In the run-up to the 5th edition of NUMIX LAB, to be held from November 25 to 29, 2024 in Germany, Munich, Leipzig and Berlin, we offer a series of articles on the country’s trends, dynamics and specificities in terms of immersive digital culture and creativity. This second article offers an overview of digital arts centers, many of which have contributed to the revitalization of disused industrial spaces.
Germany has a rich cultural and historical heritage, inherited from its industrial past. Former power plants, hangars and gas production centers, located in major cities, have become attractive locations thanks to their architectural features. These spaces offer interesting volumes and remarkable artistic potential, particularly with digital technologies such as mapping and extended reality (XR). Numerous digital arts centers have sprung up in these now obsolete structures.
But how can these disused industrial spaces be transformed into cultural venues through sustainable production models? This article examines this question by highlighting a specific German phenomenon: the integration of digital arts centers into projects to revitalize industrial sites or districts. Following an analysis of the assets of these sites for cultural immersion, we examine two models for the development of centers in Germany, which merge museographic models with audiovisual content production models.
1. Background and challenges – The advantages of German industrial sites for digital arts centers
German heritage refers to a collection of historic industrial sites inherited from the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and the conflicts of the 20th century. Of the 51 German heritage sites included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, more than a dozen are industrial sites. For example, the Völklinger Hütte ironworks, the first industrial monument to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, which we visited during the 3rd edition of NUMIX LAB (see the report on our visit to this fascinating site).
These sites, which have lost their original vocation, offer several advantages for the digital arts: their downtown location, the need to find a new use for them, the ease with which digital formats can be deployed in these very special volumes, and sustainable business models.
The first advantage is their geographical location. These sites are mainly found in large conurbations. In Berlin alone, more than sixty former industrial sites have been converted into cultural venues open to visitors, offering a wide range of cultural and commercial activities to promote urban cultural tourism.
Take, for example, the Warschauer Straße catchment area in Friedrichshain, one of the main thoroughfares in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district. This former industrial wasteland is home to an area dedicated to intercultural projects, exhibitions, markets, as well as numerous clubs and bars. This is the setting for Khroma and Lighthouse of Digital Art, a dual digital arts center under the same ownership, offering programming ranging from entertainment to artistic creation, depending on the location, in order to attract a wide audience. These centers have come to life in former railway warehouses, taking advantage of the district’s strategic location and trendy atmosphere.
These centers blend seamlessly into their surroundings, contributing to the district’s redevelopment. Another notable example is Dark Matter, located in a former factory in the semi-industrial district of Lichtenberg, which is currently being transformed into a future economic and cultural hub. Participants at NUMIX LAB will be able to discover these two Berlin locations.
These sites have a second major asset: buildings with a distinctive character, easily identifiable by the public, and in need of renovation to find a new vocation. The impact of the final months of the Second World War, marked by intensive Allied air raids, which, according to the University of Geneva, destroyed almost 80% of German cities, led to considerable reconstruction of industrial and modern infrastructures. Today, these buildings need to be rehabilitated and reinvested to meet current needs and renew their raison d’être.
Immersive experiences meet this need for “filler” by providing two essential elements:
- A sustainable business model: Investing in a digital arts center requires substantial resources for initial investment and ongoing operation. As a result, many sites adopt a museum-inspired operating model (ticketing, boutique, privatization), while using audiovisual production models to finance their digital programming. These include networked arts centers (such as the two Culturespaces centers, which benefit from productions from the “parent company”) and temporary acquisitions of international licenses (see next section). These topics will be discussed at length during the highlights of NUMIX LAB, notably on Wednesday, with a day dedicated to the challenges facing venues (exchanges with Bavarian producers, presentation of the international network of independent immersive cinemas, presentation of the Leipzig Festival of Lights, visit to Kunstkraftwerk).
