Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube

Short profile

Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube is located in Innsbruck - Austria, in an old industrial bakery. The project started in 2009 with the appropriation of the old, abandoned building on Dreiheiligenstraße 21a by a bunch of untrained but very enthusiastic crafts(wo)men. In 2010, die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube was officially opened as an arts, culture and community centre. Since the beginning, participation, learning by doing and co-creation are very important practices.

In 2013, Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube joined Trans Europe Halles.

Currently, die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube hosts 13 organisations, 50 co-workers and 600 events, and enjoys more than 25,000 attendees per year. The total area is approximately 1,700 sqm.

What is the mission of Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube?

The mission of Die Bäckerei is to be for the people of Innsbruck what a field of flowers is for butterflies: "If you want butterflies, you have to plant a field full of flowers". Like butterflies, creativity is something beautiful, but fleeting. You can not force or control it, you can only create good conditions for it to thrive. The job of the Bäckerei is to prepare the ground for creativity. In other words, the centre provides an easy access to culture, enable creative self expression and support community building. That happens mostly through the cultural programme, which is concentrated on participatory formats (f.e. Poetry Slams, Open Mics, participatory bike and wood workshop), through the shared office- and workspaces, and the support the organisation gives to many creatives and their projects.

What projects is Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube involved into?

One of the most recent projects: the Penguin project. Die Bäckerei founded this project with the intention to create a space for how it feels to work in the arts and culture sector & the effect that has on all of us individually. This project looks to support cultural workers to develop more sustainable and "resonant" relationships with their work. After all if we want to healthy art and cultural scene we need first, healthy art and culture workers.

What is new with Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube recently?

It has grown a bit taller recently! Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube added two brand new floors to the building, and became home to Innsbruck's first Impact Hub - Impact Hub Tirol. Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube is also developing something new: a platform for transformative culture. It's a bit of an abstract concept, but essentially, we're building a new department focused on helping communities develop the skills and mindsets they need to tackle challenges like climate change, sustainability, and other critical issues facing our future. Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube wants to continue empowering people to shape their own paths forward.

Reach out to Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube for the following topics of transformation:

• Explore how transformation happens on an individual and community level.
• Who else is out there working on transformation.
• Project ideas or participation on the topic of climate change and democracy.
• On topics on how to keep your spark alive working in independent art and culture, methods to hosting complex and controversial topics in a constructive and fun environment. Or just to say hi!