Art from the cell: Women at the Chemnitz prison open their world!

Art from the cell: Women at the Chemnitz prison open their world!

As part of a unique project, students from the Bauhaus University Weimar are cooperating with inmates at the Chemnitz Correctional Facility (JVA) to provide insights into the lives of women in prison. This innovative project aims to address the lives and work of imprisoned women without sensationalism or voyeurism. The project is managed by Susanne Koch, an art therapist at the Chemnitz Prison, and Pio Rahner, an artistic employee at the Bauhaus University. The students Tarek Rishmawi, Luisa Hörning and Marleen Kölmel work with them, as well as the prisoners Anis, Moni, Chrisi, Art, Löckchen and Pop.

Tarek Rishmawi focuses on photography of the work and production facilities in the prison. His picture compositions encourage the viewer to linger longer. Luisa Hörning, on the other hand, deals with still lifes of everyday objects and creates portraits of women without showing their faces. Marleen Kölmel follows a conceptual approach by incorporating strolling and recurring motifs into her work. The photographs will be presented in an exhibition that will be on view from June 13th to September 30th, 2025.

Exhibition and vernissage

The opening of the exhibition will take place on June 13, 2025 at 10 a.m. at the entrance to the Chemnitz JVA. Large-format photographs are exhibited on the outer walls of the prison as well as smaller works in the old dining room. Part of the exhibition is open to the public on a tour of the prison grounds.

In addition, an “open day” will take place in autumn 2025, where interested parties can visit both exhibitions. The project receives support from the Ministry of Justice of the Free State of Saxony, the Chemnitz JVA and the “Teaching Ideas” funding fund of the Bauhaus University Weimar. If you have any questions, please contact Pio Rahner on +49 / 179 / 748 02 80 or by email at pio.rahner@uni-weimar.de.

Artistic perspectives from prison

The imprisoned women live in two high prison houses from the 1970s on the spacious grounds of the Chemnitz prison, which are secluded from view. This isolation means that society has little contact with these women. An art therapy project within the prison enables women to artistically engage with the topic of self-portraits. The results will be presented in a sensational exhibition entitled "It's I AM - arrested - convicted - and more? Attempt at an encounter" and will run from June 4th to 21st, 2025.

The opening of this exhibition will take place on June 4, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Among those present are art therapist Susanne Koch and prison chaplain Anne Straßberger. The exhibition can be visited from Thursday to Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will also be various events during the exhibition, such as an evening music with the Reichenhain church choir on June 12th and a theme evening on June 18th. In these events, participants have the opportunity to exchange ideas and meet each other.

Artistic activities in correctional facilities play an important role as they promote self-discovery and help to overcome the isolation of inmates. Art is used within the prison system as a central component to give prisoners access to their inner worlds. Together with similar projects, such as those in the Zweibrücken and Ludwigshafen prisons, the current art initiatives in Chemnitz show how important forms of artistic expression are for prisoners to deal with the underlying causes of their situation.