On 05.10.2018 we opened our Bobrowski project in the book club Katharsis of the Garazhnaja 2 complex in Kaliningrad/Königsberg. Our local organizers, Elene Gromova and Oleg Kostyuk, organized an overwhelming vernissage, which was supported by:

Garazhnaja 2 Buchklub “Katharsis” in Kaliningrad (Königsberg), 5.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker

f.l.t.r.: The organisators: Elena Gromova, Holger Wendland und Oleg Kostyuk
5.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker , 2018

Oleg Kostyuk designed two posters for our joint project.

Elena Gromova moderated the event in front of a numerous audience.

Matthias Jackisch and Elena Gromova 5.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker , 2018

Allow us a small look at the exhibition in a beautiful bookshop, which also functions as a meeting place for people of all colours interested in art, who discuss, drink coffee, read and, above all, listen to selected good music far away from the mainstream.

5.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker , 2018

5.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker , 2018

Following the opening speeches by Elena Gromova, Matthias Jackisch presented the first part of his Stone Flute-Performance, which was followed by two more under pressure from the audience. Matthias was of course honoured to follow this pressure.

5.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker , 2018

Elena Gromova and Matthias Jackisch 5.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker , 2018

Boris Bartfeld, a well-known Russian poet who explicitly dealt with Johannes Bobrowski’s poetry in long verses in a book, sublimely recited some parts of his work.

The contribution by the philosopher Ilya Spesivzev, presented in German, was a very special kind of performance, not only illuminating the poetic side of Johannes Bobrowski’s work, but also involving him in his intellectual work, i.e. in his philosophical activities.

Oleg Kostyuk and Jan Oelker during the Ilya lecture.

Some of Ilya’s pictures with his very special Bobrowski epitaph also comment on his very special view of this philosopher.

Following the official events, the evening turned into a real party with discussions, eating, drinking and dancing well into the night. Some impressions of this evening in the twilight of the Katharsis – Location are allowed to us finally.

The exhibition in the Touristic (Bobrowski) Centre in Willkischken/Vilkyskiai – Lithunia

suported by:

3.10.2018 before the vernissage Matthias Jackisch and Holger Wendland panorama
(c) Foto: Jan Oelker , 2018

Ilona Meire our local organizer from the Tourist Office in Vilkyskiai opens the exhibition.

Holger Wendland and Jan Oelker openend the exhibition with a short introduction to the work of Kultur Aktiv e. V. and an introduction to the works of the individual artists. Ilona Meire translates the speeches into Lithuanian.

We were very happy to meet our Lithuanian participant Arturas Viliauga at the opening. Arturas explained his very personal Bobrowski project to the numerous guests, which was also produced as an exquisite portfolio for the Leipzig Book Fair 2017. Lithuania was the host country at that time.

Arturas Valiauga left and the third from the left is Jörg Nass, the organ builder who made the small but fine museum in Vilkyskiai possible with the resettlement and presentation of the original writer’s room, which the city of Berlin could not preserve!!!  3.10.2018(c) Foto: Jan Oelker

Virginijus Komskis the mayor of the municipality Pagėgiai to which Vilkyskiai belongs, did not miss the opportunity to be personally present and to give a speech of thanks.

(c) Foto: Jan Oelker

Virginijus Komskis and Rita Vidraitė (Vice Mayoress)

The artists had to register in the honorary book of the municipality. The importance of our event was rated so highly.

We were able to welcome interesting guests to the exhibition. A delegation of teachers from the region, as well as members of an aid organization from Germany.

Ilona Meire gave each of us a present as a thank you.

Arturas Viliauga sent us some of his pictures from the opening

Following the opening of the exhibition, a stone flute concert by Matthias Jackisch, dedicated to Johannes Bobrowski, took place in the well-attended Evangelical Lutheran Church of Vilkyskiai.

