The <\/b>Trafohaus Kassel<\/i><\/b> is the first stop in a research project focusing on a total of eight art spaces, art associations and initiatives in East and West Germany, which <\/b> precedes<\/b> the <\/b>\u2018Dialogfelder\u2019<\/i><\/b> and artistic residencies in 2027.<\/b><\/p>\n
What these venues have in common is that they operate in communities and regions that are shaped in various ways by processes of transformation. The focus is on an exchange of views on how they respond to social, spatial and structural changes, and what strategies they develop to address them.<\/b><\/p>\n
Transformation begins with tension. And tension refers to a state of transition \u2013 that is, the shift from an existing state to a new form. In this context,<\/span> tension <\/span>is<\/span> not an event, but a <\/span>\u2018not-yet\u2019.<\/span><\/i> It is stored <\/span>dynamis<\/span><\/i>: a possibility, a potential. <\/p>\n <\/span>Transformer stations were built to transform electrical voltage. The buildings that housed these stations are called transformer stations. As hubs of the electricity grid, they act as intermediaries between supra-regional energy supply and local consumption. They are small structures that must continually prove their worth anew, now that the demands on the energy infrastructure have changed. Their survival lies in their ability to transform themselves. <\/p>\n <\/span>Transit point<\/b><\/p>\n The transformer house in Kassel is a remnant of technical modernism. A building that has lost its primary purpose. On one occasion, it even had to be saved from demolition. However, alongside its original function, the small building has taken on various forms of energy supply over the course of almost seventy years. It is as if it had foreseen that the moment would come when the technology would shrink and find a place next to the building in an inconspicuous compact substation.<\/span><\/p>\n In the tradition of distribution, it points to a remarkable continuity. Situated at a junction on Lutherplatz, between different neighbourhoods, the building serves as a hub. As a transit point, it conveyed not only electricity but also information: at times it was a newsagent\u2019s, then a telephone box, or operated as a post office branch. Today, the Trafohaus continues this logic, albeit under different circumstances. It is a public hub for artistic, creative, architectural and urban-focused content. Today, the Trafohaus is a venue for publication. It is about the dissemination of knowledge, active dialogue and social exchange. The excitement today comes from artists, authors and researchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>Getting back online<\/b><\/p>\n Together with founding member Malene Saalmann, we spend a spring afternoon exploring the building. <\/span>The Trafohaus was reactivated in 2019 <\/span>by the <\/span>Nutzungskonzepte e. V. <\/span><\/i>association <\/span>and thus reconnected to the grid. We\u2019re sitting on the five steps that half-encircle the building. During the warmer months, events take place here in the outdoor area. The steps serve as both a stage and a grandstand. Behind us is the sales window originally intended for the sales area. <\/span>There are no records of its actual operation. By 2019 at the latest, however, the kiosk was <\/span> brought back into use <\/span>by the association with the installation <\/span>\u2018Profikiosk\u2019<\/span><\/i> (2019). And most recently as a weekly, regular meeting place as part of the <\/span>\u2018Mittwochskiosk\u2019<\/span><\/i> (2024). <\/span>It was advertised via the billboard walls integrated into the building, quite simply: <\/span>\u2018Wednesdays: kiosk books radio\u2019. <\/p>\n <\/span><\/i>Transformer stations often served as both advertising columns and billboard spaces; this was also the case with the Trafohaus in Kassel. In this way, the building engages with and integrates the outdoor space. The building thus acquires a constantly changing visual fa\u00e7ade. The billboard walls can be transformed into a stage set for performances, readings and concerts. <\/p>\n <\/span>Programme follows form<\/b><\/p>\n It goes without saying that the white, free-standing, single-storey building, with its straight surfaces and sweeping curves, has a strong influence on the programme. The Trafohaus continues to function as a transformer. To this end, it has long made use of the medium of radio. Live streaming can be envisaged on a decentralised basis. The radio station enables communication beyond local boundaries. A multilingual programme establishes a supra-regional connection. In episodes such as <\/span>\u2018God\u2019s Word in Your Ear <\/span><\/i>\u2019 and <\/span>\u2018On the Way to the Amusement Park\u2019 with djfroggy69 & Malene<\/span><\/i>, local stories are frequently placed within public narratives that extend beyond their immediate context.<\/span><\/p>\n Trafo.Radio <\/span><\/i>broadcasts<\/span> the <\/span>\u2018Trafo.Radio Listening Session\u2019<\/span><\/i> on its website on two Wednesdays a month and every Sunday <\/span>;<\/span><\/i>this <\/span> is hosted at <\/span>Mimikri<\/span><\/i>, a project space designed to bring together Kassel\u2019s music scene. The programme streams DJ sets that deliberately differ from traditional club formats, but there are also lecture performances in which guests present their current research topics. In its role as a social space, the Kiosk, for example, was once<\/span> the subject<\/span> of a radio show in collaboration with the<\/span> University of Kassel<\/span><\/i>. Or the focus might be on Kassel\u2019s music scene of the 1980s. But some things only become clear when you\u2019re there in person, says Malene. So we head to Bettenhausen.<\/span><\/p>\n Bettenhausen<\/b><\/p>\n After the fall of the Wall, Kassel became the geographical centre of the Federal Republic. That is why there is the <\/span>Platz der Deutschen Einheit<\/span><\/i>(German Unity Square), via which you reach Bettenhausen. The district seems like an archive of various promises of modernisation. Along the renaturalised River Losse, the village centre clashes with striking, industrial expanses. <\/span>Here, the history of Kassel unfolds. <\/span>The <\/span> Salzmann site, where tents and sailcloth were manufactured, <\/span>was once the epicentre of the textile industry <\/span>. For the West German music scene, the place was a key point of reference <\/span>, <\/span><\/i> partly because of the <\/span>Stammheim <\/span><\/i> techno club <\/span>, <\/span><\/i>to which <\/span>Trafo.Radio <\/span><\/i>dedicated an episode last year. <\/span> The complex was first used as an external venue <\/span>for <\/span>documenta 8<\/span><\/i> (1987) <\/span>.<\/span> Further editions of <\/span>documenta<\/span><\/i> followed <\/span> in the industrial ruin.<\/p>\n <\/span>Travel agency<\/b><\/p>\n The next day, we head back to the Trafohaus once more. This is because the Trafohaus was also a venue for <\/span>documenta fifteen (2022). <\/span><\/i>The global network <\/span>Arts Collaboratory<\/span><\/i> used the building as an editorial space. Networking, providing a platform for others and enabling participation are at the heart of the Trafohaus\u2019s ethos. For the organisers, it is important to continually engage with the space and research its history further: <\/span>\u201cDocumentation is also part of the Trafohaus\u2019s practice<\/span>.\u201d<\/span> That is why the Trafohaus also has a small bookbinding workshop and self-publishes books. They see publishing as a means of exchanging and preserving knowledge.<\/span> As<\/span> a self-organised cultural space, they operate using grassroots democratic working processes. This allows them the potential to evolve, remain dynamic and respond to change.<\/span><\/p>\n We shake a snow globe containing a miniature view of Wilhelmsh\u00f6he, bought from a souvenir shop, whilst we talk about the future of the Trafohaus. Perhaps one day it will become a travel agency.<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/trafo.haus\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Trafohaus Kassel is the first stop in a research project focusing on a total of eight art spaces, art …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"yoast_head":"\n