Culture researchers out and about in Dortmund’s Westend

Dortmund's Westend district will be examined using artistic methods as part of a joint project by the Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund Technical University's chair for the didactics of art, the Dortmund Teachers' Seminar and other educational institutions.

Renewal, change, new departures: What is really happening at the U, and what sort of area is growing up around it? For the project “U-Westend” children from the area paint or make things as they go on a journey of discovery.
Photo: Kurt Wettengl

The Westend district is located along Rheinische Strasse street. It is home to the Centre for Art and Creativity in the "U", the former Union Beer brewery, which is slated to become an important regional and international hub for art and culture. The Museum am Ostwall will also be re-located there.

The project will use artistic methods to examine how this part of the city has been used in everyday life and historically while also looking at the district's identity as part of the city.

Project participants include art historians, urban planners, architects, artists, teachers, university students, youth, children and resident. Prof. Dr. Kurt Wettengl (Museum am Ostwall) and Rudolf Preuss (balou e. V.) will be in charge of project coordination in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Klaus-Peter Busse (TU Dortmund) and the Dortmund Teachers' Seminar (Wolfgang Niehoff).

The project will also be a pilot study for creating innovative new approaches for training teachers that involves universities, teachers' seminars and schools. The exhibition will be part of the Ruhr art museums' "Mapping the Region" project.