Ort für Neue Skulptur – in der Mühlbachpromenade

Urban development as a cultural process with civic participation as its driving force and corrective.

On 12 June 2026 at 16:00, we want to expand the sculpture trail founded in 2025 as a concept for sustainable urban development planning. The public, free ‘celebratory event’ will take place with representatives of the Darmstadt City Council, MERCK, exhibiting artists, the curator and music, and will be repeated on 16 October 2026 at 4 p.m. Further public tours, accompanied by our curator Prof. Dr. Astrid Gräfin von Luxburg, will take place as follows:

• 28 March 2026, 2 p.m. focus on Gabriele von Lutzau
• 25 April 2026, 1 p.m. focus on Faxe M. Müller
• 17 May 2026, 1 p.m. focus on Joachim Mennicken
• 20 June 2026, 11 a.m. focus on Peter Kunkel

The purpose of our non-profit association "Freundeskreis Neue Skulptur Darmstadt e. V. funded by MERCK", which was newly founded in 2025, is to promote art, especially sculptures in Darmstadt. Why not set up a few sculptural works in the Mühlbachaue and thus create a sustainable perspective for the expansion of the Mühlbachpromenade in accordance with the original urban framework planning? Urban development as a cultural process with civic participation as the goal. This gave rise to the ambitious idea of developing the NEUE SKULPTUR DARMSTADT not only as a local but also a national attraction for those interested in art and nature. "For the citizens, by the citizens" is our motto; a cultural recreation trail in the Mühlbach promenade with strengthening the experience of nature along the Mühlbachaue and, in the medium term, also as overcoming the artificial dividing elements such as the DB route and cycle highway for the development of the Wixhausen district is the starting point of our commitment. We also want to initiate a joint activity with the existing art group in close cooperation with the "Aumühle - Mission Leben". In our flyer, our curator's own guided tours for daycare centres, school classes or private groups of children and young people are also age-appropriate and designed for carefree access to the works of art. The association wants to bring the visual arts and civic engagement closer to young people.

Our non-profit association FREUNDESKREIS NEUE SKULPTUR DARMSTADT e.V. is the project initiator for the sculpture trail. Our group emerged from the interest group Arheilgen Citizens "IGAB" in order to secure the green corridor between the districts of Arheilgen and Wixhausen from overbuilding and to develop it in a meaningful way for the citizens. To this end, art and culture seem to us to be a meaning-shaping means.

MERCK is our main neighborhood sponsor for the art/sculptures for 3 years