|
|
- For other uses of Cabaret Voltaire, see the disambiguation page.
Hugo Ball, with his companion Emmy Hennings, founded Cabaret Voltaire on February 5, 1916 in Zürich as a cabaret for artistic and political purposes.
- Cabaret Voltaire. Under this name a group of young artists and writers has been formed whose aim is to create a centre for artistic entertainment. The idea of the cabaret will be that guest artists will come and give musical performances and readings at the daily meetings. The young artists of Zurich, whatever their orientation, are invited to come along with suggestions and contributions of all kinds.
- –Press Notice, Zurich, February 2, 1916
Above a theatre where art exhibitions were held, the activities in the cabaret made fun of the serious works downstairs. (These cabarets were usually for the focus of experimenting for up-and-coming artistic groups.)
The activities at Cabaret Voltaire spawned the cultural movement, Dada.
Later, the Surrealists, who originated from Dada, used it as a forum for their art.
The cabaret fell into disrepair, and in the winter of 2002 a group of artists describing themselves as neo-Dadaists, organised by Mark Divo, occupied Cabaret Voltaire. They said that it was a signal for a new generation of artists to align themselves with a revival of Dada. Over a period of three months there were a number of performances, parties, poetry evenings and film nights. Among the participating artists were Ingo Giezendammer, Mikry Drei, Lennie Lee, Leumund Cult, Aiana Calugar and Dan Jones. The building was decorated on the outside as well as the inside. Thousands of people from around Zürich took part in the experiment. On March 2, 2002 police evicted the occupants, since which time the building has become a museum dedicated to Dada.
Reference
- Dada and Surrealism: Texts and Extracts (http://pers-www.wlv.ac.uk/~fa1871/surrext.html)de:Cabaret Voltaire