2024 – A year dedicated to the neighborhood
The year of Chemnitz as European Capital of Culture 2025 is just around the corner and preparations for a year full of cultural activities at the Garage Campus are also in full swing. At the same time, we are looking back on an eventful 2024, in which the theme of “Neighborhood” played a key role. A grant successfully applied for by Age of Artists from the Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion made it possible to try out activities to continue creating a place for encounters, exchange and engagement.

Space for encounters in the construction site
Despite the construction site situation on the site of the former CVAG depot, the neighborhood was invited to visit the garage campus and play an active role in shaping it. There was a wide range of activities on offer: from “Garage Workout” in cooperation with the Universitätssportgemeinschaft Chemnitz e.V., IF Urban Sports e.V. and Ore Mountains Cornhole e.V., to creative walks through the neighborhood and cozy track picnics – the Garage Campus proved to be a place to come together, make new acquaintances and get to know each other.

Art on the Kappelbach
Under the motto “Experience, learn, meet and create”, numerous participatory activities were launched that actively involved the neighborhood of the Garage Campus in the design. One of the highlights of the summer was a graffiti project: in collaboration with pupils from the Albert Schweitzer Secondary School, Haus Arthur, artists and helpful neighbors, a jointly developed floral work of art was created that highlights the importance of greenery for a more liveable environment. Neighbor Sigrid Schmidtke made her garage wall available for the project, while other neighbors actively supported the creation of the work. The colorful graffiti can now be admired along the cycle path at Kappelbach (Kappelbachgasse 32).

Moss graffiti and pallet furniture design for a better quality of stay
In response to the question “What does a neighborhood place need?”, pupils from Oberschule am Flughafen contributed their ideas for the design of the garage campus in workshops and emphasized the importance of an inviting place to spend time. In creative workshops, accompanied by cultural geographer Katja Manz and the Holzkombinat, the ideas were taken up and solutions implemented. There was room for a wealth of ideas and community – green graffiti was created on a wall using self-collected moss and mobile pallet furniture was built and painted. The result shows how creative and committed young people are to shaping their living environment.

Farewell and new beginnings at the tram museum
Claudia Großkopp, the long-standing director of the tram museum, has also made a major contribution to the creative character of the Garage Campus. At the end of 2024, the campus bids farewell to Claudia Großkopp with a teary eye and a smile and wishes her all the best for her new passion project: Café Fleming in Hartenstein – a feel-good place that combines a café and Pilates studio. She has been succeeded by Uwe Niezel, who has turned his passion for trams into a career.

C the Unseen: Visible for Kappel, Chemnitz, Europe
Visible things are being created on the Garage Campus that create connections.
In November, a new central stele was erected that connects Kappel with other central points in Chemnitz. The project was initiated by Thomas Jahre, who has been identifying the geographical centers of Chemnitz together with students from the Chemnitz School Model for many years.

Another highlight for the campus is an architectural work of art and at the same time a prototype for an intensively greened roof. The artwork was created in cooperation with the “ECRN” – a European network that deals with the creative and sustainable design of roofs. The prototype is an opportunity for strong connections between Chemnitz and its European partners in creative urban design.

A foretaste of 2025
All these activities and projects show where the journey will take us during the European Capital of Culture year: The Garage Campus will become a living symbol of what Chemnitz is all about in the European Capital of Culture year 2025 – a place that connects, makes visible and is shaped together. The kick-off for the European Capital of Culture year will be on January 18, 2025, on March 21, 2025 there will be a ceremonial opening of the Garage Campus by CVAG and from the beginning of May – to coincide with Europe Day – the site will be open to everyone once the construction work has been completed.

You can look forward to a year full of encounters, creativity and joint commitment!