In February 2002, ten years ago, the vacant “Cabaret Voltaire” in Zurich’s Niederdorf district, which was threatened with conversion into a boutique, was occupied by activists from the “Krösus Foundation”, whose members had already made an appearance in Zurich with other space seizures, and was intensively reactivated for several months as a cultural venue and reborn site of Dadaism. Exhibitions, concerts, an open stage, a Dada mass with Pastor Leumund, readings, workshops, parties … The Cabaret Voltaire, where Dadaism was founded in 1916, returned to its roots in a modern form for a few weeks.
The occupation brought the Dada legacy back to the attention of the people of Zurich and the city’s cultural authorities. Following the eviction and expulsion of the squatters, the former Cabaret Voltaire was converted into a cultural institution financed by the city of Zurich and sponsors in 2004 and has since been more or less on the agenda of cultural consumers, artists, curators and tourists.
In the style of the squatted Cabaret Voltaire, regular ten-day Dadafestivals organised and curated by artist Mark Divo have taken place in Zurich and the Czech Republic since 2003. The 7th Dadafestival Weeks are now taking up residence on Langstrasse. A colourful mix of artists from Zurich, Hamburg, Brno (Czech Republic), Prague, Berlin and other European cities will be presenting a packed programme entitled “Cabaret Vulgaire” for ten days throughout the Perla-Mode building and in the Kunstverein Wäscherei outdoor venue on Dienerstrasse.
10 years of the Krösus Foundation – the documentation
In the message salon, on the first floor of Perla-Mode, the artist Mark Divo (D.I.V.O. Institute, Zurich/Kolin) is showing a documentary exhibition about 10 years of the Krösus Foundation and the past six Dadafestivals, which have taken place in the squatted Sihlpapier-Areal in Zurich, in public toilets in Zurich, in Kolin (Czech Republic) and in the Rote Fabrik, among other places.
“Cabaret Vulgaire oder die 7. Dadafestwochen” (Cabaret Vulgaire or the 7th Dadafestival), is curated and organised by Mark Divo, Zuzanna Fuksova, Milan Mikulastik and Jan Theiler aka Pastor Leumund.
A co-production of Krösus-Foundation, D.I.V.O.Institut, Perla-Mode, message salon, stadttheater.tv and Kunstverein Wäscherei.