26.09. - 20.10.2024 @Wirkbau Chemnitz

It's burning – whether the fire warms or destroys you depends on the distance.  

Under the title "Ex Oriente Ignis" (translated from Latin: "The Fire Comes From the East"), the 4th Pochen Biennale will transform into a center of multimedia and participatory art in Chemnitz – the European Capital of Culture 2025 – over four weeks. In the shadow of the Russian aggression war against Ukraine and at a moment of "epochal change," an artistic center for ruptures, fragility, relics worth protecting and possible future scenarios emerges in the Eastern German experiential space. The exhibitions will take place from 26 September until 20 October 2024 in over 2000 m² in several halls on the Wirkbau site. 

The media art exhibition, curated by Serge Klymko (Kyiv), featuring 20 international positions, and the participatory youth exhibition, curated by Amt für Wunschentwicklung (Halle/Saale), make Chemnitz a hub for existential artistic and societal debates. The comprehensive accompanying and educational programme focuses on current discourses of Central and Eastern European present and future. It engages local communities and partners to promote accessibility to the thematic complexity.