When it’s as cold outside as the current weather is making it, all we really want to do is stay at home under our blankets. Although Munich offers the most beautiful tobogganing areas in the immediate vicinity– we can even go skiing in the city– at some point the cold is probably enough. If you don’t just want to stay inside your own four walls, there’s a highlight in the events calendar this month. How about some art and culture to chase away the gray weather? The “Out of the Box” art festival is internationally renowned for its experimental character.
Art that thinks outside the box
As the name suggests, the festival breaks out of conventional categories of thought and art. Here, people simply think “out of the box”! The big questions of this year’s version are: What does cultural heritage mean? What do we remember? What makes us unique?
Over the course of three weeks, the festival will offer a variety of artistic answers that will surprise you. And in various disciplines: it combines visual arts, music, performance, dance and digital media. Humanity and diversity are the top priorities. The art festival serves as a platform for artists who are looking for new forms of expression and want to blur the boundaries between audience and artwork. In Munich, the Werksviertel-Mitte around the Ostbahnhof is a central hub.
What awaits you in the program
In total, you can expect over 20 concerts and even more installations and performances in and around Munich. The program also includes living room concerts to bring you even closer to the artists. You can find the exact dates and times on the festival website. The venues are deliberately located in rather unusual places – in keeping with the motto “Out of the Box”.
Participating artists include Dobrinka Tabakova, for example, who will be performing her concert “The Patience of the Trees” for the first time in Germany. Other artists combine sound and art, such as Ben Miller’s installation. The 360-degree immersive audio environment in the Werksviertel-Mitte will be available to experience for two weeks. In addition to the performances, there are often panels, workshops or talks where you can discuss the role of art in society and the influence of digitalization.
In a city like Munich, which is often known for its classical high culture – opera, Pinakotheken – the “Out of the Box” festival forms an even more important counterpoint. It is particularly alternative and is likely to contain many surprises – perfect for experiencing something completely new in January.