Wellenbad - Klangkunst im Schwimmbad in Düsseldorf und Bonn

Wellenbad - Sound art in the swimming pool in Düsseldorf and Bonn - A sound installation under water while the pool is in operation.
Music sounds under water. Wellenbad is an installation as well as concerts of sounds, noises and music under water. In Wellenbad, water and sound waves meet a floating audience.
For one week each, the composers Joseph Baader, Nathalie Brum and Vincent Stange will perform in two municipal swimming pools, the Düsseldorf Münstertherme and the Frankenbad Bonn, using underwater loudspeakers. During regular opening hours, bathers can listen to the sound installations as soon as they put their ears under water. As the finale of the installation, the trio, together with guest artists Anna Schütten and Oxana Omelchuk, will present a live electro-acoustic concert in both pools via several loudspeakers under and above water for an actively swimming audience. Wellenbad is a sound and concert experience of a special kind: under, above and in the water.

"In the swimming pool, different people come together who would not necessarily meet in everyday life. If they then suddenly encounter unexpected sounds under water, perhaps an irritation arises. Or joy. Or simply curiosity. Such reactions can create bonding moments. That's very appealing to our work." Joseph Baader, composer

"With our installation, we encounter people who are not prepared to come into contact with abstract sound art. That's exactly what makes it so appealing to us." Vincent Stange, transmedia composer

"The number of indoor and outdoor swimming pools in Germany has unfortunately been declining for decades and renovation is costly. Against this background, it gives us particular pleasure to present sound installations and live concerts in two architecturally exciting indoor swimming pools. It shows how diversely these buildings can be used." Nathalie Brum, architect and sound artist

For the project, Joseph Baader, Nathalie Brum and Vincent Stange specifically chose public swimming pools in order to reach a broad and diverse audience with a low-threshold cultural offering.
Nathalie Brum has already realized projects in Bonn in the vacant Viktoriabad, in the vacant swimming pool at Burg Gladbach and in the Aquazoo Düsseldorf with a live performance. The wave pool project is accompanied by field research in places of water infrastructure, such as the experimental hall of the hydraulic engineers at RWTH Aachen University or the Mosel barrage in Detzem. Vincent Stange and Joseph Baarder work together at the Krux Kollektiv and last week presented the theater piece EIN MENSCH IST KEINE FACKEL, which was accompanied by a sound exhibition at the WELTKUNSTZIMMER in Düsseldorf earlier this year. Starting next week, they will present the installation In der Zwischenzeit at the NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf.

Installation while the bath is in operation
06. - 12. November 2023 Düsseldorf Münstertherme
15 + 18 + 19 November 2023 Frankenbad Bonn
regular opening hours of the swimming pools

Live concert in the pool
November 12, 2023 18:00 - 20:00 Düsseldorf Münstertherme with Oxana Omelchuk and Trio Wellenbad
November 19, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 Frankenbad Bonn with Anna Schütten and Trio Wellenbad

Supported by Musikfonds e.V. with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Cultural Office of the Federal City of Bonn, the Cultural Office of the State Capital Düsseldorf and the Karin and Uwe Hollweg Foundation.