To say goodbye, the locus looks back – at itself and of course in an artistic way. This Saturday, for example, the “Überort” exhibition will open in the former outhouse behind the Gasteig. It includes an oversized painting by painter Angela Stauber depicting a scene from the Locus opening ceremony last summer. At that time, an artists’ initiative had converted the listed outhouse into a cultural venue. But that’s over now: Due to the “bureaucratic hurdles” it was decided not to continue the work this year, the artists’ initiative announced. The locus thus becomes a quiet place again.
The artists started last year with a lot of enthusiasm and the financial support of the cultural department, district committee Au-Haidhausen (BA) and other sponsors. They organized 24 concerts, workshops, film screenings and exhibitions in the former outhouse, which had been left to decay for years.
“An unused urinal, a neglected green area and a few paths,” as the initiative puts it, have become a cross-genre and cross-age cultural meeting place and a “place where you stop, where you meet for a drink after work and children play alongside”. In fact, many events were well attended; At the same time, however, there was also criticism from the neighborhood – because of the noise, because of the use of the lawns and, most recently, because the outhouse remained painted pink for a long time and was not restored to its original condition.
A lot of work was put into the project, emphasizes the artistic management team around Luca Daberto, Barbara Karrer, Aki Kiefer and Leyla Schiemenz. But this cannot be repeated this year, because: “The bureaucratic hurdles are too high for that.” Specifically, the initiative calls “the astonishingly complex position of responsibility between the culture department, district committee, monument protection, horticulture and building department”. Here, “partially contradictory guidelines and specifications” led to an effort “that not only has nothing to do with cultural work, but actively blocks its potential”.
How things will continue at the locus is open. Talks are scheduled for next week, says BA member Herrmann Wilhelm (SPD), chairman of the culture subcommittee. He calls the former outhouse an “interesting place for culture” and emphasizes: “We don’t want to call it off completely.”