When does the exhibition take place?

The exhibition takes place on October 14, 2026, starting at 6:00 PM at the Jean Paul Art Space in Bayreuth.

Where is the venue located?

The Jean Paul Art Space is located at Friedrichstraße 5, 95444 Bayreuth.

What is the admission fee?

Admission to the exhibition is free.

What topics does the exhibition cover?

The exhibition addresses the media history of the Bayreuth Wagner Festivals with audiovisual projects on record recordings, radio transmissions, film, war, propaganda, and memory culture.

Who developed the exhibition?

The exhibition was created in the context of media studies at the University of Bayreuth and is shaped by audiovisual projects from students.

Is the exhibition suitable for visitors interested in cultural history?

Yes, the exhibition combines scientific research with an accessible interactive installation and is aimed at a broad culture-interested audience.

Media History of the Festival House Bayreuth 2026

Name: Media History of the Festival House
Start: 2026-10-14T18:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-14T20:00:00+02:00
Location: Jean Paul Art Space

Media History of the Festival House: An Audiovisual Research Journey

On October 14, 2026, the Jean Paul Art Space in Bayreuth will transform into a resonance chamber for media history, memory, and aesthetic experience. The interactive exhibition from the University of Bayreuth examines how the Festival House has created cultural public space beyond its immediate architecture through radio, records, film, sound, and imagery.

When Research Becomes Installation

Students of media studies translate historical research into audiovisual projects. The exhibition connects media studies, media practice, and curation into a walkthrough art experience, where archival material, sound, projection, and historical narrative interact with each other. From the examination of works, an installation emerges that not only informs but activates perception.

Between Festival History and Media Change

Central to the exhibit are media traces of the Bayreuth Wagner Festivals. The project addresses early record recordings, the international live radio transmission of 1931, and the media embedding of the festivals in the National Socialist war and propaganda film Stukas from 1941. The revival of the festivals after World War II is also visible as part of a tumultuous media history.

Sound, Image, and Historical Memory

The audiovisual exhibition makes the Festival House as a cultural place with different layers of publicness, staging, and memory tangible. Sounds, images, and projections open access to an era in which technical media fundamentally changed the perception of opera, theater, and festivals. The atmosphere of the exhibition thrives on the interplay between documentary precision and sensory spatial effect.

Cultural Education at the Jean Paul Art Space

The project shows how university research can be translated into an accessible form of cultural education. Visitors encounter media historical contexts not only through texts but through an immediate aesthetic experience with audiovisual materials. This connection between scientific analysis and practical media production makes the exhibition interesting for culture enthusiasts, Wagner fans, and students alike.

Conclusion: Hearing and Seeing Bayreuth Festival History Anew

Media History of the Festival House invites you to discover the Bayreuth Festival House not as a static monument but as a media-shaped site of memory. The audience can expect a concentrated examination of works between archive, sound, projection, and historical reflection. The free visit to the Jean Paul Art Space offers a special opportunity to experience media history live and to view the cultural impact of the festivals from new perspectives.