Rote Fabrik is a former factory in the Wollishofen neighbourhood of Zürich, Switzerland. It is now used as a music venue and cultural centre. The well-known cultural center combines concerts, art interventions, film and theater performances on socio-political and cultural-political topics under one roof.
The “Shedhalle”, an institution for contemporary and critical art, and the restaurant are also on the premises of the “Red Factory”.
The “Red Factory” was a silk weaving mill until 1940. After it was shut down, many of the factory’s rooms were empty or used as storage space. The Zurich youth movement resisted this in the 1970s and 1980s. They demanded their own, independent cultural center and saw the factory premises as a suitable area for this.
However, the youth movement was not taken very seriously. It was only after countless demonstrations and some riots that the factory premises were rented out to the “Interest Group Red Factory” (which, by the way, still exists today). Soon after, bands like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bad Religion and Manu Chao played legendary concerts here before they were even known in Europe. Günter Grass and Alice Schwarzer read in the club room, while performances and discussion evenings with an interested young audience took place in the factory theater.
In 1987, the temporary solution finally became a permanent operation. The concept of the “Reds” works to this day.
