Creativity and Technology | Virtual Reality Performance

BAUHAUS SPIRIT

—

A cross-media project marking the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement

Bauhaus

Education

Design

Immersion

Installation

Sound

Creativity

Participation

Music

Game

City

Dance

Technology

Virtual Reality

BAUHAUS SPIRIT brings together artistic projects created to mark the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus in 2019.

As a “laboratory of modernity,” the Bauhaus developed globally recognized innovations and new forms in art, architecture, design, dance, theatre, photography, and education. At its core was the belief that design is a social responsibility — uniting art, craft, and technology.

BAUHAUS SPIRIT takes up this idea and translates it into the 21st century. The cross-media series brings the Bauhaus vision to life through immersive, auditory, and participatory formats, connecting its historical ideals with contemporary realities. A century later, it once again raises the question of how artists can realize and present their ideas as radically and relevantly as before and how form, function, and community can be reimagined in the digital age.

Recommended editorial content

At this point, a selected external content element is displayed to enrich the article with additional information. By activating it, you consent to external content being shown on this and all other pages of the website. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time via the cookie icon at the bottom of each page.

Privacy

The image shows a surreal scene on a beige background. Several puppet-like figures in brightly colored costumes with black-and-white faces stand side by side. Around them float colorful geometric elements such as circles, triangles, lines, and a color wheel. In the lower left, black-and-white portraits of people are combined with graphic, colorful headpieces.

BAUHAUS SPIRIT Trailer

The virtual theatre liberates its audience from passivity and places them at the centre of an imaginary world. Walter Gropius and Oskar Schlemmer would surely have been thrilled.
ARTE Metropolis

Diversity as a principle and design as an open process uniting disciplines

The projects of BAUHAUS SPIRIT were created by interdisciplinary teams of artists, musicians, architects, designers, and developers. In doing so, the series follows the original Bauhaus idea of bringing together different disciplines and understanding design as an experimental field for society. Methodologically, BAUHAUS SPIRIT combines artistic curiosity, digital technologies, and participatory approaches to make abstract concepts tangible and experiential.

A futuristic-looking scene shows a person engaged in a dance or movement performance. The figure wears a form-fitting outfit and is surrounded by glowing ring-shaped structures that resemble kinetic sculptures or virtual projections. The dark space and dramatic lighting enhance the abstract and machine-like aesthetic.

A person wearing headphones stands in a recording studio, surrounded by microphones and instruments. Reflections and overlays on the glass create a dreamy, fragmented atmosphere.

A Minecraft-designed digital city model depicts a large, semi-circular high-rise complex with many balconies and windows. In front of it lies a green park area with blocky trees under a blue sky.

In a vast, dark domed space, numerous people stand in a circle as bright beams of light shine down from above. Figures are positioned on platforms along the walls, giving the scene a theatrical and almost futuristic atmosphere.

A woman is seated at a drum set in front of colorful green and red curtains. She is holding a smartphone or small device, looking focused. Reflections in the glass layer the image with lights, keyboards, and technical equipment, creating a surreal, multi-layered atmosphere.

Three young people are working together at a laptop. One is seated, focused on the screen, using the mouse and keyboard, while the other two stand next to him, watching attentively. On the table sits a large microphone and a yellow mug.

A whiteboard or large sheet of paper is covered with sketches, drawings, and notes illustrating ideas for a Minecraft project. Figures, buildings, maps, and keywords such as “GPS-Location” and “Build a Story” can be seen. Around it lie colorful building blocks, wooden cubes, and pens.

Black-and-white photograph of a large construction site in a city. Several cranes tower above, while numerous buildings are still under construction. In the background, completed high-rise buildings can be seen, reflecting the typical post-war architecture.

Dance Performer for Das Totale Tanz Theater

Key visual for Das Totale Tanz Theater

Key visual for Audio.Space.Machine

Minecraft meets Bauhaus – from the project BAUKRAFT

Scene from the virtual stage in Das Totale Tanz Theater

Audio.Space.Machine

Young people design the concrete ideas of their neighbourhood in Minecraft

Youth visions for unused spaces in Berlin’s Gropiusstadt

Historical photo of Berlin’s Gropiusstadt

Dance Performer for Das Totale Tanz Theater

Key visual for Das Totale Tanz Theater

Key visual for Audio.Space.Machine

Minecraft meets Bauhaus – from the project BAUKRAFT

Scene from the virtual stage in Das Totale Tanz Theater

Audio.Space.Machine

Young people design the concrete ideas of their neighbourhood in Minecraft

Youth visions for unused spaces in Berlin’s Gropiusstadt

Historical photo of Berlin’s Gropiusstadt

Dance Performer for Das Totale Tanz Theater

The diversity of approaches — from immersive virtual reality and sound art to collaborative urban design in Minecraft — reflects the Bauhaus ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). Here, design is not presented as a finished product but as an open process that continually weaves together aesthetics, technology, and community in new constellations.

Das Totale Tanz Theater is a captivating machine of illusion – magnificent as an experience, as a work of art, and as a continuation of the Bauhaus idea into the 21st century.
Süddeutsche Zeitung

Formats
Under the umbrella of BAUHAUS SPIRIT, several independent projects emerged, each translating the Bauhaus idea into the present in its own way.

In particularly inspired moments, the audio play Audio.Space.Machine transcends the boundaries of body, space, and time. Through music, sound, rhythm, and the voices of the performers, it draws its audience deeply into an infinite realm of experience.
Jury statement, Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden

Within the program 100 Years of Bauhaus, BAUHAUS SPIRIT reached a wide international audience and made the Bauhaus idea tangible across generations and media.

The premiere of Das Totale Tanz Theater at the official opening of the Bauhaus year 2019 at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin drew great attention, followed by an international festival tour including VR Days Europe (Amsterdam), Save Festival (Moscow), and the New York Festivals.

The sound art production Audio.Space.Machine also received wide acclaim — named Radio Play of the Month in 2019, nominated for the Prix Italia, and awarded the Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden in 2020, the most prestigious award for radio art in the German-speaking world.

With BAUKRAFT, a participatory model for youth and community engagement was created — strengthening media literacy, creativity, and civic participation while giving young people’s visions visibility in public space.

BAUHAUS SPIRIT thus demonstrates how historical concepts can unfold new relevance through contemporary media — innovative in form, impactful in message, and resonant across diverse audiences.

Encouraging young people to actively shape their environment is not always easy. The idea of engaging them through a Minecraft competition is not only innovative but also highly effective — a great example of how the digital and physical worlds can be connected creatively and sustainably.
Franziska Gipfel, Former Governing Mayor of Berlin

With BAUHAUS SPIRIT, the Bauhaus centenary was not only celebrated but translated into the present.

The series revealed that design is more than a formal expression — it is a process that unites responsibility, participation, and innovation. The result is a project that not only commemorates history but also generates new impulses for the future of art, society, and digital culture.

Back to projects page