Can You Feel It? – University School Dresden Students Design an Exhibition Space at the Dresden Zwinger

For nearly a year, the students at the Dresden University School have been closely engaging with works of art from the Old Masters Gallery of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections, SKD). Now, their perspectives are on display for everyone to experience in the exhibition “Fühlst Du’s?” (Can You Feel It?) and invite visitors to view art from a new angle. The students’ work accompanies the exhibition “Correggio: Touchingly Human” featuring the Italian painter Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1489–1534) at the Dresden Zwinger from September 20, 2026, through January 10, 2027.

A Young Perspective on the Old Masters

In museums, we often encounter only adult perspectives—but what do young people think and feel about the works of the Old Masters? To answer this question, the exhibition “Can You Feel It?” was developed in collaboration with 7th- and 8th-grade students. For nearly a year, they took on the task of selecting works from the museum’s collection of paintings and sculptures. Thus, the painting “The Graff Sons, Carl Anton and Georg” became the exhibition’s centerpiece. It depicts two boys, fascinated by the play of soap bubbles—iridescent, dreamlike, yet fragile. Instead of art-historical facts, emotions became the key to a unique perspective on art. For just like the shimmering form of a soap bubble, human emotions are often fleeting and intense.

From Art Selection to Promotion— Solving Problems with Professionals

At the Dresden University School, learning with a strong connection to real life and the working world is of great importance. Starting from the first year of school, extracurricular learning environments and solving real-world problems are part of project-based learning. In grades 7 and 8 learn together this component of the curriculum is implemented at the youth school. Within this framework, the volunteer team “Young Curators” gained practical, in-depth insights into exhibition organization, artwork selection, exhibition space design, and the creation of promotional materials through collaboration with experts from the SKD.

The article "Herbst in der Jugendschule – Botanik, Kulinarik und Ausstellungsprojekt Correggio „Fühlst du’s?“ im Zwinger" on the Dresden University School website provides insights into the work of the curatorial team.

About the University School Dresden

Dresden University School is a joint project of the City of Dresden and the Dresden University of Technology. It is a free, public community school run by the city, where innovative forms of teaching and learning are tested under scientific supervision. In addition, it is a training school for future teachers and, in the future, a further education school for teachers. The school trial is being scientifically supported by the ForUS Research Unit at TU Dresden.

Read more about TU Dresden’s research project: tu-dresden.de/gsw/unischule
Read more about University School Dresden: universitaetsschule.org

You can catch a glimpse inside the research project and daily school life on various social media channels at: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. There are also regular updates on University School Dresden in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences newsletter.

Media contact:

Maria Neuland Agüero
Communications Manager
University School Dresden Project

TUD Dresden University of Technology
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Education
Chair of Inclusive Education
Tel.: +49 351 463 41229
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