The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Patrons: Jenny Edel, Wanda Szumlewski, Mary O’Rourke, Marianne Stein, Kerstin Frey, Carsten-Armin Jakimowicz


Commission: We would like to commission an artwork that places the spirit of solidarity and standing together and the people who are committed to it at its center. It should reflect our history as a community of shared destiny at Bergsteig and offer impulses for how we can develop and sustain new forms of togetherness in light of today’s social challenges.


Mediator: Bianca Kruppa


Period: 2025 ongoing


Partner: Kulturstiftung des Bundes


Program: Citizen-Commissioned Dance and Performance


The Amberg neighborhood “Am Bergsteig” in Eastern Bavaria looks back on a complex and moving history. After the war, refugees and displaced persons from around 60 nations found a new home here. In 1952, they made up more than half of the approximately 3,000 residents. Many were affected by poverty and existential hardship. Issues such as discrimination and crime in the neighborhood were often pictured exaggeratedly by outsiders.

The difficult living conditions and social exclusion at the time led to the emergence of a strong sense of solidarity and shared destiny. People supported one another through mutual aid, engagemnet in associations, sports, and shared everyday life. Many residents still remember a special spirit of togetherness.

Several people are standing and sitting on a street, facing each other.

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Photo: Miriam Koch
Three people are standing in front of a wall and talking.

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Photo: Miriam Koch

“We may be small, but we have a big history.”

Today, Bergsteig is once again at a turning point. Six people with various ties to the neighborhood have come together, observing how the places and moments where community was once lived are increasingly disappearing. People are withdrawing, many feel overwhelmed—and the kind of civic engagement that was once taken for granted is fading away.

Traditionally, local clubs and associations were a cornerstone of community life at Bergsteig. Now the question arises: how can that spirit be carried into the present and reimagined—towards future forms of solidarity and neighborhood connection?

A village well in front of a house with balconies and windows.

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

View of Am Bergsteig, Amberg Photo: Miriam Koch
Row of houses with trees, blue sky

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

View of Am Bergsteig, Amberg Photo: Miriam Koch

“Togetherness has always been important to us. We believe it will remain essential—not only at Bergsteig, but far beyond.”

Four persons are sitting around a table in a garden, signing a paper

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Signing the Commission, Amberg, 30.6.2025 Photo: Miriam Koch
View from a distance of a garden table next to a village well, where several people are sitting and talking.

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Signing the Commission, Amberg, 30.6.2025 Photo: Miriam Koch
The commission to be signed is on the table in front of a person.

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Signing the Commission, Amberg, 30.6.2025 Photo: Miriam Koch
There are several copies on a table, with people sitting around it, one of whom is visible from the front.

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Signing the Commission, Amberg, 30.6.2025 Photo: Miriam Koch
Group photo in front of a village well.

The New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig

Photo: Miriam Koch

The group has decided to launch an artistic commission as the New Patrons of Amberg – Am Bergsteig. At its heart lies the question: how can we retell our story of solidarity and draw inspiration from it for the future—so that conflicts can be addressed, prejudices reduced, and cohesion strengthened? Their civic commission aims to remind people of how vital commitment and mutual support have always been and should continue to be for life at Bergsteig.

“We are looking for an artistic position that takes Bergsteig seriously as a place of lived experience and reflects the diverse perspectives of its people.”

Bergsteig is also known by the nickname “Glasscherbenviertel” (“Shards District”). The name may be associated with the Rosenthal glass factory designed by architect Walter Gropius for Amberg. More often, however, it was used from the outside, negatively referring to the neighborhood’s difficult social conditions at the time. A member oft he patrons group who recently moved to the neighborhood now reinterprets the term more positively: as a shimmering mosaic made up of colorful glass fragments. In this way, the name also becomes symbolic of the group’s commission—an effort to bring many pieces together into something shared, open to new images, perspectives, and encounters.