MINISTER TAKES OVER THE PATRONAGE

Lüben/ Wolfsburg

Fishing, sheep farming, and beekeeping. Three wooden pillars in the village square of Lüben represent the nutritional foundations of the village community. Lower Saxony’s Minister of Culture, Falko Mohrs, who is a hobby beekeeper in his free time, has taken on the patronage of the Lüben Workshop Week not just because of his love for beekeeping: “The Lüben Workshop Week brings art and culture to the rural region. It is a great example of what long-term volunteer engagement can achieve. I am excited to support the Workshop Week as its patron.”

The first Lüben Workshop Week was held in 1991 with the aim of reconnecting contacts between artists from East and West that had been severed for decades. The idyllic village of Lüben, a district of the town of Wittingen, provided the ideal setting due to its location just a few hundred meters from the former inner-German border and its intact village structure. International artists have been hosted in private homes from the very beginning. The event is organized by the town of Wittingen and the Wittinger Cultural Association, whose chairperson, Elke Bruns-Tober, commented on the new patronage: “We are happy and proud of this recognition of our unique format.”

For the 17th Workshop Week in 2025, 20 creatives, selected by a high-profile international jury, will live and work in Lüben from June 27 to July 7, 2025—invitation letters will be sent out in mid-December 2024. The results will be presented at the end of the Workshop Week in an exhibition throughout the village. Workshops, guided tours, and a diverse music program organized by the Young Generation of the Wolfsburg Art Museum will attract more visitors to the village. Minister Falko Mohrs will open the exhibition on July 5 at 4 PM. “The concept of the Workshop Week, which combines young international art with a versatile educational program, is convincing. I am already looking forward to the results!”