Anniversary at the Baumwollspinnerei - 20 years of art tours

Transforming an old factory site into a center for artists and creatives - this idea has been working in Leipzig's Baumwollspinnerei for around two decades. This weekend marks the anniversary of 20 years of galleries in the spinning mill. On Saturday and Sunday, they are opening their doors for a spring tour.

Among others, the Eigen + Art gallery is presenting works by Neo Rauch under the title "Stille Reserve". Galerie Kleindienst is showing paintings by Rosa Loy, while ASPN is presenting new works by Franziska Holstein.

Bertram Schultze: "It was like an adventure playground here"

Bertram Schultze, Managing Director of the Spinnerei, still remembers the first time he set foot on the factory premises. "You could walk from our studios through the long cellar corridors and suddenly find yourself in the production hall, where the ladies in smock aprons were still standing at the machines. It was all still there. And then on the other side, it was also a very quiet and deserted place."

Built in 1907, the cotton mill was once the largest of its kind in continental Europe. In GDR times, up to 4,000 people worked here in three shifts, but production ended in 2001. Many people were skeptical about the fact that art was to move into these industrial halls, says Schultze.

The development of the spinning mill is closely linked to the hype surrounding the painting of the New Leipzig School, which began a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Artists such as Neo Rauch were tenants from the very beginning and attracted international attention to the Spinnerei.

Today, according to Schultze, all available spaces are occupied. Art and cultural professionals are the biggest tenants. Demand for studios in particular is high. Various companies such as a wine merchant, architects and even a call center have settled in the other spaces. According to Schultze, studio rents are still affordable - they range between four and six euros per square meter.

Gallery owner from the very beginning: "Everything was so feasible here"

Arne Linde, head of Galerie ASPN, has been there from the start. Back then, 20 years ago, she was still the only female gallery owner and worked in a small space that gradually expanded. Linde particularly appreciates the cohesion on site, the fact that the premises have not been completely renovated and that the tenants have a great deal of creative freedom. "Every gallery looks different inside. We don't have the same doors or the same toilet bowls."

In Linde's view, the art market is very volatile. The effects of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and inflation are being felt. Interest in art remains high, but business has become less steady. Young people are less interested in collecting art.

The Baumwollspinnerei is still an important address for art lovers. People from a wide range of backgrounds come to Linde's gallery: "People come in who know all about it and other people who ask me if I painted everything myself."

Almost every international newspaper has already reported on the Baumwollspinnerei as an art center, reports Schultze. In 2007, the British newspaper "The Guardian" described the art factory as "the hottest place on earth".

Even though the hype from the 2000s has died down, the managing director is satisfied: "If you can maintain that, that you are such a strong attraction that you can keep it going for another 10 or 20 years, that would be vision enough for me."