When can the exhibition be visited?

The exhibition opens on October 4, 2026, at 10 AM and runs until February 21, 2027.

Where does the exhibition take place?

The exhibition takes place at the Sorbian Museum Cottbus / Serbski muzej at Mühlenstraße 12, 03046 Cottbus.

How much is the admission fee?

The regular admission fee for adults is 5 Euro. Discounts apply for eligible visitor groups.

What content does the exhibition show?

A selection of around 200 glass negatives by Denis Galloway including portraits, traditional costumes, working worlds, market scenes, and significant life events from Lusatia will be displayed.

Is the exhibition suitable for an art historical examination of the works?

Yes, the exhibition connects historical photography, ethnography, cultural history, and regional memory culture, making it suitable for a deeper examination of the works.

Is there official information about the exhibition?

Current information is provided on the official website of the Sorbian Museum Cottbus.

Faces of a Time: Historical Photographs Preserve the Soul of Lusatia

Name: Denis Galloway – Woblica ze zajźonego casa / Faces of a Time
Start: 2026-10-04T10:00:00+02:00
End: 2027-02-21T17:00:00+01:00
Location: Wendisches Museum Cottbus / Serbski muzej

Faces of a Time: Photographic Memories of the Sorbs in the Spreewald

The Sorbian Museum Cottbus presents Denis Galloway – Woblica ze zajźonego casa / Faces of a Time for the first time a selection of around 200 glass negatives by the Scottish ethnographer, photographer, and artist Denis Galloway. The exhibition opens up an intense artistic experience between historical photography, Sorbian-Wendish cultural history, and cultural education.

An Archive of Glass and Light

The images taken between 1908 and 1914 lead into Lower Lusatia, the Spreewald, and Wittichenau. Glass negatives preserve faces, traditional costumes, working worlds, and rituals with fine contrasts and a special material presence. In the examination of the works, ethnographic precision combines with a quiet aesthetic experience.

Everyday Life, Work, and Lived Identity

Galloway's photographs show people engaged in fieldwork, at markets, and during significant life events. Portraits of children and women, family pictures, and wedding photos provide insight into a regional society whose identity is expressed through language, clothing, customs, and communal practices. Particularly impressive are the various traditional costume variants, which today rarely appear with comparable authenticity.

Photography Between Document and Art

The exhibition situates Galloway's work between ethnography, visual cultural history, and photographic art. His images serve as historical sources, yet they simultaneously possess an independent visual effect: body postures, eye contacts, fabrics, and spatial situations consolidate into a concentrated composition. The exhibition atmosphere invites viewers to engage quietly with the photographs and to read the traces of a past world in detail.

The Sorbian Museum as a Place of Cultural Education

In the Sorbian Museum, the historical photographs enter into dialogue with the cultural history of the Sorbs and Wends in Lower Lusatia. The curation expands the visual examination with questions of memory, regional identity, and the transformation of rural ways of life. Thus, the museum visit becomes a combination of art history, regional history, and cultural education.

Conclusion: A Journey into the Visual History of Lusatia

Denis Galloway – Woblica ze zajźonego casa / Faces of a Time welcomes visitors with rare historical photographs, impressive portraits, and a sensitive examination of the work between archive and aesthetic experience. Those who want to not only read about the Sorbian-Wendish history of Lusatia but also experience it directly through faces, gestures, and images should definitely visit this exhibition live at the Sorbian Museum Cottbus.