Dada and Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich 1916-2016

19 September 2018

The first recorded session of Dada was on 5 February 1916 at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, with Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings, Marcel Janco, Tristan Tzara and Jean Arp.
Dada was a central movement in 20th-century art.

Its spirit developed in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Zurich, a city of many artists during the First World War (1914-1918).

Cabaret Voltaire, Spiegelgasse 1

The pacifist attitude was an important starting point. At the same time, the horrors of war challenged artistic conventions.

Civil culture and its canon of values became the target of artistic protest. Instead, the Dadaists sought new forms of expression in the performing and visual arts.

Artists recited poetry, sang and danced at the legendary soirées at the Cabaret Voltaire. Dada revolutionised the art world.

(Source and further information: Cabaret Voltaire; www.arpmuseum.org)