In Knittelfeld

Mega festival to create a spirit of optimism

Voodoo Jürgens is one of the highlights of the music program

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Knittelfeld is celebrating its 800th birthday this year. In this context, Karl Stocker and David Reumüller have developed a festival that has almost gone off the scale. With concerts, theater, film, exhibitions and activism, they want to give the city a real kick.

The legendary "communication71", which gave a real boost to youth culture in Knittelfeld in the early 1970s, served as the model for the mega-event, which takes place from October 25 to November 2. Consequently, design expert and exhibition organizer Karl Stocker and artist and musician David Reumüller are calling their festival Communication24 and are hoping for a similar effect.

"Knittelfeld, like other Styrian cities, suffers from a lot of vacancies in the city center," says Stocker about his hometown. There is also not much on offer for young people. The festival should therefore not only provide entertainment and communication, but also be a kind of spark for young people. It is simply a matter of getting active and taking things into their own hands.

The hip-hop duo EsRAP

(Bild: Christopher Mavric/ARGE Henriette)

The program that the two have put together is really something to be proud of. Voodoo Jürgens, EsRap and Attwenger create a great atmosphere in the Kulturhaus Knittelfeld, Fuzzman is already writing a song for Knittelfeld and Berndt Luef contributes some jazz. Heavy metal comes from Rottën, techno from Monique Fessl, Elektro Guzzi and others. John Maus provides the international touch.

Forward-looking projects
But the concerts are just one part of the extensive program. A walk-in friendship book designed by Birgit Bachler and Sigrid Bürstmayr is to become a scrapbook for the entire city and occupy one of the empty spaces in the center. An interactive photo exhibition (by Sandro Zangrando, Tomislav Bobinec, Astrid Drechsler, Max Seitweger and Karl Stocker) also pays tribute to everyday heroes and heroines. And in cooperation with steirischer herbst, Graz's Theater im Bahnhof is producing the political play "Spiel mir das Lied von Knittelfeld oder die Pubertät der FPÖ".

Stermann & Grissemann invite you to "Welcome Knittelfeld" on site

(Bild: Udo Leitner)

There is another cooperation with the Diagonale, which will be showing films. Christoph Grissemann and Dirk Stermann are expanding their popular TV format to "Welcome Knittelfeld" and will have interesting personalities from the town as guests. Composer Peter Kutin will be staging a project in vacant business premises, OchoResotto will be creating fascinating facades and Vienna's Fluc will be turning Knittelfeld into a club location.

Workshops - for example by Monique Fessl for aspiring DJs or the artists Gernot Passath and Georg Dienstl for screen printing - are intended to inspire young people, as is the experimental "Space for the Future", in which pupils and apprentices develop their visions for the future. A project that will extend into the coming year and make use of another vacant space.