Here you can find the detailed program for the theme day.
Participation is free of charge.
Please register by 15.02.2026 here.
The Kunsthalle spends a day focusing on public art. Sculptures in public spaces are usually planned and installed for a long time. They are often made of solid stone or metal and change very little over time. But their meaning, their spirit, can change. Public art is not silent. It reminds us of the past, of identity, and of trauma. It creates a space of tension between memory and forgetting.
The dialogue lab “Silent Monuments, Speaking Spirits” [orig. Stille Monumente, sprechende Geister] invites us to see public art as something that can change. The Public Art Collection in Osnabrück is the starting point. The Kunsthalle Osnabrück is responsible for around 39 public artworks.
We want to ask:
Which spirits do these mostly silent public artworks tell us about?
How can collections that have grown over many years create new ideas for the city?
How can they become spaces for new forms of thinking, sharing, and participation in urban life?
How can silent artworks become visible and audible again?
The discussion lab brings together experts, artists, students, and people from the city. We aim for open conversations. We present different perspectives on public art: from everyday urban life, from research, from artistic practice, and from experiences of participation.
Participants will experience a varied day. There will be lectures, walks to the artworks, workshops to discuss and reflect, and a performance related to public art.
The Kunsthalle will offer a light snack with coffee, cake, and other small bites. There will also be time and space for conversations, exchange, and making new contacts.
Note: The theme day will take place primarily in German. If you would like to participate but do not speak German, please contact us at the address above. We will be happy to find a solution.
The theme day is sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and the Lower Saxony Foundation. The theme day at the Kunsthalle Osnabrück is organised in cooperation with the Institute for Art/Art Education and is sponsored by zukunft.niedersachsen as part of the ‘Gegenwärtig Machen’ project.
