Dortmund

Domicil

In domicil, things are a bit more down-to-earth. This former UFA studio cinema in Hansastraße, today is a venue for jazz, contemporary music, party and poetry. Almost every evening of the week there is a programme here - not only for listening, but also for taking part, as in "Jazzclub pur" with jam session every Monday. Waldo Riedl is managing director and responsible for what happens on and around the stage. The passionate musician warns a gainst "standing still". Similar to jazz, he speaks of testing the genre boundaries, inventing new ones. Here, there is contemporary jazz and world music, culminating on the margins of the electronics to the ears; But also Jazz-Poetry-Slam. The WDR regularly broadcasts concerts from domicil. There is a cocktail bar in the entrance area, and beside the large hall on the upper floor, there is another club room. Do not miss: Once a month, "The Dorf" hit the stage. The domicil house ensemble is directed by saxophonist and composer Jan Klare. Together with some 20 musicians from the region, he plays utopian beats and improv - with a pinch of Krautrock.
Autor: Thomas Meurer

Hansastraße 7-11
44137
http://www.domicil-dortmund.de/

Dortmunder U

Dortmunder U
The cultural potential of the old brewery tower was made clear long before its opening in 2010 as "Centre for Art and Creativity": in 1998, the exhibition „Reservate der Sehnsucht“ (Reserves of Longing) filled four floors of the then brewery ruins. A garden landscape with art and installations arose in the debris and rubble of torn-down ceilings and knocked-out tiles. An idea was born: Today, the U really is a reserve for art and creativity and a hub for the city's cultural scene. Over six floors of the extensively renovated tower, two museums are now situated, two exhibition rooms of colleges, the cultural youth education of the city, a restaurant, a cinema and a club. From the roof of the U-Tower, huge video screens transmit director Adolph Winkelmann's "flying pictures" far into the city. All this makes the U not only a symbol of Dortmund, but also a European cultural mark of the year 2016.

Summer at the U
What makes the summer even more beautiful here - in the shadow of the former brewery tower in Dortmund - is a concept which is as simple as it is captivating: a container as a stage and pallets as benches, some palm trees and a bar in the middle of the city. This is the public space that is self- determinedly filled with various institutions and actors from the cultural scene. The programme here is not a thoroughly planned cultural event. Instead, out of the city culture emerges a wild mixture of styles, perspectives and encounters that make a city a city. Whether it's pop, punk, jazz, rock, DJ concerts, readings from all genres, poetry slams, outdoor exhibition openings, skateboarding or debate evening – if you are staying in the country over the summer, you don't have to stay home alone and be bored.

The Book Lab of TU Dortmund
Ah yes, the book. It was supposed to be long gone in its paper form, the digital prophets proclaimed. However, it is still very much alive and kicking - also in its analogous form. Besides the wheel, the book is probably the most "unchanged" invention in the world. Because there is hardly anything to improve. Or is there? This is the question the book lab focusses on: whether it is about production context, design, narrative or dramaturgical concept, and whether it concerns a picture essay, screenplay, documentary or art book. The analogous and digital possibilities go beyond text on paper or reading device. The extensions, intersections and experiments are as diverse as the medium seems simple. Books created in cooperation with the Department of Design at TU Dortmund have already received several awards.

.Process
Almost everyone is a start-up nowadays. But where are all the technical developments, the Internet of Things, the many apps and 3D print visions, the Social Impact Hubs and the digital economies leading us? The event series .Process aims to provide a place for founders, creatives, thinkers and developers to think about design, technology, art and society. The lectures and workshops, related to the Ruhr area, will function as start-ups as it were, to improve (everyday) life through technology and design. For this purpose, the focus is on the process of development. Innovative processes become transparent and experienceable so that others can learn from them. However, debate and dialogue will also motivate to act: projects emerge out of the centre of the local creative scene, and .Process becomes a platform which is further developed by the participants' themes and interests.
next .process on the 3rd of June 2017 at the Dortmunder U

dotprocess.org

Author: Christian Caravante
Fotos: Hannes Woidich, Jürgen Landes, Roland Baege, Buchlabor

Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse
44137
http://www.dortmunder-u.de/

Oma Doris

For the night owls among us: OMA DORIS offers a varied party and music programme. It is just a few steps away from Platz von Leeds. Originally opened as an ordinary café, Doris transformed her place into a dance café in the 1970s. Today, Doris's grandson runs the business. The inventory from then, he has brought into the here and now. The stylish upholstered furniture, the marble tabletops, the massive bar, the mirrored ceiling above the dance floor and the chandeliers - all make the history tangible, while the boxes pump out the sounds of tomorrow.

