It’s fascinating what artificial intelligence can already do. Or what Moritz Pongratz taught her. The communications jack-of-all-trades developed an app and trained it to create every conceivable object in the style of designer guru Dieter Rams. In his office in the new Westend creative district “Kickoff”, he types something like “Pistol” into his tablet, and seconds later a “Gun not by Rams” appears on a large display, clear, technical and silver like Rams’ legendary Super 8 Camera Brown Nizo.
More retro-futuristic examples roll down on a screen: a biscuit machine, a cute space Trabi, a striking number of sex toys. As a visitor, you are tempted to have an everyday thing designed for you: yoga mat, magazine, flower pot … it’s quick and amazing. Everyone can try it out, because Pongratz opens its design machine for all visitors to the “Opening Event” in the kickoff, which is part of the big “Open Westend” district show.
Should someone want to have a “video camera for their dreams” thought up – Pongratz has already done that. If the medical-looking device were to work, it would show the same mental images in many people here in the house: namely the kickoff itself, the former company headquarters of the shoe retailer Tretter at Ridlerstrasse 13 to 15. “It’s a dream for us – where can you find something like that otherwise in Munich?” says Manuel Lorenz, representing the currently 30 or so users. The young artist and graphic designer has secured a seat on the first floor.
The “Gabriele” is located here on 1100 square meters. The social project of International Munich Art Lab (IMAL) paves the way for young people and young adults to become artists with free studio space and exhibition space. “We can develop further here,” says Lorenz in front of his screen prints, which play with typography. She will be showing three of them in a joint exhibition with other IMAL artists at the Kickoff Open Weekend.
Manuel Lorenz presents his screen prints in the exhibition in the “Gabriele”.
(Photo: Michael Zirnstein)
The guests can explore the warehouses, workshops, offices, studios, the yoga room in the former boss loft and the sunny roof terrace over three levels on a total of 6000 square meters past old Tretter finds and new start-up insignia such as skateboards and table tennis tables – and get to know the creative people: the craftsmen’s community Cowerken on the ground floor shows bulky waste furniture that has been turned into art of living; the vegan Claude Jones tells what is behind her animal-human ceramics and porcelain pistols; the advertising agency Stories to be told shows a “rescuer” installation and films; and the Editor of the city magazine Mucbook invites you to drinks and music.
The Tretter boss once resided in this bright room, now yoga is practiced here, among other things.
(Photo: Michael Zirnstein)
In such sculptures, the New Zealander Claude Jones deals with the relationship between humans and animals.
(Photo: Michael Zirnstein)
Mucbook founder Marco Eisenack had the idea for the “Mucbook Clubhouses” like the “Kickoff”. In currently seven interim uses in Munich, he and his team offer creative co-working spaces for around 2.50 to 13 euros per square meter. The Tretter-Haus is his “prime example” of such “creative hubs” in which the “members” each work independently and yet closely networked in a feel-good atmosphere. He has reserved two particularly bright rooms for “the Apples and Googles” of the city, i.e. financially strong “global players” who could benefit from the startup’s creative energy – and are intended to secure the project in the long term with sponsorship. So that artists like Anja Stemmer can continue to express themselves here in their sun-drenched studios: the polymer physicist produces special paints for her riot of colors pictures, some of which are brought to life with an app on her cell phone – she calls it “phygital art”. , and she is “quite excited about the reactions of the visitors – after all, that is the idea behind Open Westend”.
The artists of the district behind the Theresienwiese present themselves at “Open Westend 2023”.
(Photo: Ricky Young)
For a weekend, not only the kickoff, but the entire district behind the Theresienwiese presents itself in all its remaining proletarian splendor and artistic bustle. The map shows a total of 51 stations and looks like a densely packed map of backyard flea markets (www.openwestend.de). The feeling is similar: the visitors look behind the facades and see who lives and works here: one marvels at the room with the large looms on which Sylvia Wiechmann produces scarves, paraments and textile pictures from jacquard and damask fabrics (Gollierstrasse 70).
Sylvia Wiechmann (left) uses large looms to make scarves, paraments and textile images from jacquard and damask fabrics.
(Photo: Rolf Wiechmann)
Ingrid Hottner and Nina Danelon show “unique items” in their shop studio, such as handmade objects as headdresses (Ligsalzstrasse 3). There is a lot of artistic jewelry, for example by Brigitte Kühl (Trappentreustrasse 5), Gabi Green (Gollierstrasse 17) or Iris Schabert, who also creates porcelain objects (Bergmannstrasse 1). Artists, some of whom are internationally renowned, invite you to their sometimes lab-like, sometimes bumpy studios, such as the painter Ken Brown (Westendstr. 129a), the sculptor and installation artist Heike Schäfer (Gollierstr. 70) or Dietmar Janz, known for his unique art books (Gollierstrasse 50). Manfred Sieber lets you look over his shoulder while painting a landscape watercolor (Astallerstr. 25).
Many goldsmiths have their workshops and shops in the Westend, as does Birgit Kuehl.
(Photo: Birgit Kuehl)
The churches and their parish halls become art chambers: the former street artist Renato Rill transforms St. Rupert with an installation of water wagons, Brigitte C. Reichl (“from socks to soap … from sex to bank crashes”) installs objects in St. Benedict, and the light artist Angelika Hofmann illuminates the Church of the Resurrection, where Karl Imhoff also performs his speech collage art theater and where Talinovo show their dance theater piece “Gift”. Burchard Dabinnus’ gives his radio play performance “Geisterbahn” about the mysterious death of a BR journalist (Gollierplatz 14). And Andreas Groß and Daniel Eichinger invite you to dance in their studio between tango-inspired drawings at a milonga (Bergmannstr. 26) – the arts inspire each other.
Open West End, 24.-26. March, Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat. 12-8 p.m., Sun. 12-7 p.m., www.openwestend.de