Our monthly programs

To support the local scene and provide more creative communication, since 2019 Kulturfabrik has been collaborating with illustrators from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. In 2021, we worked with the artist Julie Wagener who produced the illustrations for our monthly programms. In 2022, it's Studio Soleil's turn. 

June 2022 

For the visual of the June 2022 program, Studio Soleil used several photos of the "Theater of Fire" company taken in 1998 on the occasion of the reopening festivities of Kufa, which remained closed for almost two years to undergo major renovation work.

May 2022

To realize the visual for our May 2022 program, Studio Soleil used several photos taken between 1995 and 1998 during the last major renovations of the Kulturfabrik.

In 1993, the Luxembourg government and the City of Esch agreed to invest in the renovation of the buildings. The ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), whose objective is to help in the reconversion of regions seriously affected by industrial decline, agrees to bear half of the costs of renovating the old slaughterhouse.

From January 1997 to October 1998, the building was completely closed to undergo these major works. The renovated Kulturfabrik site officially opened its doors on October 2, 1998.

April 2022 

To realize the visual of our April 2022 program, Studio Soleil used a photo taken in 1999 during a flea market organized in Kufa’s courtyard.

The cultural center had reopened its doors less than a year before this photo was taken. From January 1997 to October 1998, the building was indeed closed to undergo major renovation work. Financed with public funds made available by the European Union, the Luxembourg government, and the City of Esch-sur- Alzette, this work was carried out with respect for the spirit and the original architectural structures of the former slaughterhouse.

The renovated Kulturfabrik officially opened its doors on October 2, 1998.

March 2022

The visual of Studio Soleil’s March 2022 program draws its inspiration from a photography taken in the rue du Luxembourg on September 3, 1983. The abandoned local abattoir was an artist’s squat at the time. The situation was all but secure for the new residents, and the commune planned to sell the time-honoured building. The premises went up for auction in March 83. After an all but satisfying beginning, a filling station finally made an offer in late summer. This caused a stir among the artistic community. On September 3 a street blockade stymied the traffic in the rue de Luxembourg, one of the main traffic arteries of the city.

Michèle Hemmer, who can be seen in the picture, recalls:

" I was part of the theatre group that occupied the place then; as an actress, but mostly as an organizer. One day we heard that the place was going to be demolished to make way for a filling station. Without further ado we stepped it up, dragged some cages out of the buildings and blocked the street in both directions. It was quite an affair! This is the only picture taken that day. I remember the weather was shitty, it was raining and we were completely drenched. But we made some noise. The press covered the event and a petition was launched shortly thereafter. "

After that, the artists continued to make strides towards their common goal, with manifestations here and there. These actions proved to be effective among the population and politicians. After many a heated exchange, the Kulturfabrik remained in the hands of the artists. A year later, a convention was signed with the commune.

January 2022

To produce the image for January 2022, Studio Soleil drew inspiration from a photo taken in 1981 at the entrance of the Kulturfabrik. 

In the early 1980s, southern Luxembourg was hit by the crisis in the steel industry. In Esch-sur-Alzette, the budget for culture, limited to begin with, was being used solely for "traditional" cultural institutions. However, some of the young people in Esch felt the need to express themselves freely and outside of any formal structures. At the same time, the former public slaughterhouse, which dated back to 1885‒86, had closed down in 1979. In 1980, Ed Maroldt, who taught at the Lycée de garçons secondary school in Esch-sur-Alzette, put on the first play in a long series "Das Konzert zum heiligen Ovid" with his school drama group. The actors who performed in this play can be seen on this photo.

Ed Maroldt remembers:

"In the 1950s, I often went to the slaughterhouse with my grandfather as he owned a delicatessen. The cured meats sold in his store would be certified compliant by the veterinary doctor. I made use of the time spent waiting to venture always a little further into this place of death. A place of negative energy which one day I would succeed in subjugating by transforming it into a venue for culture. I can still remember, a few years later, cleaning the slaughterhouse with Conny and Rosario with a power hose to remove the fat stuck to the tiles in the hall which was then called the Vorkühlhalle, the cold storage warehouse. And it was here that we put on our first Kufa play: Das Konzert zum heiligen Ovid."

From top to bottom, from left to right

Pierre Rauchs, Michel Clees and Denise Grégoire
Claude Waringo, Rosario Grasso and Bob Flammang
Claude Schmit, Ed Maroldt, Haidy Jacobi, Lambert Schlechter, André Detampel and Fernand Mathes
Photo taken by Conny Scheel