Who shapes the museum - and how can spaces be redesigned together? In the autumn of the Capital of Culture year, the Gunzenhauser Museum is embarking on an unusual experiment: Best of II - Visitor's Choice, a participatory exhibition format that opens up the museum to urban society, will run from September 20, 2025 to January 18, 2026. The idea behind the project is as bold as it is inviting: until January 2026, the museum will be transformed into spaces that encourage people to think, participate and empathize.
The focus is on an open process that makes it possible to experience the museum anew as a place of exchange. Chemnitz residents, the museum's youth council and initiatives from the city are working together to create spaces for exchange and discussion about a museum of the future. The aim is to make the diversity of the city visible and audible - and to learn from the joint dialog
for the future of the museum.
While last year's Best of I allowed the entire team of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz to help design the exhibition spaces, the second part of the project is dedicated to the creative exploration of art. In a playfully designed area, visitors have the opportunity to try out the techniques of selected artists from the collection for themselves: This involves painting, collaging, listening, touching and discovering.
In November, The Questions - a project by the artist group Quarantine from Manchester - will complement the exhibition. From November 4 to 30, the first floor of the museum will be transformed with a performative exhibition, talks and a changing installation. Visitors can pause together, meet each other and reflect on what belonging means across generations.
From December 1, 2025, an entire floor of the Museum Gunzenhauser will finally open for visitors' favorite works. The selection is personal, subjective and surprising. This curatorial change of perspective is complemented by interventions by contemporary artists who also engage with the museum's collection.
Workshops, guided tours, live speakers and events with local groups, artists and collectives from Chemnitz will accompany the exhibition. They will be announced on the website and in the exhibition space. Best of II - Visitor's Choice is an invitation to everyone to experience the museum as a changeable place - open to new voices, perspectives and ideas.
The focus is on an open process that makes it possible to experience the museum anew as a place of exchange. Chemnitz residents, the museum's youth council and initiatives from the city are working together to create spaces for exchange and discussion about a museum of the future. The aim is to make the diversity of the city visible and audible - and to learn from the joint dialog
for the future of the museum.
While last year's Best of I allowed the entire team of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz to help design the exhibition spaces, the second part of the project is dedicated to the creative exploration of art. In a playfully designed area, visitors have the opportunity to try out the techniques of selected artists from the collection for themselves: This involves painting, collaging, listening, touching and discovering.
In November, The Questions - a project by the artist group Quarantine from Manchester - will complement the exhibition. From November 4 to 30, the first floor of the museum will be transformed with a performative exhibition, talks and a changing installation. Visitors can pause together, meet each other and reflect on what belonging means across generations.
From December 1, 2025, an entire floor of the Museum Gunzenhauser will finally open for visitors' favorite works. The selection is personal, subjective and surprising. This curatorial change of perspective is complemented by interventions by contemporary artists who also engage with the museum's collection.
Workshops, guided tours, live speakers and events with local groups, artists and collectives from Chemnitz will accompany the exhibition. They will be announced on the website and in the exhibition space. Best of II - Visitor's Choice is an invitation to everyone to experience the museum as a changeable place - open to new voices, perspectives and ideas.
