Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich)

The Cabaret Voltaire was the birthplace of Dadaism. The rooms located in Zurich also served as a club, gallery, pub and theater.

History

Upstairs the mirror lane 1, in the same building as the pub dairy, Hugo Ball opened on 5 February 1916, the Cabaret Voltaire. Just meters from the former residence of Lenin in the mirror alley No. 14 found there nightly at events where to music manifestos, sound poetry, dance and dramatic scenes were presented, among others, Hans Arp, Emmy Hennings, Richard Huelsenbeck, Marcel Janco and Tristan Tzara. For the wider area also included Walter Serner and Friedrich Glauser. On the walls hung pictures of Picasso, Arp, Macke, Marinetti, Modigliani and many others. The events at the Cabaret Voltaire initially met with strong criticism in the newspapers and in the population.

In Zurich at that time, numerous exiles who wanted to flee from their warring countries, or had collected. Hugo Ball later said his idea for the foundation was that there many young people wanted their freedom and independence not only live, but proclaim aloud.

Zurich is regarded as the founding place of the Dada movement, but soon swarmed founders of Dada and formed new groups that stand to each other in exchange. In addition to the capitals Paris, Berlin, New York, there were other important Dadaists in Cologne, Hannover and Geneva. The part always provocative actions becoming the Dadaists took off. Generally, it is assumed that the end 1922 of the movement started. Some Dadaists joined later on the Surrealists.

As in 2002, threatened the conversion of the building of the former Cabaret Voltaire as a pharmacy and condominium, the building of artists like Jan Theiler, Mark Divo, Mikry Three, Lennie Lee and Dan Jones from the environment of the artist group Croesus was occupied (also Fondation Croesus ). These artists attempted to revive the Dada movement as neo -Dada, organized exhibitions, concerts, open stages, Dada fairs with Pastor repute, readings, workshops, parties and Dadafestwochen. By occupying the building and its art historical context for the first time moved into the consciousness of the inhabitants of Zurich. The squatters were evicted, the house was vacated and the use supplied as a regularly operated by the City of Zurich cultural institution.

With the Cabaret Voltaire existing in commercial form since 2004, some post - Dadaists like Jonathan Meese are loosely associated. The new Cabaret Voltaire was developed through the use of Dada friends. The Cabaret Voltaire is led by Adrian Notz and Philipp Meier. It consists of an exhibition space and a café, held dadabezogene events regularly in the (neo - ). The sponsoring organization financed partly by the operation of public and partly in private hands. The city of Zurich bears the cost of renting. 2008 there was a referendum on whether the city should continue to participate in the Zurich operation of the Cabaret Voltaire due to a referendum of the SVP. When the vote is a clear majority of voters for further participation expressed what guaranteed the continued existence of the Cabaret Voltaire.