Place and program at the same time
The Weltkunstzimmer
The Weltkunstzimmer is the art centre of the Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation in Düsseldorf.
Our program consists of exhibitions, the concert series Musikzimmer, performances and presentations from dance and theater, workshops, talks, the film festival Urban Space Videowalk, as well as the Weltkunstzimmer Residency.
In addition, we regularly promote cooperations in the fields of art, theatre, dance, film and music through the favourable use of the spaces, which are unique in Düsseldorf (e.g. International Dance Fair NRW, Dance Research, ASPHALT Summer Festival of the Arts, die digitale - Festival for Digital Art and Music and many more).
"We try to understand the world in its magnifold contexts, irritations and complexities and to approach it again and again - in art, in discourse and in experimentation."
We see ourselves as a place for mindful contemplation: the programming of the cultural projects pursues the task of reflecting on the relationship between art and society. We strive to enable visitors to recognise and develop their thoughts and ideas in our programme.
Our existence allows contemplation on urban development for and against the urban society. The courtyard area is a silent activist against gentrification, which is increasingly transforming Düsseldorf and changing, threatening and destroying the living spaces of human and non-human actors. Another meditative aspect is found in the diversity of cultural projects, traditional and progressive voices are allowed to stand side by side. The decisive value is tolerance towards interests and an openness for the unconventional without pressure to innovate.
As an urban habitat in the heart of Düsseldorf, the listed former baking factory is a refuge for creativity. The focus is on building long-term collaborations with local artists and a global exchange with a wide variety of living environments. Our small, dedicated team works flexibly and with short distances to implement both cultural gems and ambitious large-scale projects.
For us, art plays a creative role in relation to society. For this reason, we want to be an open place - a space for living, exchanging, reflecting and experimenting, where artists as well as researchers and interdisciplinary experts are inspired and challenged to come up with original ideas and presentations.
The team
Wolfgang Schäfer
Artistic direction
Martha Martens
Cultural Management WELTKUNSTZIMMER
Janine Blöß
Curatorial concept
Nora Faust
Exhibition management
Tommy Kirchmann
Betreuung von Gastprojekten und Kooperationen, Veranstaltungsbetreuung und Vermietung von Veranstaltungsräumen
Yannick Böhm
Contact Commercial Tenants Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation
Tim Koch
itTechnik / Musikproberäume HPZ Stiftung
Facility services
Cleaning service
Board of Trustees Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation
History of the place
Our home is the former baking factory of the consumer cooperative "Allgemeiner Consumverein freies Rheinland", a meanwhile listed building complex, which was built in 1909 by the architects Karl Moritz and Werner Stahl.
The founding of the consumer associations was initiated by consumers and social reformers in order to improve the cost of living in the cities, which were growing explosively as a result of industrialization, by providing inexpensive and high-quality goods.
In the 1970s, the baking factory was shut down and was initially to be demolished, but this was prevented thanks to the private initiative of the entrepreneur Hans Peter Zimmer.
At the end of the 1980s, the location, now called Con-Sum, became a popular alternative quarter for the Düsseldorf artist scene. From then on, the industrial spaces were used as studios, creative studios and rehearsal rooms, among other things.
Before his death in 2009, Hans Peter Zimmer commissioned the artist Wolfgang Schäfer to establish a non-profit foundation, which was recognized in 2011. Schäfer developed the current principles for the foundation from Zimmer's life's work and, together with the cultural manager Aude Bertrand, created the art center from this task, which grew into the core of the foundation's support for the arts and which he has shaped as artistic director ever since.
In these early days, curator Janine Blöß also joined the team. She became a formative force, realizing ambitious exhibition projects in the urban exhibition halls every year and building up both the program and the network of the Weltkunstzimmer in collaboration with Wolfgang Schäfer.
Place and program at the same time
The Weltkunstzimmer
The Weltkunstzimmer is the art centre of the Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation in Düsseldorf.
Our program consists of exhibitions, the concert series Musikzimmer, performances and presentations from dance and theater, workshops, talks, the film festival Urban Space Videowalk, as well as the Weltkunstzimmer Residency.
In addition, we regularly promote cooperations in the fields of art, theatre, dance, film and music through the favourable use of the spaces, which are unique in Düsseldorf (e.g. International Dance Fair NRW, Dance Research, ASPHALT Summer Festival of the Arts, die digitale - Festival for Digital Art and Music and many more).
"We try to understand the world in its magnifold contexts, irritations and complexities and to approach it again and again - in art, in discourse and in experimentation."
We see ourselves as a place for mindful contemplation: the programming of the cultural projects pursues the task of reflecting on the relationship between art and society. We strive to enable visitors to recognise and develop their thoughts and ideas in our programme.
Our existence allows contemplation on urban development for and against the urban society. The courtyard area is a silent activist against gentrification, which is increasingly transforming Düsseldorf and changing, threatening and destroying the living spaces of human and non-human actors. Another meditative aspect is found in the diversity of cultural projects, traditional and progressive voices are allowed to stand side by side. The decisive value is tolerance towards interests and an openness for the unconventional without pressure to innovate.
As an urban habitat in the heart of Düsseldorf, the listed former baking factory is a refuge for creativity. The focus is on building long-term collaborations with local artists and a global exchange with a wide variety of living environments. Our small, dedicated team works flexibly and with short distances to implement both cultural gems and ambitious large-scale projects.
For us, art plays a creative role in relation to society. For this reason, we want to be an open place - a space for living, exchanging, reflecting and experimenting, where artists as well as researchers and interdisciplinary experts are inspired and challenged to come up with original ideas and presentations.
The team
Wolfgang Schäfer
Artistic direction
Martha Martens
Cultural Management WELTKUNSTZIMMER
Janine Blöß
Curatorial concept
Nora Faust
Exhibition management
Tommy Kirchmann
Betreuung von Gastprojekten und Kooperationen, Veranstaltungsbetreuung und Vermietung von Veranstaltungsräumen
Yannick Böhm
Contact Commercial Tenants Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation
Tim Koch
itTechnik / Musikproberäume HPZ Stiftung
Facility services
Cleaning service
Board of Trustees Hans Peter Zimmer Foundation
History of the place
Our home is the former baking factory of the consumer cooperative "Allgemeiner Consumverein freies Rheinland", a meanwhile listed building complex, which was built in 1909 by the architects Karl Moritz and Werner Stahl.
The founding of the consumer associations was initiated by consumers and social reformers in order to improve the cost of living in the cities, which were growing explosively as a result of industrialization, by providing inexpensive and high-quality goods.
In the 1970s, the baking factory was shut down and was initially to be demolished, but this was prevented thanks to the private initiative of the entrepreneur Hans Peter Zimmer.
At the end of the 1980s, the location, now called Con-Sum, became a popular alternative quarter for the Düsseldorf artist scene. From then on, the industrial spaces were used as studios, creative studios and rehearsal rooms, among other things.
Before his death in 2009, Hans Peter Zimmer commissioned the artist Wolfgang Schäfer to establish a non-profit foundation, which was recognized in 2011. Schäfer developed the current principles for the foundation from Zimmer's life's work and, together with the cultural manager Aude Bertrand, created the art center from this task, which grew into the core of the foundation's support for the arts and which he has shaped as artistic director ever since.
In these early days, curator Janine Blöß also joined the team. She became a formative force, realizing ambitious exhibition projects in the urban exhibition halls every year and building up both the program and the network of the Weltkunstzimmer in collaboration with Wolfgang Schäfer.