Please take note of our weekly Course offers!
Since September, artist Irène Mélix has been exploring the Neues Volkshaus Cotta, the neighborhood—and, above all, you: the community! Irène has designed a postcard with questions that you can find here and at many locations in the area:
What gestures would make our life together as neighbors more fulfilling? What does neighborhood solidarity mean to you? What small or large action could you take to change your everyday life? What kind of interaction in the neighborhood would you like to see?
Send the postcard directly to us, stop by and drop it in the mailbox Irène built, or email it to archivzukunft@irenemelix.de. Your response will be added anonymously to the archive of future solidarities. At the end of 2026, visions of neighborhood solidarity will be carried back into the Dresden West neighborhood on banners and posters. Spread the word!
The project is part of a residency funded by the Cotta District Advisory Board of the State Capital of Dresden.
The Parents' Café at the Neues Volkshaus Cotta is open every other Tuesday—a place for parents with and without children!
Are you in the mood for an afternoon of games? