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
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 to participate on this page by August 15, 2026.
The Sukkah & Levinas’ Ethics of Vulnerability After October 7 – Artist Talk by Li Shir
August 18, 2026 | 7 pm
August 18, 2026 | 7 pm
Li Shir traces her family’s history through four manifestations of the sukkah as a fragile Jewish architecture of vulnerability, memory and survival. They range from the indoor sukkah in her grandfather’s childhood home in Skarżysko-Kamienna and the sukkah depicted in the town’s Yizkor Book to one photographed in a Berlin DP camp in 1946. Her own Charred Sukkah, created after October 7, continues this mnemonic genealogy. Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas, the talk considers the sukkah as a place where the living encounter the dead and asks what ethical demands the past makes upon the present.
The talk will be in english. There will be no translation avaible. A record is planned. Please register to attend till 15 Aug 2026 here.
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. To attend, meet us in the garden auf the venue.
Writing and Living in a Ceasefireless World – Artist Talk by Ronnie Gross
August 27, 2026 | 7 pm
August 27, 2026 | 7 pm
October 7, 2023, and the murder of her friend Carmel Gat z”l in Hamas captivity profoundly changed Israeli writer and grief facilitator Ronnie Gross’ experience of life, love, and loss. Drawing on her Grief and Travel Journal, Ronnie weaves personal impressions of war, displacement, and migration with reflections on grief, community, and belonging. Moments of devastation stand alongside experiences of beauty, safety, and everyday life. Rather than searching for definitive answers, Ronnie explores how contradictory realities can coexist. Her lecture is an invitation to listen and to consider how we can remain human in a “ceasefireless world”—a world in which the weapons never fall silent, either around us or within us.
Please register to attend till 26 Aug 2026 here.
Reading/Concert “In the Talmood” featuring Alexander Estis & Tatjana Davis
August 30, 2026 | 6:00 p.m.
August 30, 2026 | 6:00 p.m.
An evening blending words and sound, prose and poetry, seriousness and satire, tradition and experimentation: Tatjana Davis masterfully performs on the clarinet, covering a spectrum from classical to klezmer, enriched by loop variations, improvisations, and her own compositions, while Alexander Estis reads from his linguistically acrobatic satires (including selections from the book *Am Anfang war Schmonzes*) and poems.
Admission: 6 EUR / 3 EUR (reduced)
Please register to attend on this page by August 28, 2026.
Theater Play „Hey Jude, (Don’t) Be Afraid)“ | September 6, 2026 | 6 pm
With Konstantin Frank, Deborah Schneidermann 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, three Jews do what comes naturally to them: they tell stories. An Israeli, a German-American and a Austrian from Russia 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
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.