The historic train station ensemble in Halbe is transformed into the Kulturbahnhöfe Halbe. This development/transformation is celebrated and sealed by the association Halbe. World with the Transform art project starting on June 19.

In addition to the Kaiserbahnhof, which has been restored to its former glory, the Esperanto station and the station forecourt, the historic station ensemble also includes a freight station. Its loading ramp, where, among other things, bricks, wood, but also tanks were once loaded, must make way for a sewage treatment plant and therefore be demolished. This demolition is to be honored as a symbol of change with an art action and a demolition festival. Eight artists from the region, from Berlin and elsewhere were selected after a call for entries to deal artistically with the demolition pieces: The ramp will be transformed into art.

The starting point is the demolition festival on June 19. At 3 p.m., a children's program will begin at the ramp with lots of paint, chalk, spray, balloons and helium (towel clothes!). After a "farewell speech" at 4 p.m., the selected artists will introduce themselves. Construction workers and musicians will loudly start the demolition. Until the early evening there will be music from a DJ and drinks from the neighboring pub.

Afterwards, the artists dealt with the fragments or photos/sketches/impressions from the demolition for several weeks. The results will be shown in an exhibition from August 28. The vernissage will be embedded in the language festival 'Lingva Fest', which will take place on August 27th and 28th in the whole village and in the future regularly - with small workshops on different languages as well as music and meeting. The Transform project is sponsored by the Dahme-Spreewald district.

Another project sponsored by the district will also come to a close on June 19, also starting at 3 p.m.: the photo project Halbe.Welt.Ganzes.Leben of Shia e.V. (regional association of self-help groups of single parents). Twelve women spent several weeks photographing everyday objects under the guidance of four artists. The exhibition of the photographs in the Esperanto station can be seen for the last time on June 19 and next weekend from 2 to 6 p.m. each day.

BACKGROUND

The Halbe.Welt association was founded as an umbrella for the cultural stations - with the aim of developing them into a rural cultural hub. It is being supported in this endeavor by a two-year grant from the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB). On the one hand, the historic ensemble is to be filled with art and culture - at this historically important location for the district and the entire region: Halbe was the scene of one of the most horrific encirclement battles during World War II and is home to one of the largest war gravesites in Germany. At the same time, Halbe is located on the railroad line that crosses the district from north to south and connects the region with the federal capital and Lusatia.

On the other hand, the rural cultural hub is to radiate into the region, linking actors from the arts and culture to develop joint projects. The funding from the ILB will make it possible in the future to manage these tasks partly on a full-time basis. The linchpin for this is the Esperanto-Bahnhof with its owner Ralf Fröhlich. The Kaiserbahnhof, which New Zealander Peter Macky renovated over a decade, serves as an additional event site, as does the station forecourt with its green meadow.

Registration

For more information: esperantostacio(at)gmail.com