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TAn artist-painted building in Karli.(Photo: Jens
Schwarz/LAIF/Redux)
Leipzig Instead of BerlinBy Jess Holl Published Oct 25, 2013
hough Berliners snidely refer tothe small city to the south
as
Hypezig, most will admit that itreally does feel like Berlin did
ten yearsago, thanks to a recent flood of youngpeople (many
straight from university)drawn to its thriving art scene,insanely
cheap rents, and undergroundparties in converted departmentstores.
The once rather bleakpostindustrial town is now boomingwith an
innovative culinary scene:Local favorites include the
rusticvegetarian Zest (BornaischeStrasse542319126), Fleischereis
ornatebutcher shop turned bistro (Jahnallee
236257848),and Chinabrenners spicy Sichuan in the up-and-coming
Plagwitzneighborhood (Giesserstrasse184927715). Among a stream of
crowd-drawingfestivals are the centuries-old Leipzig Book Fair
(taking place in March) and thesummertime Bachfest (named for
Leipzigs most famous son), not to mentionregular word-of-mouth
open-air parties in the citys many parks and abandonedindustrial
sites.
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Population: 530,000 DistancefromBerlin: About a 75-minute train
ride. WheretoStay: $:ElsterLofts 29minimally furnished apartments
(from$95apartmentleipzig.de) sit on the
sunny side of the canal in Plagwitz. $$: AltConnewitz
(from$106altconnewitz.de) optimally locates you in Connewitzs Karli
bar district, nicknamed forits central artery,
Karl-Leibknecht-Strasse.
$$$:TheSteigenbergerGrandhotelHandelshof(from$170steigenberger.com),
housed in a former exposition centerfrom the early 1900s, is
perfect for more traditional sightseeing; Bach is buried innearby
St. Thomas church.
AKnstlersParadiseSimilartowhathappensifyouspendenoughtimeinBerlinsKreuzbergandPrenzlauerBergneighborhoods,ifyouhangaroundinLeipzigsPlagwitzorLindenaudistricts,itcanseemlikeeveryoneisanartistorgallerist.SincethefalloftheBerlinWallandthebirthoftheNewLeipzigSchoolofpainters,thecitysartscenehasbeensteadilygrowing,nowspawningasecondgenerationofgalleriesthat,liketheirpostGDRpredecessors,areintroducingnewGermanartiststotheworld.Here,twogalleryownersoneestablished,oneemergingpointoutwheretofindLeipzigsaesthetes.
OlderGuard:GerdHarryLybkeIn 1983, Lybke covertly began a gallery
in his apartment, when it was still againstthe law to do so in the
GDR. After the fall of the Wall, Lybke went on to open
Eigen+ArtLeipzig(Spinnereistrasse7,Hall59607886), accumulating
aninternational roster of artists and introducing New Leipzig
School painter NeoRauch to the New York art scene.
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(Photo: Courtesy of Kunstraum Ortloff/SaschaHerrmann (Wir
Belohnen Sie, 2011))
TheBaumwollspinnerei(Spinnereistrasse74980200) is an
expansiveformer cotton-spinning-mill complex that, since the early
nineties, has united thecitys artists and other creative types.
There are eleven galleries and institutions(including mine) showing
the major Leipzig-trained and based artists. Be sure tostop by
ASPNGalerie (9600031aspngalerie.de), run by Arne Linde, who was
onboard from the beginning of the art scene in Leipzig and who
represents a freshroster of artists, like Jochen Plogsties and Grit
Hachmeister. GalerieKleindienst(4774553galeriekleindienst.de)
represents New Leipzig School painter ChristophRuckhberle, as well
as other artists who work in a range of media, like Nadin
MariaRfenacht, whose recent show featured a mix of photography and
collages.
NewerGuard:KatrinKlietschKlietsch, an urban-studies Ph.D.
candidate at the Bauhaus-University Weimar,opened
KingsizeGallery(Grnewaldstrasse19kingsizegalerie.com) in 2010and
still runs it out of an unrenovated storefront near the city
center, representingartists like Jana Engel, Andreas Enrico
Grunert, Carsten Tabel, and Paule Hammer.
The WeisscubeGalerie (MainzerStrasse74045068), located in
anactual white cube in the backyardgarden of a Bauhaus villa,
creates adialogue between so-called outsiderartists, including
those withpsychiatric disorders, and already
established artists like Enrico Meyer, who often curate the
shows. Ortloff(Jahnallee73ortloff.org) shows mostly contemporary
art, from text-basedinstallations to graphic design, photography,
and sculpture. The artists shown herelike Georg Weissbach, Ralf
Hauenschild, and Sebastian Nebeare often graduatesof the Academy of
Visual Arts Leipzig. In 2009, the gallery launched Ortloff
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Records, an electronic-music label that only does
limited-edition pressings,partnering with local Kann records for
their distribution. The opening parties hereare famously good.
PartyinaPensionThenightlifesceneinBerlinisaboomingindustry,butinLeipzig,thevibeisfarmoreDIY,withthecityseeingariseofanythinggoesmultipurposespaces.Herearethreetocheckout.
By day, Kafic(KarlTauchnitzStrasse9111408120) is a caf and
contemporary-art gallery. Come sundown, it turns into a concert
venue that hosts international actsand live electronic music in a
cozy, living-room-like setting.
NochBesserLeben(MerseburgerStrasse259757330), located in the
ber-cool Plagwitz neighborhood, functions as a music venue, bar,
and hostel. If you showup too late to fit inside the intimate
performance space on the second floor, theresplenty of room at the
bar below. And if youd rather not pay for the cab ride home,book
one of its seven rooms for around $25, and you could be sharing a
communalbathroom with the band.
KaufhausHeld(DemmeringstrasseatMerseburgerStrasseheldleipzig.de)
isan over-26,000-square-foot former department store that a group
of artist friendstook over in September, after the buildings owners
okayed them to use the space forart. So far, this has included
everything from a standard art show to a young-fashion-designer
showcase and a few impromptu electro dance parties (which
folksusually find out about the day of via Facebook). The crew
plans to host live concertsin the stores former restaurant.