From Factory to Art Space: 10 Cool Places You Might Not Know About
Miscellaneous / / April 02, 2023
Street art on the walls of workshops, archeological monuments in a former power plant, a biennale in a warehouse and more.
1. Dia Beacon, New York
This museum contemporary art is located in the former building of the printing house. In a room with large windows and high ceilings, you can see the work of Robert Irwin, Andy Warhol, Imi Knoebel and other masters of the second half of the twentieth century. In addition to the exhibition halls, the building has a cafe and a bookstore.
Dia Beacon is one of the projects of the Dia Art Foundation. Since 1974, she has supported contemporary artists and opened galleries and museums in New York. Sites are always industrial facilities. For example, Dia Bridgehampton with the work of minimalist Dan Flavin is located in the building of the fire department, and Dia Chelsea is located in a room that belonged to a marble and granite processing company.
2. Cluster "Octava", Tula
This art space in the center of Tula opened in 2018 on the territory of the eponymous enterprise for the production of microphones and other electro-acoustic equipment. The plant is still in operation, but some of its premises have been idle for a long time. them and
gave away under the cluster. Now exhibitions, lectures, performances and concerts are held next to the production. There is also a cafe, a library, a creative workshop, an additional education center, a co-working space and a recording studio.Separate room in "Oktava" singled out under the multimedia museum of the machine. There is a permanent exhibition in the main hall: you can look at industrial machines and find out how production developed in Tula, Russia and the world. The seasonal event space hosts contemporary art exhibitions.
3. OMK Street Art Park, Vyksa
This is another creative space in the current production. Street art park - gallery works of street artists painted on the facades of the buildings of the metallurgical plant. The first drawing, "Evolution-2", appeared there in 2017. A huge canvas measuring 10,800 square meters immediately became a popular backdrop for city residents' photo shoots. Then the management thought about decorating other walls.
The concept of the street art park was implemented as part of the annual art festival Art Ravine. In 2019, the mural "Detail" appeared on its walls, in 2020 - the slogan "Stop - Go" and the naturalistic drawing "Barn in Normandy".
Street art attracts many fans of industrial tourism to the plant. For them, tours of the workshops and other production facilities are arranged. But you can look at the work of factories not only in Vyksa. In Russia for tourists open 400 enterprises in 50 regions. For example, a hydroelectric power station in Dagestan and a chemical plant in the Kemerovo region.
4. Korjamo Cultural Center, Helsinki
Koryamo arose in place of the tram depot garages. It combines several venues at once: a cinema, a stage for concerts and performances, conference rooms and lecture halls. Summer cultural program carried over to the courtyard with a green garden, where barbecue days are also arranged.
Not only the details of the interiors, but also the tram museum reminds of the past of Koryamo. Here you can look at the cars and clothes of railway workers from different eras and get acquainted with the history of trams in Finland.
5. La Sucrière, Lyon
This building with three large concrete pipes against one of the walls appeared in the 20th century. The unusual shape was not chosen by chance - the house was used as a warehouse for a sugar factory. In 1990, the premises were abandoned, but in the 2000s it attracted connoisseurs of contemporary art. In 2003, an exhibition area was opened in the renovated building. The name refers to the past: la sucrière is translated from French as "sugar". Since 2007, the former factory use as the main site of the Lyon Biennale. It also hosts conferences, exhibitions and concerts.
6. Santralistanbul, Istanbul
Santralistanbul is a large complex in Istanbul's Eyüpe district. Now on its territory there are a museum of modern art and energy, a building of Bilgi University, a public library, a conference hall, an artist's residence, cafes and restaurants. And in the 20th century there located the first power station in the Ottoman Empire, Silahtaraga. She worked from 1911 to 1983, then was abandoned, but was protected as an object of cultural heritage.
Transform industrial buildings into contemporary spaces in the early 2000s decided Oguz Ozerden, founder of Beagley University. He developed the project, enlisted the support of the Turkish authorities and private investors. Santralistanbul opened in 2007. The name emphasizes the connection with the past: santral is translated from Turkish as "power station".
7. Centrale Montemartini, Rome
Another power plant that has found a second life. Centrale Montemartini appeared in Rome in 1912. It got its name in honor of one of the sponsors of the construction - the economist Giovanni Montemartini. But the station did not work for long: already in 1963 it was closed due to inefficiency.
But in 1997 the building came to life. The Capitoline Museum was undergoing a major overhaul, the exhibits had to be urgently taken somewhere. The choice fell on an empty power plant: its spacious halls easily accommodated tall statues and even fragments of temples. So that the townspeople could continue to observe the monuments of archeology, an experimental exhibition "Machines and Gods" was opened here. Ancient exhibits coexisted with working equipment. This unusual combination attracted the public, because of this, in 2001, Centrale Montemartini turned from a temporary hall into a full-fledged museum.
8. Winery #1, Tbilisi
This trendy space with cafes, bars, showrooms and an art studio is located on the territory of a former winery in Tbilisi. At the end of the 19th century, his built architect Alexander Ozerov. The company operated until the 1980s.
The space was renovated in 2017. At the same time, they did not change the building: the walls and the courtyard were preserved, only the design of the times of the USSR was removed. Now the winery looks the same as in the year of opening. The old cellar remained untouched: They saythat it contains unique bottles from the collections of Napoleon and Stalin.
9. Oktyabrskaya Street, Minsk
Until recently, Oktyabrskaya was an unremarkable industrial street in Minsk with several factories. Now it is a vibrant place with trendy cafes, bars and restaurants. The special atmosphere of Oktyabrskaya is given by large colorful graffiti by Brazilian artists that appeared here after the Vulica Brazil festival. It was held in Minsk from 2014 to 2019. In addition, on this street there is a museum of skateboarding and an art platform "Cultural Tops". The latter regularly arranges creative events and film screenings.
10. Art cluster "Stankozavod", Samara
Since 1873, the Stankozavod enterprise has been producing agricultural machinery, but in Soviet times it was redesigned to produce machine tools. Cluster in its place opened autumn 2022.
In a renovated complex with a total area of approximately 7,000 square meters carry out exhibitions, concerts and other creative events. Also on the territory there are gastropubs, showrooms, sound recording and video recording sites, as well as offices of IT companies and public space on the roof - where you can watch the life of the city, sunbathe, do yoga or listen to lectures and concerts in amphitheater.