A short off-guide to Zurich, part I: Kreis 4 and 5

Langstrasse, Zürich

Should you ever find yourself in the beautiful city of Zurich and wonder where you could have some fun off the beaten track, this niche-style guide to the Swiss metropolis will come in handy.

First and foremost, there really is a lot of art to be seen, although the notorious Löwenbräu Complex is being restructured until 2013 – and there is so much more to Zurich than high-end galleries, Kunsthaus and Museum of Design. It’s just hard to find, in this seemingly over-polished city. Similar to every other artsy city, most alternative art spaces in Zurich have occupied the former industrial area Zürich-West around Hardbrücke (a bridge crossing the railway tracks) and in the former red light district around Langstrasse, in the Kreis 4 and 5 boroughs.

To the northeast of Hardbrücke, in the former Maag gear wheel factory, you’ll find the k3 project space – a non profit artist run space which has been around since 2003. Their fall program includes a curated show by Laurinprojects, an independent curator project that emerged from the visionary Laurin Gallery, closed in 2008.

Corner College – an open space for irregular quasi-academic activities like workshops, talks, readings, screenings and culinary experiments has just moved to Kochstrasse on the other side of the bridge. Their neighbor is Motto distribution, a great space for independent art books and zines (of which you will also find a lot at Nieves). They are opening their new space with a grand two day celebration this weekend, don’t miss it.

Both Corner College and Motto used to be part of the Perla-Mode collective in the famous Langstrasse: It is a former Jewish textile store turned project space that art activists had rented for temporary cultural use. The building still houses the Hors-Série exhibition project and the exhibition space Message Salon, which already exists since 1996. Its gallerist Esther Eppstein became even better known in the Zurich art world in 2008 thanks to an absurd trial: One of her artists was being accused of pornography – paradoxically, since there is real prostitution going on in front of the door and the artist was merely critically working with this context.

Just around the corner in the Langstrasse area is the non profit organisation Les Complices with a very critical and political program. “Complicity would like to stand for a collective conspiratorial process, which tries to avoid the separation into traditional roles such as curator, artist, critic, audience, professor or student” and aims for more fluent processes of art creation and display. Nearby you should also check out the ›Office for Curating/Art/Theory‹ White Space that calls itself a space for art and analysis and broaches the issue of community. If you live in Zurich, you should definitely become a member of the Kunstverein Zürich, with its temporary exhibition space called Wäscherei, also not far from here. They host some really fun exhibitions and activities. Finally, there is also the platform for national and international artists Walcheturm. For more information on independent art spaces in Switzerland visit offoff.

After all this art viewing you will need a drink nearby: Bar 63 in Rolandstrasse has a beautiful and cool interiour and a fine wine and rum selection.

Part II of the Niche Zurich guide will tell you where to get fresh chocolate and free swimming.

3 Notes/ Hide

  1. nicheberlin posted this