Opened in 1978, this cultural center in the historical administration building of the former stockyards in Mombachstrasse has long been a place where people of disparate social backgrounds come together. Since its founding, the initiative’s aims have been to practice an expanded, holistic concept of culture, creating space for self-initiative, participation, and self-determination, while promoting cultural diversity. This summer, the building is undergoing major renovations. To ensure the continuation of its place-bound work during the construction measures, the center has put up temporary quarters called the Boreal on its grounds. An adjective referring to the vegetation zone of the Northern Hemisphere, the name Boreal references the geographical location of Kassel’s Nordstadt.

An outdoor temporary structure next to the Boreal hosts Bar Matanzas, a project by María Magdalena Campos-Pons (who comes from Matanzas, a city built by the sugar industry and known as the “Athens of Cuba”) and Neil Leonard. The bar involves a number of Cuban and Central and South American performers in a series of nightly performative events between June 8—18.