Anke Heelemann
Installation, 2024
What picture do private photographs paint of life and the upheavals in the ORWO town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen? How did the people here capture their world through photography? For a year, media artist Anke Heelemann searched for private photos and stories at various collection sites. Thanks to numerous contributions, she was able to compile a wide variety of personal perspectives—from photo albums, memory boxes, and brigade diaries, spanning the entire last century. The images depict the everyday aspects of life, as well as remarkable and unusual moments—family celebrations, scenes from daily life, and outings. Yet they also casually reveal the history of a region. Heelemann curated the photo collection and, at the festival, invited visitors to design and annotate the pages of a large photo album featuring the photographs, captions, and quotes. This allowed visitors to capture their own unique perspectives on yesterday, today, and tomorrow and, together, shed new light on the history of Bitterfeld-Wolfens.
As curator of the Festivals OSTEN , I oversaw the project from the initial concept through to its premiere presentation.