This exhibition by the Coventry/Dresden Arts Exchange was part of the Dresden 26th Elbhangfest June 24 to June 26 2016.
Despite Brexit the 26th Elbhangfest in June 2016 was a very British affair, with the motto from the Beatles ‘Come together’ this was also to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death.
Seven artists from both cities exhibited paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and instillations at the Orangery in Pillnitz Palace Park. The exhibition attracted over one thousand visitors in the three days of the festival.
“On the morning of the referendum result (Friday 24th June), on this warm summers day in Dresden, walking across the Blaues Wunder bridge along Loschwitz to the Pillnitz Castle it felt like we had joined something rather than left! With all those Union Flags, some upside down, cardboard red phone boxes, cut our Queens, Margret Thatchers and Mr Bean, with the Beatles music and the Beatles sentiment “come together”, with a holiday spirit and the cream teas served by the Deustsch-Britisch Gesellschaft, a replica of Stonehenge that lit up at night and a facsimile of the Last Night of the Proms at the Mari am Wasser, it was more a return to a fun Britain which clearly the Germans had great affection for.” – John Yeadon
The banners ‘Great Britain on the Elbe Slopes’ organised by Dresden Angol-German Association (Deustsch-Britisch Gesellschaft) from the project British Traces in Dresden that were on show in Dresden during the Elbhangfest in Dresden, were then exhibited at Coventry Cathedral’s St Michael’s House. Rainer Barczaitis gave a talk on the fascinating findings of the project British Traces in Dresden.
Coventry Peace Festival
Elbhangfest
