Six months, 200 events, 68 partners, and around 40,000 visitors: That’s the final tally for WerkRaum Wiesbaden. On Saturday, October 31, WerkRaum will be open one last time starting at 11 a.m. At 6 p.m., the official program will begin with a retrospective by museum director Sabine Philipp. This will be followed by remarks from City Councilwoman Helga Tomaschky-Fritz, representing the mayor, and Dr. Susanne Völker, head of the Department of Culture and managing director of the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, as well as Katharina Hesse, director of operations and finance for World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026. 

Afterward, the closing event will transition into a party featuring DJ Wolfgang Kerl, alias Mr. Mojo. The Vinothek will host a cocktail bar that evening. Amid music and conversation, attendees will have the opportunity to look back together on six months of WerkRaum. 

What began as an experiment, under the direction of sam—Stadtmuseum am Markt—became a place where people came together, developed ideas, and experienced the city center in new ways. Exhibitions, workshops, discussions, and other events made WerkRaum an open platform for diverse topics and perspectives. The program was co-created by numerous Wiesbaden-based initiatives, institutions, and dedicated individuals. 

WerkRaum was created as a consumption-free “fourth place” and Wiesbaden’s contribution to the World Design Capital (WDC) Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 under the motto “Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life.” The project was initiated by museum director Sabine Philipp and architect Sandra Düsterhus (Point Architektur) to provide a central presentation platform for Wiesbaden’s WDC projects. Together with Prof. Jörg Waldschütz and students from the Communication Design program at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, they transformed the former department store into an open space for design and participation. The project was implemented by the Wiesbaden City Museum Foundation. At the same time, to mark its tenth anniversary, the Stadtmuseum offered insights into its work through the “Gläsernes Museum” (Glass Museum) in the Marktkeller and demonstrated how a museum can be conceived as an open space for the city’s community. 

The closing event marks the end of the former department store’s use, which was initially planned for six months. The Stadtmuseum will incorporate the experiences and new contacts gained from the project into its future work. These will also inform the museum’s further development as a “fourth place”: a space that combines physical encounters with digital networking, and serves as a platform for social participation, co-creation, and an open community. 

Further information is available at www.wiesbaden.de/kultur/kultur-erleben/veranstaltungen/werkraum (opens in a new tab).