buildings in the town of Görlitz. From a cultural science perspective, a town is the ideal example of the compaction of cultural areas. So is the case in the large district town of Görlitz: economic prosperity as well as the self-confidence and riches of its residents are reflected in the architecture. There are around 4000 monuments in Görlitz, buildings from the late gothic, renaissance, baroque, art nouveau, Wilhelminian period and references to life under socialism. It is currently applying for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
During the Pleinair, the artists from Germany, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic were able to gather inspiration for their works of art, which will be on display from the 2nd November 2012 in a touring exhibition in the “Kaisertrutz” in Görlitz. The complete renovation of the historical building, which was carried out especially for the 3rd Saxon National Exhibition “Via-Regia”, is a worthier basis for further subsequent stations. The exhibition should be shown in the artists’ regions and countries of origin to promote contact and exchange between the different European regions.
I thank all of the artists who have taken part; their works are now being presented together. Thanks also have to go to those who made this project a success. In particular the curator of the museum Mrs Ramona Faltin, the manager and workers at the Cultural Office in the Görlitz administrative district, my counterparts in the participating partner regions and last but not least the sponsors: without their financial support this project would not have been possible.
I hope the exhibition has interesting visitors, stimulating conversations with the artists about their work and the touring exhibition has a good trip through Europe.
Bernd Lange
Görlitz District Administrator
