Three years ago, Kampnagel celebrated its anniversary, ‘40 years of
resistance’ and ‘40 years of State of the Arts’. The coming season will
be the last Kampnagel season as we knew it - after which a major and
necessary multi-year remodelling and refurbishment process will begin.
By incorporating the ideas of many artists and Kampnagel employees, the
vision of a production house for the next 40 years will be realised, one
that retains its attitude, thinks about its own history and inscribes
it into its own future, one that does not drive out the ghosts. At the
same time, the remodelling is a major turning point that will make
Kampnagel fit for the future and bring about significant changes and
restructuring. In the words of the planning architects Lacaton &
Vassal: Nothing is gonna change, everything's gonna change. This could
also be the motto for the years of remodelling, during which Kampnagel
will not close, but remain present in the city - same same but different
in the best sense.
In the coming season, we want to make the
strengthening connection between past and future tangible. To remember
and value the past without conservatism. To be forward-looking without
forgetting. A culture of remembrance must always also deal with the
future, legends can also be told with a view to the future - and thus
form the decisive difference to right-wing narratives, which in the 80th
year after the end of the Second World War are more than ever
persistently trying to tell a different story.
