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Project “Kwartier” in Hirtenstrasse. The old slaughterhouse became the center of art and culture in Wennigsen
Wennigsen.In order to realize their dream of creating a center for arts and culture, Isabelle and Jonas Damermann embarked on a construction project in Wennigsen that is as exciting as it is ambitious. The couple want to renovate the property of the former slaughterhouse on Hirtenstrasse, including the dilapidated building. Under the name “Kwartier” many art workshops will not only be established there. Dammermanns also wants to create rooms for workshops, yoga and Pilates courses and even a café in the historic collection of houses.
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Isabelle Damermann is a jewelry artist. After studying contemporary jewelry design in Florence, she finally moved to Wennigsen via Hanover in 2013. Since then she has been producing her work in her home located in Multistrasse, where she lives with her family. But she was not satisfied with this solution and was not really satisfied with it. “The desire for a real workshop with more space and more options has been around for a long time,” says the 37-year-old. That’s why she and her husband set out to find a suitable place – and finally found the old butcher’s shop on Hirtenstraße in 2019. A courtyard of three vacant houses badly damaged by the ravages of time.
The stable and the slaughterhouse remain
The 800 square meter group includes a half-timbered house with a former row of shops, a slaughterhouse with a separate apartment on the upper floor and a stable – all at first glance in a state ready for demolition. But the Dimmermans have ideas and courage and aren’t shy about a big mountain of work. “We will preserve and renovate the barn and the slaughterhouse,” declared Isabel Dimmermann. Only the half-timbered house will be demolished, but its successors will be rebuilt in the same place in the wooden construction. “This group, including the patio, has so much charm that we don’t want to change it,” says the artist enthusiastically.
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Historic Collection of Houses: The half-timbered house with a row of shops is over 150 years old. To the right is a slaughterhouse with a separate apartment on the upper floor.
© Source: Jan von Allwoerden
“The exact date the half-timbered house was built is unknown,” says Wennigsen expert Winfried Gehrke, who lived in an apartment above the slaughterhouse as a child until the age of seven. According to ancient records, it has been around since 1859. Stables and a slaughterhouse were first mentioned in 1906.
Yoga, ceramics and cafe
A large space provides space for many ideas. The Damermann family has a clear plan. “Our vision is a place for art and culture where people should come together,” says Isabel Damermann, explaining her Kwartier concept. Therefore, you will not stay with one workshop. “In the barn, we set up the rooms for my own work. There will also be a ceramics workshop in the slaughterhouse,” says the artist. It is not yet known who will work there next. But Wennigserin is well networked, and workshop spaces are scarce. “We will definitely find someone when the time is right,” she assures us.
“Kwartier” should not only be open to artists. Dimmerman wants to turn the old ice room at the back of the stable into a café accessible from the fire station. There are also concrete plans for the half-timbered house. Yoga and Pilates courses will be conducted here, among others. However, no rental living space is planned for the time being. Isabelle Dimmermann is more thinking about making rooms available on a short-term or daily basis – eg for artists who want to work temporarily in Wennigsen or as shared spaces for freelancers in a co-working style. “My goal is to create a creative environment for myself and others,” explains Wennigserin.
Renovation will start in the spring of 2023
The vision is clear, but there are still question marks about the timeline. In the spring of 2023, Damermann wants to start building her own workshop in the stable. This has priority. What follows and when makes them depend at least on the Ukraine war, the effects on the construction industry and interest rate developments. “We don’t put any pressure on ourselves and drive in sight,” she says.
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Financial risks have been limited so far. Given the building’s dilapidated condition, the patio was more of a bargain by today’s standards. However, the workload is enormous. Just removing the ivy from the entire overgrown building was hard work. Garbage was taken out of the buildings in containers. “What has accumulated there is incredible. And the artist stresses that there is still a lot to do.
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View of the former slaughterhouse: The Damermann family wants to set up a ceramics workshop here, among other things.
© Source: Jan von Allwoerden
What actually happened and what’s still on the Damermann family’s mind with their “Kwartier” can be found right on the site. In Kunstspur, Open Studio Days in Wennigsen, on June 11 and 12, Isabel Dahmermann and five other artists invite you to an exhibition in the stable. “A great opportunity to present our project and talk to people,” Isabelle Damermann says happily. More information about all participating artists and studios is available online at www.kunstspur-wennigsen.de.