Opening of the special exhibition “FOREIGN: FAMILY. Sibiu: Brasov. Two Cities in Transylvania” in the Friedrich Teutsch House | culture

The special exhibition “FOREIGN: FAMILY. Sibiu: Brasov. Two Cities in Transylvania” will open on Thursday 5 May, at 6 pm, in the multifunctional hall of the Friedrich Teutsch House. Berlin photographer Professor Jürgen van Boer will display black and white photos taken during several trips to Transylvania between 2014 and 2018.
The curator, Josef Palaz (Nuremberg), brought the images in an interesting relationship between them under the slogan “FORIGN: FAMILY” and completed them at the exhibition’s first stop – in Munich – with virtually accessible text and video clips. Here he collaborated with Lilia Antipow, head of public relations at Haus des Deutschen Ostens (HDO) in Munich, who started exhibition mediation in Sibiu.
The question of when the stranger becomes familiar in general cannot be answered. This process is influenced by many individual factors, especially autobiographical factors. What was originally strange may soon become familiar, while the familiar may seem strange. Jürgen van Boer’s portraits combine the two. It seems to many that black and white photos are foreign. Others are attracted to this world. There is no denying that the world of Transylvania was originally alien to the Berlin photographer. Are the photos taken by a foreigner familiar to a resident of Brasov or a resident of Sibiu?
In Sibiu, the exhibition is held under the patronage of Heidrun König and Dr. Gerhild Rudolf, under the patronage of Bishop Reinhart Gibb and with the support of the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sibiu. The exhibition will be open at the Teutsch House (30 Mitropoliei Street) from May 5 to October 25, and admission is free.