Since December 2020, the first floor of the Ruffinihaus has been a space for collaborative work in the cultural and creative industries. Twenty-six Munich-based cultural and creative companies, with a total of around 55 participants, are using the Ruffinihaus Creative Hub for two years to take their companies to the next decisive step – with expert support from the Cultural and Creative Industries Competence Team.
Making the Hub’s co-creative energy visible to the outside world
To mark the start of the second year, Municipal Representative Kristina Frank, Cultural Representative Anton Biebl, and the Department of Labor and Economic Affairs Clemens Baumgärtner launched an event jointly designed by the Ruffinihaus community and brought together all the creatives at the Creative Hub: the Munich Creative Heart Beat. The light installation is the first joint event by all the creatives at the Creative Hub. It arose from the desire to make the co-creative energy of this space visible to the outside world in its second year of interim use. The Munich Creative Heart Beat represents the importance of the cultural and creative industries for the city. It connects the 44 windows on the first floor, behind which the Hub's users work, with a radiant, shimmering, pulsating band of light.
This ribbon runs around the entire building, highlighting the size and scope of the structure and visible from all three streets on which it is located: Sendlinger Straße, Rosental, and Rindermarkt. The installation is physically composed of 44 individual LED strips. Its colors and rhythm can be controlled as a whole through the digital connection of the individual elements. This is not a one-off message, however, but rather an interactive interface between what is happening in the Hub and the Munich public. How this can be used to communicate will become visible in various formats over the coming months. The Munich Creative Heart Beat will be lit daily from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Creative and open collaboration
Economic Advisor Clemens Baumgärtner says about the new light installation:
"The Munich Creative Heart Beat installation is a beautiful image that illustrates how innovations emerge: through the creative and open collaboration of highly competent companies and stakeholders. As Economic Advisor, it is my concern to enrich Munich's innovation landscape with places that keep the city economically vital and prepare it for the future. The Creative Hub in the Ruffinihaus is very productive in this regard: Three new companies, three top-class awards, and six books written in just one year are proof that the model works."
Appropriate appreciation for the creative industry
Municipal Officer Kristina Frank is also pleased about the success of the project:
"The new light installation is flexible, interactive, and vibrant – just like the Creative Hub. With this, we as a city are embarking on a completely new path: We are providing the cultural and creative industries with newly renovated spaces in a historically significant building right in the heart of the city. And there's an important reason for this: Through their diverse activities, the players in the cultural and creative industries not only achieve positive effects for the economy, but also, in particular, for Munich's development as a location. The Ruffinihaus Creative Hub provides a home for this industry's charisma and appropriate appreciation."
Also cultural officer Anton Biebl emphasizes the importance of experimental spaces in the city:
"Cultural practitioners and creatives need space for experimentation, for new ideas, for professional work. The Ruffinihaus is such a place, enabling diverse uses. The interaction between the actors is inspiring and unleashes creative energy. This is now also visible externally. In the Old Town, it becomes clear: Here, there is not only space for shopping and major brands, but also for local art, culture, and the creative industries. Because that is what makes Munich unique. The pulse of the city can be felt with the "Munich Creative Heartbeat."
