"Visible diversity. Religions in Saxony" is the title of the hybrid traveling exhibition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education (SLpB). The first stop of the exhibition will be the New Town Hall in Dresden from next Wednesday (24.07.24). The exhibition will be on display in the Goldene Pforte foyer for one month, until 23.08.24. It will then move on to Schmochtitz and Leipzig and will be shown at various locations throughout Saxony until the end of 2026.
Insights into cultural diversity through eight religious communities
The exhibition uses eight religious communities as examples to convey the cultural diversity in Saxony. At first glance, religion plays virtually no role in Saxony: less than 20 percent of people in the Free State are members of the Protestant or Catholic churches. Since 1990, however, existing and new religious and cultural communities have grown - through immigration from West Germany and abroad.
"We want to make this diversity visible and invite people to take a closer look, get to know various religious communities and engage in encounters with them," says exhibition curator Dr. Verena Böll, advisor to the Saxony State Council for Religious Affairs. Verena Böll, consultant for intercultural/interreligious education.
Portraits of religious communities in Saxony
SLpB Director Dr. Roland Löffler: "With this exhibition, the State Center for Political Education is focusing more strongly than ever on intercultural and interreligious education. At a time when people are discriminated against because of their religious affiliation, when anti-Semitism is on the rise again, when there is ignorance and prejudice against people with a history of migration, it is important to educate people about religious contexts and their historical and social context. This is the task of political education."
The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church Dresden, the Polish Catholic Mission Dresden - Bautzen, the Evangelical Church Community Schleife / Slepo, the Jewish Community Chemnitz, the Ahmadiyya Community Zwickau, the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bosniaks in Leipzig e.V., the Vietnamese-Buddhist Community Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel and the Indian Association Dresden e.V.
"The focus of the exhibition is on individually lived faith. For religious people, faith is fundamental to their identity and social interaction. The method of biographical encounters enables easy access to the religious communities," says curator Verena Böll.
Combining analogue and digital content
The eight portraits are presented on free-standing, illuminated steles with photos and introductory texts. QR codes link the exhibition to the online section www.religionen-in-sachsen.slpb.de, which will go online on July 24. The digital part of the exhibition offers in-depth content: Visitors can use the QR codes to access additional photos and texts with background information as well as video interviews. Interested parties who access the exhibition website on their mobile device or from home can view and listen to the complete content online.
Wandering exhibition for schools and institutions enquiries
Schools, further education institutions, local authorities and administrations can request the traveling exhibition and display it in their institution for a period of up to four weeks. Didactic material and suitable publications on the topic of religions can also be ordered from the SLpB.
Opening ceremony
Time: Wednesday, 24.07.2024, 18.00-20.00 h
Location: Foyer "Goldene Pforte", Neues Rathaus Dresden, Rathausplatz, 01067 Dresden
Festive opening with, among others.a. joint tour of the exhibition, meetings with members of the eight religious communities and music by Ensemble Coexist.
(Press release of the Saxon State Center for Political Education from July 10, 2024)
