Dresden was a great pleasure for me, it has revived my desire to think of art. This beautiful place is a treasure trove beyond belief.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Coventry/Dresden Arts Exchange is an artist-led initiative founded in 2012 by John Yeadon from Coventry and his Dresden counterpart Jean Kirsten. The exchange programme seeks to develop dialogue and communication between artists from the cities of Coventry and Dresden and to establish collaborative partnerships of exchanges, residential visits, exhibitions, educational projects and forums. The focus is on the contemporary arts and on developing access to them through educational and other partnerships.

Short History of Exchange

John Yeadon initially organised an exhibition, ‘For R Laban‘ by prominent Dresden artist Jean Kirsten at the Roots Gallery during Coventry Peace Festival 2012, with a reciprocal exhibition featuring ‘ENGLANDIA' by John Yeadon and ‘Tanzt!‘ by Jean Kirsten showing at the JohannStadthalle in Dresden in September 2013. Since then there have been regular exchanges between Dresden and Coventry artists including one very large exhibition in Pillnitz Castle in Dresden and followed by a follow up entitled Condition Humaine at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden and The Lady Chapel at Coventry Cathedral.