3.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker

3.10.2018 (c) Foto: Jan Oelker

Jan Oelker presented our Bobrowski portfolio to the Reverend Mindaugas Kairys with all photographs of the participating artists and an accompanying brochure as a gift for the Bobrowski Museum.

In a friendly atmosphere, with wine and food we decided the evening.

Die Konzertmittschnitte

https://youtu.be/jOIg1-Mrq4c

https://youtu.be/gRbzlGfFIns

https://youtu.be/l9-UuNV7L-Q

https://youtu.be/cFsHgKW6xsQ

And last but not least here the link to the beautiful website of the Touristik und Bobrowski-Zentrum in

Vilkyskiai.

Many thanks Ilona Meire, many thanks Reverend

Mindaugas Kairys.

Johanesas Bobrovskis – sarmatiško kraštovaizdžio poetas, projektas be sienų Vokietija – Rusija – Lietuva

Supported by:

The Description:

Hardly any other German poet is so influential for the East Prussian region along the Memel, which is so far away today. Hardly any German poet is still as present today, both in the Russian oblast of Kaliningrad and in the Lithuanian border region. Hardly any other German poet has inscribed himself so impressively in the literary conscience of the two German states that existed at the time. A who-is-who of the literary scene refers to him.
There are Bobrowski societies in the Federal Republic of Germany, in Lithuania, in Russia. Streets are named after him, a
Bobrowski Medal awarded. In Vilnius, Berlin, Tilsit and Kaliningrad there are commemorative plaques on houses. His name and work are equally respected and respected in Lithuania, Russia and the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Nobel Laureate in Literature Herta Müller in an interview: He creates language images that I have never read anywhere else. That’s a language that is wounded while reading. I would be very curious to know how long Bobrowski worked on such a text, because with him every word goes so deep. And how he could live each of these words, because they are lived in everything they can say.
This “language that wounds” is taken up and visually and musically processed by artists from Russia, Lithuania and Germany in this photography-art project on Johannes Bobrowski. In addition to a multidisciplinary concert and information journey, exhibition projects in Lithuania, Russia and the Federal Republic of Germany, and a film production, this photo text folder on Bobrowski is the core of the project.
It contains 37 photographic works by a Lithuanian and five Russian photographers, as well as six Saxon artists, which were created in confrontation with Bobrowski’s texts. Each artist has created a photo series of three to four works with
Bobrowski quotations, which are now summarized in this folder.
When the work is handed over to various institutions, some of which are involved in the project, this Russian-Lithuanian-German Bobrowski portfolio becomes a museum.

The works:

Arturas Valiauga was born in 1967 in Vilnius, where he still lives and works today. After graduating from the Vilnius University of Technology and Design with a bachelor’s degree in photographic technology, he graduated from the Art Academy in Vilnius in 2010.
Vilnius as Master of Photography and Media Art. He then began working as a professional advertising photographer. Since 1993 he has participated in various international photography exhibitions and projects. The themes of social identity and time dominate the free works of Arturas Valiaugas.

Oleg Kostyuk, was born in 1970 in Kaliningrad, Russia. He has been a member of the Union of Russian Photographic Artists since 2013. Since 1991 he has worked as a freelance artist. Participant in regional and international art projects, including curator of the publishing projects of the Baltic Biennale of Photography “Photomania” (2007, 2009, 2011).

Sascha Lubin, born in 1982, graduated from the Baltic Federal Immanuel Kant University in 2009 in Philosophy. In 2014 he completed the course “New Artistic Strategies” of the Institute for Problems of Contemporary Art. He is a member of the board of the Kaliningrad Union of Photographic Artists and curator of the Baltic Biennial of Photography.
He currently lives and works in Kaliningrad

Dmitry Vyshemirsky, born 1958, member of the
Russian Society of Art Photographers Winner of the photo competition of OGONEK Magazine, 1988 winner of the Award for Achievements in Fine Art 1998.
Exhibitions in Poland, Lithuania, France, Denmark, USA, Germany, Russia. Books: “Königsberg, verzeih”, Pictorica Publishing, 2007. “post-” Revolver Publishing, 2008

Igor Ryazantsev was born in 1973 in Zheleznovodsk in the Stavropol region. Since 1993 he has been engaged in photography. In 1995 he moved to Kaliningrad. Since 1997 he has worked as a video operator for the television company Balt-TV, NTV, and the documentary filmmaker Oleg Morozov.
He curated and participated in photo exhibitions in Russia and Israel and is a member of the Union of Kaliningrad Photo Artists.

