“The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
The Historical Flood of 1613
In 1613, a catastrophic flood swept across Weimar. The so-called Thuringian Sintflut (german: Deluge) left its mark on the collective memory of the region: “Sint” – as “sin” – interpreted the disaster as divine punishment, a cleansing force meant to rid the world of human transgressions. Today, this religious-moral interpretation may sound foreign, and yet the idea feels strikingly contemporary. In the 21st century, much is said about “climate sins” – actions by which humans ruthlessly interfere with nature, disregard its needs, and thereby summon disasters themselves.
in Weimar
The consequences are not only rising temperatures and droughts, but also increasingly frequent and destructive floods. In the heart of Weimar, this connection becomes tangible in October 2025: as part of citywide flood-protection construction, the Asbach Canal, which runs through the city, will be redesigned. FLUTEN takes this neuralgic point as its starting ground – a cross-disciplinary cultural project that interweaves art, history, and the present. Along the canal and across all participating cultural venues, a rich program unfolds that makes the theme of flooding tangible from multiple perspectives.
The Exhibition
At the heart of the project lies a large thematic exhibition in three acts:
BEFORE THE FLOOD
Flow
in Trance
Before the water rises, there is silence. Reflection. The works gaze into rivers, bodies, and stories — into places where water carries memory. An invitation to look deeper: beneath the surface, inward, into the flow.
DURING THE FLOOD
Water, Waste, and Weakness
When the water rises, boundaries dissolve. The works move within the flood — through currents of abundance and loss, through what overwhelms and transforms. They explore the fragility of systems and the resilience that emerges from immersion.
AFTER THE FLOOD
Permeable Learnscapes
What remains when the water recedes? Amid damp ground and new horizons, this zone of learning asks about forms of togetherness. The works search for pathways through uncertainty — carried by current, care, and time.
Complementing the exhibition, large-format graphic novel panels appear in public spaces, retelling the story of the Thuringian Great Flood of 1613 and making it visible in the present day.
Culture Meets Movement
Another highlight is the collaboration with the ESC Erfurt e.V.: in an inclusive skate performance, the Thuringian Deluge is brought narratively onto the ramp – with recreational athletes, with and without physical and intellectual disabilities. Here, movement fuses with history, opening a new access point to an old trauma.
International Perspective
But FLUTEN also widens its perspective beyond the region: the exhibition WASSERSCHATTEN (german: WATERSHADOWS) is dedicated to the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine. When the structure was destroyed during the Russian war of aggression, it triggered a flood disaster whose ecological and social consequences continue to reverberate to this day.
FLUTEN understands itself as an invitation to reflect together on the past, present, and future of the flood – as a natural event, as a cultural interpretation, as a social experience. In 2025, Weimar becomes the place where history meets the present, posing the question:
What must change if we are
to live with water rather than against it?
TEAM
Cosmo Schüppel
Artistic / Project Director
mail[at]cosmoschueppel.de
Katja Schäfer
Chairwoman, Stockwerk e.V.
stockwerk[at]mail.de
Patronage
Liz Bachhuber
Laura Köckritz
Project Management Exhibitions
Rosalie Ratz
Project Management Fringe Program
Passion Asasu
Graphic Design
Vivi Morais
Curator: BEFORE THE FLOOD
Konstantin Bayer
Curator: IN THE FLOOD
Giuliana Marmo
Curator: AFTER THE FLOOD
TEAM
Kateryna Anikieieva & Svietlana Schwartau
Curators: WASSERSCHATTEN
Frederic Schmidt
Technical Director
Bianca Voigt
Financial Management
Web Design
Lukas Stodollik / DOTY YOAK
Jan Munske
Social Media Management
We warmly thank our funders and everyone whose dedication and volunteer work has made this project possible.
In particular:
Andrea, Astrid, Maya, Kerstin, Saskia, Zack, Stefan, Carolina, Pedro, Rieke, Moni, Tim, Timm, Leandra
