Theater, cinema, classical music, children's stage, concerts and more...
"Ki" - Kulturinitiative Warstein e.V.
Civic engagement for the preservation of a cultural event space
in conjunction with the establishment of a semi-professional cultural business
Demolition is planned
In 2011, the Warstein town council and politicians considered demolishing the
"Theateraula" building in Warstein-Belecke. Renovation work
had become necessary, especially in the areas of fire protection, ventilation, heating and stage technology
- and the expected costs seemed disproportionate to the
benefits, i.e. the preservation of an impressive building that was hardly used for events
(both consequences of the town's financial difficulties).
A movement formed
This impending demolition of the assembly hall now triggered a broad movement of citizens
who were motivated by the idea of preserving this proud building
but who were also aware that this would also mean filling this
space with life again, i.e. providing a cultural offering - because the city's
cultural offering (apart from the renowned series of
"Kupferhammer concerts") was nil. What's more, there was an urgent need for such a lively and
diverse cultural offering in the town to enhance the
quality of life and living anyway!
So in November 2011, the "Kulturinitiative Warstein e.V." (Ki) was founded.
The initiative started
To highlight the need for a cultural center for Warstein, the
initiative kicked off in October 2011 with a concert by the well-known Warstein singer
"Rio - the Voice of Elvis" and on the same weekend with a classical concert for
two grand pianos, moderated by the Warstein-born Grieg specialist Prof. Dr. Patrick
Dinslage (member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences). Theater for
adults and children, cabaret, music events and poetry slam
evenings followed.
The great response convinced the public that this auditorium had to be preserved
. A number of meetings in the parliamentary groups also paved the way for the city council representatives to soon
pass a corresponding renovation resolution on the
basis of a clever plan by the administration.
In the meantime, a volunteer team of twelve people formed to organize and supervise planned
events. These took place until mid-2012 in the "old"
auditorium and during the renovation phase at various venues such as
"Warstein World" and "Haus Kupferhammer".
The number of members of the association exceeded 200 in 2015.
Scope of events
The number of events increased steadily. From five events in 2011
and 15 in 2012 to 51 events in 2019; a further increase is foreseeable in the current year
.
The Ki team also grew - up to 40 people depending on the event!
The Ki takes over the "cultural work"...
Some time after the reopening of the Neue Aula in 2013, the Ki received an offer from the town of
Warstein to take over the cultural operations in the Neue Aula on its own
. Agreement was quickly reached in the negotiations. The contract was signed on 5
May 2014.
... and growing ...
This made it easier to expand the program to include events in cooperation with
Warstein institutions and associations. On the other hand, its own
program became more ambitious: the Ki engaged prominent artists such as Jan-Josef
Liefers or Wolf Maahn, cabaret artists such as René Steinberger, stages such as the Bauturm-
Theater Köln, the Junge Bühne Göttingen or even the Bochum Schauspielhaus.
The next expansion of the range of offers was the founding of the "DoKino", a
monthly film series, every second Thursday in the style of "arthouse cinemas". This year
also saw the third screening of films as part of the "NRW School Cinema Weeks"
!
Children's theatre performances were then institutionalized - as "KiKiBü" (Ki-
Kinderbühne):
Six times a year, independent groups from the
children's and youth theater scene come to Warstein on Sunday afternoons to offer imaginative theater performances to the little ones (and the grown-ups too ...).
The most recent expansion of the Ki program sections was the takeover of the "Warsteiner Kupferhammer-Konzerte" chamber music series, which has been running for over 50 years
. The
six high-profile concerts by renowned artists each year, mostly at
"Haus Kupferhammer" in Warstein, as well as the town's New Year's Concert - in the Neue Aula
- attract visitors from far beyond Warstein!
It is, according to the unanimous opinion of the volunteer Ki team, an exhausting but
fulfilling way to spend your free time. We are driven to realize new ideas, increase the
attractiveness of our town and thus send positive impulses to the citizens.
The Lohne was and is the satisfied Ki visitors from Warstein and the surrounding area. And
contrary to initial skepticism, expectations have been fulfilled - Warstein once again has a
sophisticated and appealing cultural offering and thus a little more quality of life and
quality of stay!
"Ki" - Kulturinitiative Warstein e.V.
Michael Römer (1st Chairman) Werner Braukmann (2nd Chairman)