The exhibition “Jewish Realities” features works by five Jewish artists from Germany, the United Kingdom, and Israel who work in various media: photography, painting, drawing, object art, and text. The title draws attention to the plurality of Jewish life, Jewish presence, and Jewish culture. It also reflects the fact that Jewish realities worldwide dramatically changed following the Hamas massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Some of the works on display were created as a direct response to the terrorist attack. Others explore the legacy of Jewish family histories or depict Jewish realities in Europe long before October 7.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the “Förderkreis Alter Leipziger Bahnhof” and the Berlin-based non-profit organization werkraum bild und sinn. It evolved from the organization’s 2025 yearbook “Jewish Realities After October 7, 2023,” edited by the two curators, Alexandra Klei and Annika Wienert. At a time when Jewish voices are being attacked, silenced, and excluded from academia, the art world, culture, and public discourse, the editors sought to provide a platform for precisely these voices. The exhibition is a continuation of this effort, bringing select works from the publication to a gallery space.

The artworks on display seek to resonate with the exhibition venue, which is located in the Alter Leipziger Bahnhof complex and forms part of the former Dresden-Neustadt freight yard. Between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis deported local Jews from this place to concentration and extermination camps. In line with the 2025 concept for a future memorial and community center, the exhibition showcases Jewish contemporary life, thereby advocating for the inclusion of Jewish experience and perspectives in the German discourse on memory culture.

Artists

Babi Brüller

Babi Brüller’s large-format canvases open the exhibition. In surreal pictorial spaces, the artist depicts groups of similar looking, androgynous figures, evoking the uncanny dynamics inherent in such groupings. The paintings play with motifs from the canon of art history, into which Brüller weaves autobiographical elements and aspects of Jewish culture.

Jacky Klein’s text-and-image work “Notes from the Storm” was created specifically for the publication “Jewish Realities After October 7.” It is a recapitulation of the experience, the struggle, and the survival of the first 18 months following the massacre of October 7, 2023, in Israel and the United Kingdom. For the exhibition, the piece was adapted into a video work.

Jacky Klein

In the days, weeks, and months following the massacre of October 7, Marik Lechner created a large number of small-format works on paper. They sprang from the need to respond to the terrible events through a quick, spontaneous, and physical gesture.

Marik Lechner

Li Shir

Li Shir’s work combines family history, transgenerational trauma, and memories of the Holocaust with a reflection on the pain and the flood of images generated by the massacre of October 7 and the war that followed.

Eli Singalovski’s architectural photographs depict synagogues in various cities across Europe. In many of the pictures, security features such as fences, cameras, and guardhouses stand out at first glance, while in others they become apparent only upon closer inspection.

Eli Singalovski

Events

Vernissage | August 16, 2026 | 4 pm

Exhibition opening with the artists in attendance and an introduction. Afterwards, music in the garden by Susan Glass (DJ, Leipzig).
Please register at jr[at]alter-leipziger-bahnhof.net. Limited spots.

More information to follow.

Artist Talk with Li Shir | August 18, 2026 | 7 pm

In conversation with curator Annika Wienert, Li Shir will discuss the influence of her own family history on her work, and the ways in which art can engage with past and present trauma and pain. The conversation will be held in English. A recording is planned.

More information to follow.

Gallery Talk | August 21–23, 2026 | daily 4 pm

As part of the Blaue Fabrik summer festival, the exhibition organisers offer guided tours of the exhibition from Friday to Sunday at 4 pm, followed by a discussion.

Reading and Concert with Alexander Estis & Tatjana Davis | August 30m 2026 | 6 pm

More information to follow. Admission: EUR 6 / EUR 3 reduced rate

Theater Play „Hey Jude, (Don’t) Be Afraid)“ | September 6, 2026 | 6 pm

By and with Konstantin Frank and Aviran Edri, directed by Benno Plassmann. A production by the Institute for New Social Sculpture. Also serving as the exhibition’s finissage.

In response to the current wave of antisemitism in Europe, two Jews do what comes naturally to them: they tell stories. An Israeli and a Russian take to the stage, but of course they cannot agree on anything. This newly developed piece is full of dark humour, satirical sketches, music, and highly personal monologues. It questions identities, gives space to fears, and explores forms of belonging. At times, the audience almost becomes part of a family dinner-table argument that turns into group therapy—or even a sing-along.

Admission: EUR 10 / EUR 5 reduced rate

More information to follow.

Opening Hours: Tue, Thu, Sun, 3–7 pm. Additional opening during the summer festival of the Blaue Fabrik: August 21+22, 3–7 pm.

Curators: Alexandra Klei, Annika Wienert
Project Management: Steffen Heidrich

We would like to thank all donors and financial supporters, especially Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen, Dresdner Stiftung Kunst & Kultur der Ostsächsischen Sparkasse, and LH Dresden.

Supported by:

Diese Maßnahme wird mitfinanziert aus durch Steuermittel auf Grundlage des vom Sächsischen Landtag beschlossenen Haushalts.

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