Im Februar 2006 wurde das Cabaret Voltaire von einer Gruppe Kulturschaffender während sechs Wochen in Beschlag genommen. Diese Aktion brachte das Thema “Dada in Zürich” in die Schlagzeilen und führte in der Folge zur Bewahrung eines Geburtsortes der europäischen Moderne und der dauerhaften Schaffung der Institution Cabaret Voltaire. Die Apropriation des Cabaret Voltaire war kein Zufallsprodukt gelangweilter Jugendlicher und auch nicht der Automatismus, der abläuft, wenn Besetzermilieus auf leere Liegenschaften treffen. Es war vielmehr eine von vielen künstlerischen Zwischennutzungen die seit Mitte der 90er Jahre von Gruppen um Mark Divo und Pastor Leumund durchgeführt wurden. Diese Projekte waren und sind immer spatenübergreifender Natur. Sie beinhalten bildende Künstler, Musiker, Performer und Literaten, die in spielerische Aneignung brachliegende Immobilie zu Gesamtkunstwerken verschmelzen. Dabei stand immer auch im Blickwinkel, nicht bloss l’art pour l’art zu machen, sondern temporäre Zonen zu schaffen, die ein Publikum anziehen, das nicht oft mehr aus sozialen Motiven erscheint, vor Ort aber mit künstlerischen Produktionen konfrontiert wird.
Diese Initiativen hattten einen grossen Einfluss in der Züricher Off-Szene, und strahlen auf das kulturelle Lebender Stadt Zürich aus. Viele Kulturschaffende hatten ihre ersten Auftritte an diesen Veranstaltungen. Viel Wert wurde dabei immer auch auf eine internationale Ausstrahlung und Vernetzung gelegt, in dem Kulturschaffende aus anderen Ländern eingeladen wurden.Konsequenterweise entstanden daraufin vier ähnlche Projete unter reger Beteilugung von Zürchern ausserhalb der Landesgrenzen.
Temporary urban paradises
1.Introduction
Temporary cultural paradises are self organised spaces,houses or zones that can be found in urbanised areas throughout the western hemisphere since the turn of the last century.
In these Zones,that are free of bureaucratic and economic restrictions artists can experiment with new concepts and present their newest ideas to the audience. One of the first temporary cultural zones was the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich,where in 1916 artists took over a normal Zürich pub called the Meierei for a couple of months, and by doing this, started the dadaist movement,that afterwards spread over the whole world. Temporary cultural Zones are an important artistic breeding grounds and have shaped the cultural life of the city of zürich,many of their protagonists in the early years of 1968 now leading in politics and business. In 1980 the struggle for an autonomous youth centre(”AJZ”) influenced a generation of artists; their most famous protagonists being the internationally known artist duo Fischli-Weiss and the Music group Yello.
2.Paradies lost
A short History of Temporary cultural zones (TKZ) in the city of Zurich. In 1968, 50 years after the Cabaret Voltaire student protesters called for a youth centre,and after a summer of riots they were given an abandoned bunker in the city centre.This center was run by activist but proved to be failed after a series of drug related deaths within the premises.After a few months the centre was closed by the police.In 1980 the youth riots led to the establishment of the TCZ named autonomes jugend zentrum (ajz).A number of punk concerts were organised and the ajz had great impact on the local music and art scene.after the eviction of the ajz in 1981 squatting became increasingly difficult due to the city’s policy of zero tolerance towards squatters .In the 1990 the situation changed after a social democratic municipal government was elected.A number of projects sprang up,and unlike their predecessors the were not open to the public,but were more centred on the social experiment of collective living.Many of the houses were evicted within 12 months and so the persons within the groups changed from project to project.In 1992 a group of activists squatted the buildings of the former Wohlgroth factory next to Zurichs main station.Due to the abundance of bureaucratic and economic limitations and because the squat had no political and ideological obligations the Wohlgroth became a magnet for artists and musicians.The Wohlgroth had 3 bars,a disco,a concert hall,,a vegetarian restaurant,a cafe,a gallery, its own beer,had its own,was home to over hundred people, and was open to the public 24 hours a day.After Its eviction in 1993 many of the activists resumed their normal lives,and squatting became more introspective.Many houses were occupied in the following years but all of these projects were,apart from occasional punk concerts and technopartys private living spaces and the social utopia was reduced to wearing the same clothes, hairstyles and in between sharing a vegan meal in the communal kitchen.
In 2002 a group of activists reopened the derelict historical Cabaret Voltaire in Spiegelgasse 12, Zurich-Niederdorf. Performances,concerts and cultural activity’s and the fact that the protagonists of the cabaret lived within the building made this six week long happening known throughout Europe,and obtained a great deal of media attention.This action became to be known as the first international dadafestival,and during the following years it is held annually in and out of Zurich.In Zurich the dadafestival always took place in buildings that were about to be torn down .These temporary Cultural zones lasted between 3 weeks and 3 months,international and local performers attracted an audience of all ages.In 2005 part of the group around the dadafestival relocated to Prague and organised another two TCZ in this city ;the first one was within the second international biennale for contemporary art in the Kinsky Palace by the name of “real biennale” and another project named “proces” took place in an empty furniture store in the Holosovice Triznice. Both projects went for two months and incorporated local Czech and international artists.In 2007 the 5th annual dadafestival was held in Kolin and was at the same time the inauguration of the d.i.v.o. institute.
3. Paradise found
The history of the TCZ in Zurich show how the political demand for an autonomous youth centre led to riots and in the end the acceptance of squatting as a form of collective lifestyle.In this process the political and ideological ideas became replaced by introspective social experiments,and in the end also made way for groups of artists to organise their own platform,to present their works and works of others.By opening the TCZ to a wider audience and by allowing them to enjoy art at reasonable prices in a unique environment the issue of the cultural squat has received wide acceptance in Zurich.Over the years the dadafestival has brought international artists,musicians and Performers to collaborate together and to create a festival where audience and artists can engage and interact.The fact that the participants of the festival were actually living within the exhibition space turned made the whole festival into a dense inhabited social sculpture.
Throughout all festivals and actions the group of participants has grown from a local group of Zurich based artists to Europe wide net of cultural activist of all fields of the arts.Because the temporary cultural zone that the dadafestival defined was not attached to any political or ideological dogma, the group organising the festival remained dynamic and managed to continue the project on a annual basis,even without having to focus entirely on one specific building, city or country.This concludes that a TCZ like the dadafestival can be launched in any city or country ,institution or building-paradise can be found everywhere,we just have to work for it.
