"Germany murders too" - political street art in Chemnitz

Around 70 artists and collectives from Germany and abroad have transformed a former hospital in Chemnitz into a gallery for urban art. From this Friday, the more than 16,000 square meter area with three buildings will be open to visitors. In addition to graffiti and street art, visitors will also be offered a musical program with jazz, funk, soul and pop on the three weekends, as well as exhibitions on the history of the complex.

Artists take a stand on the Gaza war

The Gaza war and the suffering of the civilian population has been a particular focus for artists this year. Luke Carter has written "GERMANY MURDERED WITH" on a wall. Around the corner, a depiction shows an Israeli and a Palestinian on friendly terms, each with a tear in their eye. Underneath it is written "NO PRIDE IN GENOCIDE" (Not proud of genocide). Another work by Gino Dambrowski shows a mother with her four-year-old child, who was killed in an Israeli air raid. Only one word is written above it: "STATE RUSSIAN".

Meanwhile, Finnish artist Plan B is taking up US President Donald Trump's proposal to turn the Gaza Strip into a "Riviera of the Middle East". To this end, the Palestinians living there should be "resettled". On one side of the room are the likenesses of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposite them are two smiling tourists on the beach in the style of an advertising poster, with destroyed houses in the background. Above them is the slogan: "DREAMING OF LIVING ON ILLEGAL LAND? WITH US IT'S POSSIBLE!" (German: "Are you dreaming of living on illegal land? With us it's possible").

More than 20,000 visitors expected

Since the noughties, the Ibug street art festival - short for brownfield redevelopment - has become a permanent fixture in Saxony. It takes place every year at different locations. This year, with Chemnitz as the European Capital of Culture, it is taking place in a building that once served as the headquarters of the Auto-Union and later as a hospital until 1997.

The works that the artists have created especially for this location can be seen over the next three weekends until September 7. The organizers are expecting more than 20,000 visitors.