A Cultural Venue Turns 100

Multifaceted anniversary program

Following on from the successful season to celebrate the centenary of Bayer’s Cultural Affairs Department, the new season marks the centenary of the Erholungshaus, the company’s cultural venue in Leverkusen. The Cultural Affairs Department has put together a very special programme to celebrate this double anniversary. Top-class performances and exhibitions throughout the season will spotlight the versatility and diversity of this venerable centre of the arts.

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The Erholungshaus was opened in 1908, just one year after the establishment of Bayer’s Cultural Affairs Department. “Working for culture is working for education" was the maxim of the department’s first head, Hugo Caspari, who was appointed by Carl Duisberg, later Bayer’s Managing Director. Bayer’s aim was to improve the quality of life for workers in the growing town of Leverkusen by offering them a variety of social, cultural and sporting activities. The Erholungshaus played a key role in this commitment. During its long history, it has always been a central meeting place for the company and a venue for a wide range of cultural activities. Today, it is a multifunctional building offering facilities for theatrical performances, concerts, functions and exhibitions. Every year it stages more than 120 concerts, plays, dance performances and exhibitions that attract around 50,000 visitors. It is also home to many of Bayer’s cultural ensembles. Given Leverkusen’s location between the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf, the Erholungshaus has also contributed to shaping the cultural life of the entire region over the past century and is a widely visible symbol of a cultural commitment whose permanence and stability are unique in the German corporate sector.

Bayer.Kultur bleu-blanc-rouge

Nikolas Kerkenrath will be retiring this season after 22 years of successful work for the company. He will be bowing out with a two-week French programme entitled "Bayer.Kultur bleu-blanc-rouge". This top-class festival is a marvellous final act in Kerkenrath’s passionate commitment to furthering cultural dialogue between Germany and France as part of Bayer’s cultural work.

Art, music, theatre and dance

The Cultural Affairs Department is organizing another multifaceted programme of music, dance, theatre and exhibitions. The Erholunghaus will display its capabilities as a modern playhouse, hosting well-known theatre companies and ensembles from Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia and highlighting the attractions of both regional theatre and the offerings of the German capital. The programme will be complemented with productions by three German stage schools, providing an insight into the future of German theatre.
The season is also rich in musical highlights, including a performance of Bruckner’s 8th symphony by the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées conducted by Philippe Herreweghe, recitals by well-known pianists, high-calibre chamber music ensembles and, last but not least, Verdi’s Requiem with the Bayer Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Rainer Koch.
The Erholungshaus has gained a reputation as a venue for the international dance scene thanks to guest appearances by well-known ensembles and choreographers. During this season, the Cullberg Ballet, the Gat Dance Company of Israel and the Béatrice Massin and Eva Yerbabuena ensembles will be showcasing the full spectrum of the contemporary dance scene. A complementary note will be set by a special youth project by Pina Bausch. In the visual arts, the focus will be on the often-neglected field of caricature. Three exhibitions organized in cooperation with the Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hanover and the Berlin-based Academy of Arts will focus on Napoleon, fashion and Heinrich Zille. Finally, there will be an exhibition dedicated to the Erholungshaus itself. In “The Bayer Erholungshaus turns a hundred”, the Cultural Affairs Department will be drawing on a century of cultural history in a special exhibition covering the building’s history, interesting facts and amusing anecdotes.