50 Years of Grünau: Discover six works of façade art in the neighbourhood with the KunstWANDerung

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What’s going on up there? That’s what many residents of Grünau – and not just those on the corner of Alte Salzstraße and Stuttgarter Allee – must have been wondering over the past few months. People were hard at work using a large external lift, painting a mural on the gable wall. From the start of July, people could watch the mural take shape at 18 Stuttgarter Allee. What is it going to be, and who organised it?

We got the answer on 22 July at the launch of the ‘KunstWANDerung’ art walk through Grünau.

Route map for the ‘KunstWANDerung’ art walk. Screenshot: LZ

The building and housing co-operatives BGL, “Lipsia”, UNITAS, VLW and WOGETRA have founded the joint platform “wohnen bei uns” and are jointly presenting the Grünau district with six large-scale façade artworks (murals). Five of these are already complete; the sixth is still in the planning stage.

The five completed murals were designed by the Leipzig-based artist BOND TRULUV; the sixth will be a collaborative project involving children and young people from Grünau working alongside professional artists. The mural on the gable wall at Uranusstraße 30 is due to be completed in late summer. We can look forward to seeing it. For now, there is just a blank wall there; naturally, the question mark in the picture is not visible there.

Mural at Dahlienstraße 107–109, VLW. Photo: Thomas Köhler

The KunstWANDerung tour began at Dahlienstraße 107/109, where Nelly Keding, Chair of WG Lipsia, and Wolf-Rüdiger Kliebes, Chair of VLW eG, gave a brief introduction to the topic. They particularly emphasised that these are not just simple images; there is a QR code on the panels accompanying the murals. If you scan this, follow the instructions and take a step back, the image comes to life. It is not just a 3D image; BOND TRULUV has also enhanced these images with augmented reality and brought them to life.

The images are linked to their respective locations; for example, the dahlia is a central element on the mural in Dahlienstraße. This image also demonstrates the strengths of 3D technology, as the corner of the building disappears completely. Standing at the right spot creates the impression of a continuous wall.

Why these images? The aim is to create something for the residents of Grünau, whilst also attracting tourists to the neighbourhood. As Nelly Keding said, Wolf-Rüdiger Kliebes added that all five platform co-operatives were enthusiastic about the mural idea.

Mural at Stuttgarter Allee 18, WOGETRA. Photo: Thomas Köhler

The mural at Stuttgarter Allee 18 highlights the significance of the ‘Alte Salzstraße’ trade route. One might think that the architectural elements, together with the bird, point in the direction of this route.

Mural at Am Schwalbennest 13, VLW. Photo: Thomas Köhler

At the next stop on the circular walk – which is around one kilometre long – the mural clearly refers to the address ‘Am Schwalbennest’. A swallow’s nest, complete with a mother swallow and her chicks, is the dominant feature. Here, too, the composition extends beyond the corner of the building, visually expanding the image. Christian Glöckner, VLW’s press spokesperson, told us when asked that the response from tenants to the façade design has been overwhelmingly positive.

What will be on the gable of Uranusstraße 80. Photo: Thomas Köhler

At the station on Uranusstraße 30, an empty wall can be seen; we have added the question mark shown on the accompanying poster to this photo. As part of the ‘Sketching our Future’ project run by the Stadtkuratorin Leipzig programme, children and young people from the neighbourhood will be designing this image.

Mural at Uranusstraße 80, Leipzig. Photo: Thomas Köhler

On the gable of Uranusstraße 80, the small blue gas planet hovers over Grünau. We took the opportunity to ask Nelly Keding a few questions. First, we asked: “What are the platform cooperatives, and how did the murals come about?” We couldn’t resist asking about any potential street art projects.

At the end of the tour, a Saturn rocket launches from Grünau towards the planet of the same name – if that isn’t a sign that things are looking up again in Grünau.

To round off the tour, the representatives of the housing co-operatives posed for a final group photo with the posters. Pictured from left to right are Tilo Blumhagen (BGL), Béla Hambuch (Wogetra), Rolf Pflüger and Nelly Keding (Lipsia), Ute Schäfer (Unitas), Wolf-Rüdiger Kliebes and Christian Glöckner (VLW).

Conclusion: Some fantastic works of façade art have been created; we can highly recommend the KunstWANDerung. We are looking forward to the sixth mural and hope that there will be further new works of art. Nelly Keding’s comments on the matter give us reason to hope so.