Juri Pawlov, born in 1958 in Odessa, professionalphotographer. Member of the Photographers Association. Member of the Russian Association of Photographers since 1990. Head of the studio for classical photography. Lecturer for photography and animated film at the Baltic Federal Immanuel-Kant-University. Lives and works in Kaliningrad. Works and lives in Kaliningrad.

Matthias Jackisch, born in 1958, studied sculpture at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Dresden from 1981-86 after an apprenticeship as a stonemason. International study trips and performance projects since the 1980s broadened the horizon of Jackisch’s art, but ultimately led him back to sculpture.
Matthias Jackisch produced numerous sculptures for public spaces (Jacob Kaiser House in Berlin, Bautzen, Radeberg, etc.). He regularly gives concerts with his homemade stone flutes. Matthias Jackisch works as a sculptor, draughtsman, performance artist and musician and participated in various projects of the Kultur Aktiv e.V..

Jan Oelker, born in 1960 in Dresden and living in Cottbus, studied power plant engineering technology at the TU Dresden. As a photographer he is
Autodidact and freelance photojournalist since 1991. Jan Oelker lives in Radebeul.
The main topics of his photography are the relationship between man and the environment, the development of wind energy, mining and industrial landscapes, and travel photography, which he has published in numerous book projects and magazines.

Holger Wendland was born in 1956 in Pößneck/Thuringia and has lived in Dresden for many years. He has worked for 28 years as a journalist and art publisher in his Edition Raute and as editor and editor-in-chief is in charge of the magazines pARTisanen, Scharteke and MAGnEUROPA. As a project artist he organized and developed various national and international exhibition projects.
His works (drawings, collages, unique books, objects, photographs) are in public and private collections, museums and institutions.

Jörg Seifert was born in 1968 in Annaberg-Bucholz. Since studying stage design at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Dresden from 1990-93, he has worked in various fields of painting, graphic art, sculpture/objects and literature. Since 1998 he has been director of the Kunstkeller Annaberg. He is particularly deserving of the work of Carlfriedrich Claus. As a publisher of catalogues, portfolios and books, he is a pioneer in his home in the Erzgebirge region. The exhibition “Johannes
Bobrowski – poet of the Sarmatian landscape” he presents from February 2019 in the gallery Kunstkeller Annaberg.

Tilo Schwalbe, born 1972, lives in Großschönau, worked in various professions, always looking for pictures and words … exhibitions in Finsterwalde, Oybin, Hainewalde, Niesky, Großhennersdorf, Großschönau, … exhibition participations in Seifhennersdorf, Bernstadt, Grottau, Reichenau, Zittau, Sagan, Oybin, Weißwasser, Köln, Mittelherwigsdorf … participants in Kultur Aktiv e. V. projects: Transkaukazja 2015, poster projects “Plastic All Over The World” & “Exercises With Stones”.
Poetry publications in anthologies … Photo publications in advertising brochures, exhibition catalogues and magazines …

Matthias Schumann, born in 1973, is a freelance photographer, curator, communication and media scientist. After studying in Leipzig and studying in the USA, he worked for various newspapers and agencies. His photographic focus of his freelance work is Eastern Europe. He has had exhibitions in Germany, the USA, England, Azerbaijan, Belarus and the Ukraine. Since 2016 he lives in Radebeul.

Exhibition Stations

Lithuania Willkischken/Vilkyškiai, Russia Königsberg/Kaliningrad, Germany Dresden and Annaberg-Buchholz.