- Distribution and mediation capacities on the scale of these imposing buildings: Because of their original functions, heritage buildings can take up large amounts of land. Immersive technologies make it possible to adapt these spaces to mediation on their own scale, combined with varied programming (exhibitions, events, mediation actions, etc.). Leipzig’s 7,000 m² Kunstkraftwerk, a former power plant dating from 1900, is a good illustration of this challenge. Closed in the 90s, the plant was largely dismantled before reopening in 2015 as an immersive center offering exhibitions, digital installations and events, including the Bright Festival Connect, which also includes electro music concerts. Provided certain prerequisites are met, this type of industrial site lends itself well to immersive experiences and digital creations thanks to its volume and originality.
The integration of digital arts into German industrial heritage sites is particularly marked. This trend aims to revitalize these spaces while preserving their industrial heritage. Cultural immersion is particularly well-suited to bringing these sites back to life without compromising the heritage, while developing sustainable operating models. Two development trends dominate cultural immersion in Germany, which we will explore in greater detail in the next section.
2. Development trends for digital arts centers in Germany
To open this section, let’s take two separate examples:
- In 2023, Culturespaces opened an immersive art center in Dortmund, the Phoenix des Lumières, in a former blast furnace factory dating from 1852. Another center is planned for 2024 in Hamburg, in the new Westfield Hamburg Übersee district of HafenCity, under the name Port des Lumières. With this franchise system, Culturespaces takes over the premises and contributes its own programming and “in-house” content, with a view to pooling and positioning.
- Another example is the “Viva Frida Kahlo” exhibition, which was presented in German cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Initially set up by Swiss and Austrian partners, the exhibition was subsequently acquired by German operator Alegria Exhibition, which is responsible for equipping each event venue, often empty, adaptable former industrial sheds.
These examples clearly show two main trends in the development of digital arts centers in Germany, illustrated in the diagram below:
- Increasing investment by national and international operators in permanent digital arts centers, offering permanent programming.
- The acquisition by local operators of international traveling digital exhibits for temporary and event-based purposes.
Of course, there are also digital arts centers located on non-industrial sites. For example, the historic TimeRide VR network (Cologne, Dresden, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt) is mainly located in shopping malls. But this article aims to illustrate a trend: many centers are being integrated into site or neighborhood revitalization projects thanks to two different but inherent development models for immersive formats, merging international exhibition distribution and audiovisual content production models.
In the next two sub-sections, we’ll come back to the characteristics of these two models in terms of equipment, team management, programming, positioning and production models.
Trend n°1 – The rise of investment by national and international operators in permanent digital arts centers
In Germany, the market potential for immersive cultural works (in all formats: XR, video projection, mapping, digital arts or sound immersion) has grown considerably over the past 5 years, thanks to the conversion of former industrial sites into venues for the dissemination of digital experiences, with permanent or temporary programming.
Numerous specialized digital arts centers have opened in Germany in recent years. There is at least one center in each of Germany’s major cities, including Berlin (Lighthouse of Digital Art, Khroma, TimeRide VR), Hamburg (DiscoveryDock, Port des Lumières, TeamLab Borderless Hamburg), Leipzig (Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig), Dortmund (Phoenix des Lumières) and Munich (TimeRide VR). These centers often emerge in former industrial sites (e.g. Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig in a former power plant or Phoenix des Lumières in a former gasworks) or new urban reconstruction projects (e.g. teamLab Borderless Hamburg).
Unlike international licenses, they offer digital experiences highlighting creations that are often contemporary, sometimes hybrids with other art forms such as live performance or electro evenings. For example, the Khroma Center in Berlin features 1200 square meters of changing light and sound installations, coded artworks, kinetic and interactive sculptures. This approach, focused on contemporary creation, differs from international touring digital exhibitions, which often focus on older artistic figures (outside copyright protections) such as Van Gogh and are shown in transitory event venues (as mentioned below).
In all cases, their economic model is based on that of a permanent cultural venue, which generates considerable financial requirements for various activities such as infrastructure renovation, acquisition of specialized equipment, recruitment of qualified staff, and the conception and implementation of a constantly renewed artistic program.
