Drawing on the two major floods that struck Grimma in 2002 and 2013, the art installation Forum Neues Wetter – On Climate, Soil and Participation explores questions of climate-just urban development, opportunities for local and regional climate action, and civic engagement.

The project initiators—the artist collective Situation Room and spatial design studio lfm2—transformed a vacant site into a site-specific art installation and event platform, complemented by a temporary café. Representatives of the City of Grimma and Leipzig District, researchers, and local stakeholders shared their perspectives through lectures, discussions, workshops, and film screenings, inviting the public to take part. The vacant site on Paul-Gerhardt-Straße, left behind by the 2002 flood, thus became a place for discussing climate change and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, while exploring the potential of green spaces for the future of cities.

In collaboration with: BaumWege Grimma e. V., Prof. Dr. Silke Beck and Michael Nitschmann (Technical University of Munich), Falko Haak (Climate Protection Manager, Leipzig District), City of Grimma, Klima-Initiative Taucha e. V., Bauzirkel – Verein für ökologisches Bauen Leipzig e. V., Letzte Generation, Marius Busch (Technical University of Berlin), Maximillian Hauer, Walther Zeug (UFZ Leipzig), Volkshochschule Landkreis Leipzig, Gymnasium Grimma, Bernd Siemer (Soil Protection Officer, Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology), Bernd Felgentreff (Consultant for Renewable Energy System Technologies)

Graphic design: Wolfgang Schwärzler
Graphic recording: Max Baitinger
Moderation: Christiane Kornhaß

Photos 1, 2, 3, 5, 6: Kai-Hendrik Windeler
Photo 7: Christian Göthner