The theme of the cross-border sculpture summer Pirna-Dĕčín 2019 is "The animal symbol of the divine". Patronage: Sächs. Minister of State, Dr. Eva-Maria Stange (inquired), Lord Mayor Pirna, Klaus-Peter Hanke and Lord Mayor Děčín Marie Blažková,. Sponsor: Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden. For the first time it is taking place in the German-Czech curatorial body. The project locations are the former fortifications of the Sonnenstein Fortress, the Pirna City Museum and the Dĕčín Castle Gardens. Objective: to stimulate cross-border exchange and understanding by means of sculptural art with new impulses, to continue and to deepen the town twinning. The processes and results are continuously reflected and the experiences from 2017 are incorporated. They broaden the common basis for future, sustainable developments. With their archaic architecture and ancient sandstone walls, the bastions offer a special space for sculpture beyond what is familiar to museums. The rose garden in Dĕčín is, in turn, a gem of baroque garden architecture, where sculptures have always been at home. The project with around 28 artists from three countries contrasts the artistic approach of classical modernism with the reflections of today's sculptors. The sculpture summer is published in a multilingual catalog and information material (English, Czech, German). Guided tours, performances, concerts, virtual reality and cabaret frame the exhibition program in both exhibition locations. The target group are interested citizens of the Elbe-Labe region. There is also a “random” target group: people who, as visitors to the exhibitions in Pirna and Děčín, become part of the project. The project aims to deal with questions about the relationship between humans and animals from an artistic and ethical perspective. Discourse with all classes is stimulated - regardless of gender, race or ethnic origin. Reflection and communication should be initiated and encouraged to take a position, develop tolerance for other attitudes and take on ethical and social responsibility.

(This is an automatic translation by Google Translator.)

The cross-border sculpture summer Pirna-Dĕčín continues the cross-border activities and projects of previous years. It builds on their experiences. As a result, existing interpersonal and artistic contacts are deepened and new ones established. The relationships between the institutions and partners involved are also becoming closer. With the acquisition of a Czech co-curator, a significantly stronger balance between the partners and twin cities will be achieved in the long term. The added value lies in sustainable contact, exchange and communication on an institutional, artistic, but above all on a civic level. The cross-border sculpture summer in Pirna-Dĕčín is continuously gaining tourist relevance. It moves the inhabitants of the Euroregion. Pirna's residents and visitors are directed to Dĕčín and vice versa; a process that is to be intensified by the project and also in the future. The project is a further step on the way to long-term and sustainable anchoring in the cultural and tourist fabric of the Elbe-Labe border region. The common experiences will serve the further development of the cross-border understanding, the inter-municipal, the broader attention for the developments in the cross-border neighborhood, the partnership relationships of Pirnas and Dĕčín and the broadening of the individual interpersonal exchange in the Euroregion Elbe-Labe. Another goal for the coming years should then be joint Czech-German patronage at the state level.

(This is an automatic translation by Google Translator.)

Erstmalig erfolgten für 2019 die Vorbereitung und Durchführung des Skupturensommers Pirna-Děčín in deutsch-tschechischer Kuratorenschaft. Das verstärkte die Kommunikation und den Austausch auf künstlerisch-kuratorischer Ebene. Nachdem bisher der Schwerpunkt in Pirna lag, konnte nun eine gute Balance zwischen den beiden Ausstellungen in Pirna und Decin erreicht werden. Nachdem auf deutscher Seite bereits bedeutende Leihgeber und große Museen gewonnen worden waren, konnten in 2019 bedeutende Leihgaben tschechischer Institutionen von nationalem Rang präsentiert werden. Das erhöhte Strahlkraft und Attraktivität des Skulpturensommers und führte zu verstärkter medialer Aufmerksamkeit. Dadurch - und durch die langfristige Verankerung im touristischen Kalender der Grenzregion - konnte ein erhöhtes touristisches Aufkommen verzeichnet werden. Und es intensivierte vor allem die direkten persönlichen Begegnungen. So wurden zwei Busexkursionenen von Pirna nach Decin unternommen und eine von Decin nach Pirna.