This reality has led to the emergence of major financial structures investing in this type of center in Germany. These include two types of investor structure:
- These include Culturespaces, which will manage two major cultural centers; TeamLab Borderless, the only European center in Hamburg, scheduled for 2025; and the TimeRide VR network of cinemas in five German cities. These logics will be explored in a number of highlights at NUMIX LAB, including a panel dedicated to the sustainability of the distribution of works: networking to develop new audiences.
- For several years now, private foundations have been consolidating catalogs of digital works and acquiring venues to make them accessible to the general public : this is the case of the LAS Art Foundation in Berlin (see focus below).
FOCUS ON KRAFTWERK BERLIN (LAS Art Foundation) – Click on the arrow
A strategic and mythical location: the Mitte thermal power station, built between 1961 and 1964, was transformed into a cultural space after its closure in 1997. In 2006, it became the Tresor techno club, then was renovated to become the Kraftwerk Berlin exhibition and event venue in October 2010. Since then, the venue has hosted a variety of exhibitions and digital experiments.
Space: 8,000m2 of freely adaptable space on three levels (including 3,500m2 of usable space on the ground floor), capacity for 2,600 people.
Project initiator: LAS Art Foundation is an avant-garde arts organization based in Berlin, Germany. Launched in 2019 by Jan Fischer and Bettina Kames, it focuses on exploring the intersection of art, science and technology. The foundation’s main objective is to develop groundbreaking projects and experiments that envision the future and investigate topics ranging from artificial intelligence and quantum computing to ecology and biotechnology.
Trend n°2 – Acquisition by local operators of international touring digital exhibits for general event venues
In Germany, other event venues, with a transitory logic, temporarily host immersive cultural works. Many former industrial sites have been converted into multi-purpose event venues. In Berlin alone, at least five former industrial sites have hosted international digital exhibitions:
The business model for multi-disciplinary event spaces is different from that of digital arts centers. Unlike the latter, these event halls are not always equipped to host digital exhibits. They therefore have to rely on occasional service providers. What’s more, venue managers generally delegate operations to external operators who assume the risks on a rental basis. As a result, venue owners are less focused on creating their own programming than on renting out their facilities. A panel entitled “Diffusing works widely and reaching out to new audiences” will address these issues at the 5th edition of NUMIX LAB.
FOCUS – IMMERSIVE PROGRAMMING AT UTOPIA (MUNICH) – Click on the arrow
The venue: A former armoury, built in the 19th century in neo-Romanesque style, listed as a Bavarian Historical Monument and later used as a parade hall.
General programming: This venue offers a rich program of concerts, festivals, exhibitions, theater, performances, readings, conferences, evening events, meetings, seminars, conferences, training courses and other corporate events.
Space: 1,200m2 with capacity for 780 people.
However, German exhibitors may see these spaces as an opportunity to disseminate exhibits already produced internationally, which can quickly attract a large audience thanks to communication kits developed in advance.
In terms of programming, they often favor international licenses and subjects already familiar to the general public, such as the Impressionist painters or Leonardo da Vinci. This approach makes it possible to offer iconic, easily identifiable cultural experiences, helping to attract a diverse audience and ensure the success of events held in these spaces.
These two development models illustrate the adaptability of digital formats and explain the proliferation of temporary or permanent digital arts centers in Germany, particularly in large cities. Indeed, as in France, this type of venue is still mainly found in cities with populations of over 1 million, in order to ensure the attendance of between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors per year (or per exhibition) and guarantee the economic viability of immersive productions.This challenge of wider dissemination to other territories raises a series of questions for professionals in the sector: How can we increase dissemination to other territories? How can we increase the pooling of productions to increase distribution potential through risk-sharing between several sites? How can we bring productions to life differently in digital arts centers, by facilitating the conversion of formats to new spaces or technologies at lower cost?
The fifth edition of NUMIX LAB will take place from November 25 to 29, 2024 in Munich, Leipzig and Berlin. and will focus on the theme of sustainability of immersive experiences, approached from a variety of different angles (environmental, economic, Social Inclusion, territorial and societal). To find out more, click here:
Baudouin DUCHANGE
