Published
Wed, Jan 18, 2017, 21:04
- The art bar, home base for Lena Willikens, Jan Schulte and Tolouse Low Trax, has shut down for the time being due to water damage.
Salon des Amateurs, the tiny Düsseldorf bar known for its adventurous music policy, has closed.
The Salon was opened in 2004 by Detlef Weinrich (Tolouse Low Trax), Aron Mehzion and Stefano Brivio, three friends from Düsseldorf's Kunstakademie (Art Academy). Originally conceived as the official café in the corner of downtown Düsseldorf's large Kunsthalle, it quickly took on a life of its own. When RA's Aaron Coultate profiled the Salon early in 2015, he borrowed Young Marco's description of the space, calling it "the post-kraut Haçienda." In years since, the notably weird style of DJing fostered by the Salon has made well-known names out of some of its residents, such as Lena Willikens, Weinrich, Jan Schulte (Wolf Müller) and Vladimir Ivkovic.
The bar gave a statement via its official Facebook page yesterday, saying, "Hello Dear Salon-visitor, The Bar is closed due to damage caused by water. For the restoration is unfortunately a long construction work will be necessary, so that we do not yet have an obligation to give information about when the salon open again. I hope that very soon and we will keep you posted."
Upcoming shows with Antal and Gilb'R are up in the air for now, and may be moved and repurposed as fundraisers.
Sources close to the Salon fear the master tenant, the Kunsthalle, may not recognize the Salon's cultural significance in the face of costly repairs, leaving its future unknown. Ivkovic told RA if the Salon closed, "I wouldn't know where to go out in Düsseldorf." He added, "I mean... I don't 'go out,' Salon was never going out. It was more like going in."
We'll have more details as they emerge.