Jazzclub Leipzig becomes main tenant in the "House of Festivals

We are very pleased that our long-standing efforts to find a venue of our own now have the prospect of being fulfilled, and we are grateful for the support we have received so far from the city of Leipzig, which, with these decisions, is actively working to raise the international profile of its independent cultural scene and to strengthen Leipzig's reputation as a lively and cosmopolitan city of culture.

On February 24, 2021, the City of Leipzig passed a planning resolution for the renovation of the building at Gottschedstraße 16 and its conversion into the "Haus der Festivals". It had already been decided on June 17, 2020, that the property at Gottschedstraße 16 would remain the property of the City of Leipzig and be earmarked for permanent cultural use. In the future, Jazzclub Leipzig e.V. will be able to use the hall of the building near the center as a permanent venue as the main tenant. In the future, the upper floors of the building will house the club's offices and an apartment for artists. In addition to Jazzclub Leipzig e.V., other organizers will move into the building at Gottschedstraße 16. These include euro-scene Leipzig Festival of Contemporary Theater and Dance, the DOK Leipzig International Festival of Documentary and Animated Film, the Literary Autumn Festival, the LeipJAZZig Initiative of Leipzig Jazz Musicians, and the Schumann-Verein e.V. The City of Leipzig plans to approve construction and financing in 2022, and to begin construction in 2023. The "House of Festivals" could be completed in 2024/25. 

We are very pleased that our long-standing efforts to find our own venue now have a chance of being fulfilled, and we are grateful for the support we have received so far from the city of Leipzig, which, with these decisions, is actively working to raise the international profile of its independent cultural scene and to strengthen Leipzig's reputation as a lively and cosmopolitan city of culture. Through the spatial proximity to other organizers, we hope for stronger networking and interdisciplinary cooperation. The "House of Festivals" with Jazzclub Leipzig e.V. as the main tenant will serve as a meeting place for the cultural scene of all stripes in the center of Leipzig in the future, arouse the interest of a diversely interested public and strengthen Leipzig's reputation as a world city of music. 

Background

The Jazzclub Leipzig e.V. - founded in 1973 - is an association that has grown historically and is closely interwoven with the city's society. In 2021, our renowned festival "Leipziger Jazztage" will take place for the 45th time. The festival includes ten days of high-quality programming in the fall. International stars traditionally fill houses such as the Opera, Schauspiel, UT Connewitz, naTo and many more. We also set our own impulses in cultural life with commissioned works and festival projects. The foundation of this ability to act and radiate is a young, diverse jazz scene made up of students from the University of Music and Theater and freelance musicians, a loyal urban jazz audience, and a lively club life with many volunteers of different ages and professions. This also makes it possible to organize the small festival "MusikZeit", publish the brochure "Jazzkalender" and realize a large number of other concerts in the series "Jazzclub Live", for which we have already been awarded the venue program prize APPLAUS of the Initiative Musik five times at the national level.

With the closure of the Telegraph restaurant at Dittrichring 18 in December 2019 and the Telegraph live club located in the basement, which had served the association as a fixed venue and meeting place for the scene, especially for the "Jazzclub Live" concert series and the "HMT Stage Night" session held weekly during the current semester in cooperation with the HMT Leipzig, the need for a fixed venue for jazz in Leipzig intensified once again. Until the completion of the "Haus der Festivals", we are looking for a venue for our concerts during the year and especially for the HMT Stage Night - as an important instrument for the promotion of young musicians - that will allow us to plan our program on a regular basis. 

The location 

The building at Gottschedstraße 16 has already been established for many years as a cultural location rich in tradition. In 1948 the "Kammerspiele der Deutschen Volksbühne" were opened, from 1957 the building housed the "Tanzarchiv der Akademie der Künste der DDR" (Dance Archive of the Academy of Arts of the GDR) until it was finally reopened in 1984 as the "Neue Szene" theater. Under the directorship of Sebastian Hartmann at Schauspiel Leipzig (2008-13), the "Skala" was created. The "House of Festivals" at Gottschedstraße 16 will continue the tradition of the house as a cultural location.