When can the exhibition be seen?

The exhibition can be seen from September 11, 2026, until February 21, 2027. The visit on November 13, 2026, begins at 10 AM.

Where is the exhibition taking place?

The exhibition takes place at the Wendish Museum Cottbus, Mühlenstraße 12, 03046 Cottbus.

How much is the admission fee?

The regular admission for adults is 5 Euros. Discounts and other tariff groups may apply based on the valid fee schedule.

What content does the exhibition show?

Around 200 historical glass negatives with portraits, costumes, scenes of fieldwork, market activities, children's and women's images, as well as weddings from the Sorbian-Wendish living environment can be seen.

Is the exhibition displayed indoors?

Yes, the exhibition will be presented indoors at the Wendish Museum Cottbus.

Are there official information sources for the exhibition?

Current information is provided on the Wendish Museum's website at wendisches-museum.de.

Discover Faces of a Time: Historical Photography Preserves Lusatian Cultural History

Name: Denis Galloway – Woblica from the Past Casa / Faces of a Time
Start: 2026-11-13T10:00:00+01:00
End: 2027-02-21T17:00:00+01:00
Location: Wendisches Museum Cottbus / Serbski muzej

Faces of a Time: Photographic Journey in the Sorbian-Wendish Lusatia

The Wendish Museum Cottbus presents for the first time a selection of about 200 glass negatives from the Scottish ethnographer, photographer, and artist Denis Galloway. The exhibition opens a compelling time window into the world of the Sorbs and Wends in Lower Lusatia and the Spreewald between 1908 and 1914.

An Archive of Glass and Light

Galloway's historical photographs preserve faces, costumes, working worlds, and rituals of a bygone era. Scenes of fieldwork, market activities, portraits of women and children, as well as weddings combine ethnographic accuracy with a sensitive examination of the works. Each capture tells stories of individual lives and cultural memories.

Costumes, Everyday Life, and Lived Identity

The diverse costume variations, which are rarely seen in this authentic form today, appear particularly impressive. Clothing, body posture, facial expressions, and social relationships become essential carriers of the images. The black-and-white photographs make it visible how closely everyday life, customs, language, and regional identity were interconnected.

Photography as Cultural Memory

The exhibition connects historical photography, ethnography, and regional cultural history. The original glass negatives arrived at the Ethnographic Museum in Cluj-Napoca in 1950 and were later digitized and made publicly accessible via Europeana. In Cottbus, Galloway's Lower Lusatian images can be seen in printed form for the first time.

Aesthetic Experience and Cultural Education

The concentrated exhibition atmosphere directs attention to light, contour, materiality, and the unique presence of the portrayed individuals. This creates a quiet artistic experience that goes beyond mere image observation. The Wendish Museum situates the photographs within the cultural history of the Sorbs and Wends and makes cultural education immediately tangible.

The Wendish Museum as a Place of Encounter

The presentation engages in dialogue with the museum's collections regarding language, literature, customs, costumes, art, music, and the transformation of regional living environments. The curation opens an illustrative access to questions of home, identity, memory, and the relationship between photographic documentation and artistic perception.

Conclusion: History Comes Alive in the Image

Visitors can expect a careful examination of works with rare portraits, authentic costume images, and compelling scenes from everyday life in Lusatia. Those who value historical photography, Sorbian-Wendish cultural history, and the quiet power of visual archives should definitely experience this unique artistic encounter live at the Wendish Museum Cottbus.