Our tip: the in-house series “OMA DORIS tanzt” (“OMA DORIS dances” - in short: ODT) with any variety of house music. Beyond the club programme, OMA DORIS also regularly provides culture. Then you can find theatre performances, readings and even flea markets here.
Autor: Thomas Meurer
Fotos: Tobias Koop

Reinoldistraße 2-4
44135
http://www.omadoris.de/

Rise above your listening habits

The Dortmunder Brückstraßenviertel is a district with many contrasts. Once a place of disrepute, nowadays is a young-dynamic trend district, where everything revolves around music.
The Brückstraßenviertel consists of the inner city square between Kampstraße and Platz von Leeds in the south, Hansastraße in the west, Königswall in the north and Kuckelke in the east. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was a place full of prostitution and drug crimes, but the bad reputation of those days has long been forgotten. Just before the turn of the millennium, the City of Dortmund launched a project to upgrade the area around Brückstraße. Houses were renovated and a culture mile was to be built between international snack bars and low-cost chains. High culture moved in between doner and disco, jumble shop and rock café, in the form of a steel-glass complex concert hall. Sounds like a bit of a crowbar. It was.
Autor: Thomas Meurer

Konzerthaus Dortmund

When visitors arrive at events, worlds collide with one another: eating-while-walking city drifters on the one hand, smartly dressed music lovers on the other. Establishing the concert hall should also have brought upscale gastronomy to the surrounding area. So far, this has not happened yet. Why should you pay a visit to the Konzerthaus? With a reverberation time of almost two seconds, the excellent acoustics alone are reason enough. Also, the concentration in listening is supported by the design of the space: the walls in the concert hall are a creamy white, the ceiling black - with a lighting concept like a starry sky. The organ behind the orchestral podium is modelled on a wall painting, which is optically withdrawn. The hall has 1500 seats. Around 200 events take place here every season. The programme of artistic director Benedikt Stampa goes beyond the limits of listening habits. In addition to orchestral, piano and chamber music concerts, the concert hall also provides world music concerts as well as cabaret and chansons. The Konzerthaus also enjoys a good reputation internationally. The likes of Anna Netrebko, Lang Lang and the New York Philharmonic have already performed at Brückstraße.
Autor: Thomas Meurer
Fotos: Daniel Sumesgutner

Brückstraße 21
44135
http://www. konzerthaus-dortmund .de/

Wim Gelhard

With a shop covering over 1,000 square metres, for several decades this Dortmund interior design pro has offered his products and array of accessories for his clientele’s home living needs. Wim Gelhard recognised early on that living spaces would play a consistent role in his professional life. "In kindergarten I always used to draw houses," he says, continuing, "I chose the middle path and got a vocational business education at the Interstil company." This training began on 1 September 1969. Later, in the mid-1980s, he went solo with his own ideas. For almost a half century, he has embodied elevated design and sold product lines from Nils Holger Moorman, Vitra , and Thonet. He envisions himself as an ambassador of tasteful objects. "Many of our customers want to discuss their challenges and questions with us beforehand. I think that the demand for consulting will continue to grow. You see, the larger the product variety, the less secure the customer is, and the greater the need for consultation." The interior designer attempts to describe how life in the realm of beautiful objects should be, saying that, "People should be surrounded by other people - and by images, music and books. You must have space for these things, and the living environment must allow for that." New lifestyles have cast significant influence over interiors, especially in recent years. Whether at home or at work, the most important factor is the path to personal well-being - and that’s a priority for Wim Gelhard. "The product quality, materials, and a timeless design are the decisive factors. Yet it ’ s also the interplay of well-designed furniture that’s still fun for me." The Bauhaus fan banded together with several speciality dealers and brought the Qualitätsroute Dortmund e.V on board in an effort to strengthen owner-operated retail shops in the Ruhr metropolis. He also knows how to utilise the amenities of his home city: "We have a very dedicated opera house, a theatre with very high standards, and we also have one of the leading ballet ensembles." Naturally, because Dortmund has plenty of room for the wonderful things in life.
Author: Peter Hesse

Schliepstraße 12
44135
http://www.wim-gelhard.de/