How can a “museumization” of a historically significant event such as the Peaceful Revolution of 1989 be countered by an examination of present or future politico-social realities? How can we deal with the building that once housed the District Office of State Security? Both in terms of its historical significance and its architecture, the complex built in the 1980s on the Matthäikirchhof in Leipzig is enormous. And yet, in December 1989, the activists of the Peaceful Revolution succeeded in overwhelming this complex. In the project “Encounter with the Sleeping Giant“, site-specific artistic works were developed in the building and around the area of the historic Matthäikirchhof in Leipzig. Individually and/or in groups, the international students of the M.F.A programme engaged with the site and its history and created artworks in different forms and media. The realized works were documented in a publication. A project in cooperation with the City of Leipzig, Geschäftsstelle Matthäikirchhof / Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal Leipzig.

Participants: Sisu Satrawaha (Mon), Laura Leal, Bernardita Bennett, Nađa Kračunović, Viktor Dallmann, Milad Rezaei, Pati Sayuri, Minhee Ahn, Fabienne Margue, Jonathan Joosten, Arijit Bhattacharyya, Lea Wittich, Vitor de Almeida Mattos