Sun seekers: 10,000 visitors to Zwickau's spectacular bismuth exhibition!

Sun seekers: 10,000 visitors to Zwickau's spectacular bismuth exhibition!

There is currently a very special highlight in Zwickau: the exhibition “Sun Seekers! Art and Mining of Wismut”. This exciting show has been open since April 10, 2023 and runs until October 26, 2023. It offers a unique insight into the world of mining and the impressive SDAG Wismut art collection, which was created in the GDR. A special milestone was reached last Wednesday: the 10,000th visitor, Brigitte Schilling, was ceremoniously welcomed. She visited the exhibition with her grandchildren, which not only underlines the importance of the event, but also their personal connection, as her grandfather once worked at Wismut.

The exhibition is designed as an official cooperation event of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 and is a joint project of the Wismut Foundation gGmbH, the Dresden Institute for Cultural Studies e.V., the city of Zwickau and the Kunstverein Zwickau e.V. Over 300 works from the Wismut art collection are presented here on around 1,500 square meters. With more than 4,200 works by around 475 artists, this collection is one of the largest of its kind, and the exhibition also addresses the transformations of the period after German reunification.

A look into the past

SDAG Wismut was an important player during the Cold War, mining weapons-grade uranium for the Soviet Union. This company was a veritable “state within a state” and had also created an extensive collection of fine art. With more than 4,000 works of art, the Wismut art collection is an important heritage that is discussed in the exhibition. Visitors can look forward to a mixture of paintings, graphic works and historical film material that impressively illustrate the mining activities in Zwickau and the GDR. Among the more than 300 works on display there are also 90 paintings and more than 130 graphics, including two recently discovered murals.

The exhibition is located in the historic cotton mill, a listed industrial block from 1896 that was used until 1991. The renovation of this impressive building was carried out by metaWERK AG, which also made the exhibition space available free of charge.

Cultural events and information

The show is complemented by various events and tours, which are available on the official website of the exhibition www.sonnensucher- exhibition.de can be found. Opening hours are Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pre-booking for the tours is recommended to ensure the best experience.

The exhibition "Sun Seekers! Art and Mining of Wismut" is not only a homage to Wismut's artistic past, but also offers an important discourse about the social changes in eastern Germany. So it's definitely worth a visit!

For further information and current developments in the Zwickau region, visit the website zwickau.de, chemnitz2025.de and erzgebirge.tv.