Dortmunder U - Center for Art and Creativity
The "Dortmunder U" is one of the city's best-known landmarks. Created as part of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010, it is a new type of cultural center that combines art, research, cultural education and creativity. At the same time, it is a symbol of new beginnings and structural change in the Ruhr region and provides new and economically relevant impetus not only in the city, but also beyond. The renovation and conversion of the "Dortmunder U" into a center for art and creativity was a project within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the 2007 to 2013 funding period.
An impressive symbol of structural change
The "Dortmunder U" was built in the 1920s as an industrial brewery - Dortmund's first high-rise building with a roof crown that has shaped the city skyline ever since. The conversion between 2008 and 2010 heralded the start of a new era and turned the former Union Brewery into a new type of contemporary cultural center where art, education, research and creativity are equally at home. The result is a facility that is unique in Germany with its imposing architecture, multi-layered usage profile and diverse program.
Numerous institutions work together here under one roof: the Museum Ostwall for modern and contemporary art, the Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV), the Technical University and the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the UZWEI as a department for cultural education, the media library, the cinema in the U and a wide range of gastronomic offerings. The Dortmunder Kunstverein and the european center for creative economy (ecce) are located in the immediate vicinity and complement the U's exhibition and event offerings.
Open architecture and program
The building offers extraordinary views from the outside thanks to the large-format film installations by director Adolf Winkelmann on the roof crown, which can be seen from afar. Inside, the "Dortmunder U" is opened up by an impressive art vertical that extends over the seven floors. Openness and permeability also characterize the building's programme, in which the connections between art, science, creativity, media, design, architecture and society in the 21st century are negotiated in a transdisciplinary manner.
The large collection of classic modern and contemporary art in the city's museum collection takes up this idea of networking in concrete terms. Here, top-class pieces from the collection complement current exhibitions. New connections are made and the link between past and present is closed. With their exhibitions, events and projects, the partners in the U place a special focus on the combination of artistic formats and digital media. Creative open spaces and art education, especially for children and young people, play an important role and actively involve the neighboring city districts in a variety of cooperation projects.
Location and platform for culture
As a sought-after venue for national congresses and events and as a partner for major cultural events in the Ruhr region - such as the Nights of Museums, Industrial Culture, Youth Culture and Science - the "Dortmunder U" manifests its role as a cultural location far beyond the city limits. New formats, such as the "Summer at the U" with its attractive open-air music and cultural program or the "Innovative Citizen" maker festival, have established the U as a forward-looking platform.
