A narrow fire escape leads up from the exhibition hall to a kind of platform. Felix forsbach climbs ahead. From here, one climbs up a second ladder and through a hatch. Felix forsbach stands on the roof of the boiler house and says: "that's actually the highlight of the building." one has an excellent view of michelsberg and concert hall. Here above, finds the artist and concert organizer, one could install nevertheless marvelously a cafe.
With the franz kafka e.V. Has forsbach in june the kesselhaus at the leinritt for two weeks with art and experimental music played. The festival took place for the second time. Now the art space in the former washhouse of the old hospital could play a significant role in what happens to the young culture of bamberg. The "culture needs space" debate is red-hot again, at least since the hopes of the contact-festival-team for the carpentry in the lagarde barracks were dashed. The city has sold the block edge at weibenburgerstrabe and zollnerstrabe to investors.
A wrong signal
mayor and cultural advisor christian lange (CSU) warned in this context that a new cultural institution on the land could compete with existing ones – the old ropemakers' workshop, the krackhardthaus, the kesselhaus. Forsbach, who knows the kesselhaus like few others, this sends the wrong signal: the building on the lower sandstrabe could become a valve for the hopes that were previously associated with the barracks. "Concerts like the ones at the contact festival don't need to be held here", he says. "A punk band: this would be a horror in terms of sound."
At the same time, there are very concrete visions for the future of the kesselhaus, in the vein of franz kafka e.V. And the art space "now be discussed. Forsbach envisions a production house, a place where ambitious art can be exhibited and experimental music can be shown. A curated, demanded program that does not attract crowds, but between 20 and 150 people per event.
"To the events that we do here", he says "people are coming from wurzburg and nurnberg. They say: we don't have anything like that here." compared to other cities, kesselhaus concerts by artists from the free jazz scene, for example, are extremely well-attended. "If they were in munich before, the audience here is more coarse." forsbach wants to establish a brand with supraregional appeal.
The franz kafka e.V. Discovered his love for this building. And in this way: that more playable spaces belong to it than the space in which adelbert heil is currently exhibiting sculptures. To the south of it adjoins a scheddach hall, which is divided into several rooms of varying coarseness. Partly rough enough for theater or performance projects. The roof had to be renovated.
What is possible?
These rooms are accessed through a tube-like corridor. At its end, forsbach was happy to relocate the festival entrance next year. The plan for FK:K 3 is that individual artists will receive mini-grants for "their" work playing with and designing spaces. "We want to launch small test balloons", says forsbach "to find out what is possible. Also to fail."
So the whole country could be opened up step by step on a trial basis. The disadvantage of such an approach was that the renovations had to be carried out successively, which meant that less money was available.
But maybe this development would also arrive in the basement of the boiler house, which is currently only visited by spiders. A room big enough for 300 people and high enough that no one would bump their heads. The escape route to the city planning office had to be secured, then concerts and clubs could actually be held here.
Only under these conditions and with corresponding investments could the kesselhaus absorb more needs than it currently does, finds forsbach. In the ideal case, offices were added in the adjacent buildings of the municipal administration. And the cafe with the corresponding tourist appeal on the roof.
On-site visit with the mayor
in october, forsbach mayor stark (SPD) would like to drive through the kesselhaus. The meeting will also discuss the use of the basement and hallway – and how to make them accessible on a trial basis. "It is important to my eyes", forsbach "not just pulling some cultural use concept out of the drawer and applying it to the kesselhaus. The next faux pas was pre-programmed."