it truly is a playground for ideas! and much more... SCHMIEDE is an intensive co-working platform for freethinkers from all sort of disciplines. imagine a very friendly atmosphere with an almost nonhierarchical freeform structure; surrounded by about 120 creative minds working feverish on projects which require everyone to lend their talents to support them.

the location is certainly a great influence on the whole event. the salt factory in Hallein offers a space with charachter, with each room defining a certain vibe... the perfect setting for such a bootcamp.

Rüdiger and his brother Philipp are the two masterminds behind the project. during the years they established SCHMIEDE to become a focal point for international creative professionals ranging from artists, programmers, performers, musicians, designers and other individuals which dont really fit in any pre-defined label but tend to define their own. what really striked me was the high level of quality that was achieved in such a short time, (10days) baring in mind that projects are meant to be prototypes, and not the final product.

unfortunately i came almost at the end of it, when all teams were set and everyone was busy finishing their projects before the big final presentation for the public. next time we should definitely go from the beginning and involve more members of the PLATOON.NETWORK! that was in fact the reason we were invited to SCHMIEDE this year; to introduce the smiths to our network and how to get involved.

so after an informal SCHMIEDE-TALK of about 2hours, i set up a Recruitment Office in the main working room, where i had the pleasure to engage in very inspiring conversations with several smiths. i will introduce you to their project in a separate article, let me just tell you that during my time at SCHMIEDE i´ve smashed walls with a laser on avertical cinema, i´ve almost been deported by the ADIEU deluxe Deportation Bureau, i met the mayor of the Nomadic Village and even became a member of Club Mindfuck, a brothel exploiting creatives by letting them sell their ideas in a red lit cabin for €1 x 10 min.

the SCHMAG collective has been working hard for the past weeks from their headquarters above ground, on the very top of the evaporating tower. in few months they will present a documentary about the SCHMIEDE... encounting the story from when it use to be a salt factory till today.

WATCH this trailer and stay tuned