November 22-25 saw the third edition of NUMIX LAB, the traveling trade event dedicated to Francophone digital and cultural immersion. Organized by the association Xn Québec and the agency {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES] with the support of numerous partners, some 100 international participants from the cultural and creative industries gathered in France (Metz), Germany (Völklingen, Saarbrücken) and Luxembourg (Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg). Second stopover in West Germany, to discover two major industrial sites rehabilitated as multidisciplinary cultural spaces. These trips enabled us to discover a local ecosystem that is particularly active in implementing ambitious cultural projects.
1. VISIT – VÖLKLINGEN STEELWORKS (23/11)
Since 1994, the Völklinger Hütte Ironworks has been the first industrial monument to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A fascinating and captivating place, at the crossroads of past, present and future, the former factory has been open to visitors since 2004. A seven-kilometre tour of the former factory takes visitors on a journey of discovery through its gigantic spaces, its various machines, their functions and its many workrooms. A temporary program (e.g. Urban Art Biennale 2022) and a permanent tour have been designed on this site, which housed 17,000 workers in the 1960s. The project is supported by the European Union and the Länder (administrative region) of Saarland.
Every year, an average of 115,000 visitors discover this incredible historical landmark. Admission costs 17 euros, and the tour can be taken independently or with a guide. The tour is fully accessible for the visually impaired, and translated into French, English and German – the national language.
Various challenges have been identified by the mediation teams to enrich the museum experience in the future:
- Better communicate the role of the factory and its contributions to the history of the 20th century (railroad network, 1st and 2nd World Wars, etc.);
- Discuss the impact of the steel industry on the local environment;
- Two mediums were chosen to convey these stories: art and immersion.
All these perspectives fed the imagination of NUMIX LAB participants to create and propose immersive mediation projects adapted to this type of large-scale industrial heritage.
2. MEETINGS AND EXCHANGES AT K8 (23/11)
Located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the Saarland, the K8 is a multi-faceted art institute, as much involved in the training of students as in the accompaniment and dissemination of artistic and technological projects. The K8 Institut für strategische Ästhetik supports around 20 local, regional and international projects a year – from idealism, to scenario development, to interactive and immersive visualization of the results.
Members of NUMIX LAB had the opportunity to exchange ideas with a dozen entrepreneurs and artists from the K8 network, and to discover their exciting local and international projects. It was an opportunity to test certain innovations, exchange views on German business practices, and initiate future collaborations. Here’s a look back at the event:
3. KARLSRUHE CENTER FOR ART AND MEDIA TECHNOLOGY, LE ZKM (26/11)
The ZKM was founded in 1989 with the mission of bringing the classical arts into the digital age. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the “electronic or digital Bauhaus” – an expression that goes back to founding director Heinrich Klotz. Right from the start, he was also responsible for creating the conditions necessary for the realization of works of art, whether by guest artists or in-house staff. That’s why it’s called a center and not a museum.
In its work, the ZKM combines research and production, exhibitions and performances, collections and archives, mediation and events. By linking these interdisciplinary fields of work, the ZKM, as an agile organization, can present and produce the development of art and media of the 20th and 21st centuries. Symposia and other formats of theoretical discourse between art, philosophy, science, technology, business and politics complement the ZKM program to examine the effects of mediatization, digitization and globalization on society.
The discovery of these two rehabilitated industrial sites was an opportunity to exchange ideas with numerous creators, producers, curators and museum managers linked to the German creative and cultural industries. Next destination: Luxembourg. We’ll be reporting on this trip in a third article.
Many thanks to all our partners for making this third edition possible: Gouvernement du Québec et de la Ville de Montréal, Film Fund Luxembourg, Esch2022 – European Capital of Culture, K8 Institut für strategische Ästhetik, Région Grand EstGrand E-Nov+, l’Agence d’Innovation et de Prospection Internationale du Grand Est, City of Metz, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), Quotidien de l’Art and Ocim.
