Voices shaping the archive

'When we closed Forum Neun, we asked ourselves: what does it mean not to have a space anymore? Can we use public spaces? Can we be even more performative? How do we want to collaborate in the future?'

'Maybe I want that people are surprised, and go with the feeling that they want to come back. That they found something, a special place, that maybe they hadn't seen before. And they feel embraced.'

'Some spaces are clearly built to generate profit—that’s fine, but it’s not what I want to focus on. The vibe I’m after is when the space is created by and for the scene itself. A circular system.'

'I’m staying because I think Leipzig needs spaces like this. I’m happy for everyone who leaves the town to find their own way and their own thing—but if everyone left, the city would lose so much.'

'We don’t want to compare it to other art spaces, because it’s comics. In a lot of art spaces, people are like, “This isn’t real art."'

'We’re lucky to have these rooms here, which are like a jewel in a way. That’s why we were able to do the exhibition with Yael Bartana. We asked her a year ago, just with two shitty photos of the rooms and one email from us.'

'...I think there’s really something there about people going for a crazy designer to do the design for the event before they even think about what the event actually will be.'

'It’s meaningful to speak to our community, but it’s also refreshing when someone more unexpected responds. Curiosity is a great motivator.'

'One day it’s a cinema, the next it’s an open atelier, and then it’s an art academy. It’s an anti-school, an open library, a concert hall—it’s a completely neutral venue, and at the same time, it’s a totally personal and loaded space.'

'I think it’s important for the art and culture scene to open up. Art shouldn’t be elitist but accessible to everyone. The scene shouldn’t close itself off even more.'