For a long time nothing was heard of the spectacular plan to in future cultivate rooms for the art scene in the Nazi monster at the dozen pond – the congress hall – in other words to convert a place of non-culture into a place of culture. Since 2019, this idea has become more and more concrete, most recently it was outshined by the debate about where exactly the alternative quarters for the opera house of the Nuremberg State Theater should be built on the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds. The idea of locating studios and rehearsal rooms in the colossal building is actually the older one – the idea of the opera interim came later. It has been known for a long time that the independent cultural scene in Nuremberg is desperately looking for space, but this was empirically confirmed on the occasion of the (ultimately failed) application for the Capital of Culture.
Now there are the first numbers of what exactly is to move into the horseshoe-like Nazi monument. They are impressive: A total of 25 band rehearsal rooms, a recording studio and workshops are planned, as well as 49 studio rooms on a total area of 2500 square meters. There is also a larger dance room, meeting areas, multifunctional and event rooms. Overall, the city expects a space requirement of almost 7,300 square meters for the “artistic and cultural development” on the site and costs of 44 million euros. The federal government wants to subsidize the project with 20 million – the technical term of the cultural mayor Julia Lehner (CSU) is “cultural enabling spaces”.
For a first impression, the city invited people to the building on Wednesday, appropriately on a “very busy” day, as Mayor Marcus König (CSU) puts it. The fact that the building, some of which is as high as a hall, will not be easy to heat has also held back conversion visions for a long time. “For heating and power supply,” says a city paper, “renewable energies and, if necessary, district heating should be used as far as possible.” When the on-site meeting was about rough furnishing details (“no nice plaster”, “no nice wooden floors”, “no golden sinks”) Mayor König cheerfully added: “And it’s getting warmer.” Which sounds a bit like whistling in the forest at the moment given the room temperature and ceiling height – one low, the other extremely high. It should have become clear to everyone by now at the latest that a lot has been planned for this frosty place.
Especially since there are still unanswered questions. For example, the schedule is ambitious, after all, the opera is supposed to move to the former Nazi site in the south of the city as early as 2025. Ideally, visual artists would also populate the building this year, a construction site would be detrimental to the opera house. So all of this should go hand in hand, but there are only a good two years left for that, including the specific award procedure. These days, those responsible for the city are looking anxiously to Ansbach, where the government of Middle Franconia has not yet approved the new city budget. The total costs for the cultural site on the former Nazi site are part of this budget. The city expects a total investment of 211 million euros there. The fact that a little more speed would be helpful in Ansbach is hidden behind gallows humor by Nuremberg’s town hall chief. There is currently “a shortage of work and skilled workers everywhere,” says König. Now apparently also with the government.
Who is allowed to work in the studios is still open
It is also unclear how decisions will be made about who will be allowed to work in the studios and rehearsal rooms in the future. And who may be curating or supervising there. According to Hans-Joachim Wagner, head of the staff office for the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds, different forms of organization are currently being discussed. There may be an artistic direction, there may be an association, a foundation, a non-profit organization, nothing has been decided yet. The question is anything but secondary: on a site that is historically highly contaminated, even contemporary art – including provocative varieties – should have certain limits.
The next concrete step, however, is certain. In the “White Cube” – a first art room – it will be tested in the coming months how the interdisciplinary cultural site in the Nazi horseshoe is received by the public. Photographer Günter Derleth, who will be showing his “Camera Obscura” exhibition from April 1, will be the first to do so. With his pinhole camera, he has visited more than 50 studios in the area, his work and the works of the portrayed artists can be seen.