From February 12 to 25, 2024, Maschinenhaus Essen became an open laboratory for encounter, artistic research, and collective learning.
As part of SOMEBODY@MASCHINENHAUS, performers, dancers, and musicians from Essen spent two intensive weeks at the venue—experimenting, creating, and reflecting on their artistic practices.

The focus was on reimagining the relationship between artists and audiences beyond traditional performances, creating spaces for exchange, experimentation, and shared exploration.
The aim was to make artistic processes visible, tangible, and accessible—not only for the artists themselves, but also for the visitors.

The open framework offered the artists the opportunity to deepen their processes, build new connections, and venture into creative experiments.
At the same time, audiences were invited to actively participate: through open trainings, workshops, labs, and jams, they could gain insights and engage in their own experiences.

The two-week residency culminated in a collective sharing, presenting the ideas, processes, and questions that had emerged—not as finished products, but as living traces of an ongoing dialogue between creation, reflection, and community.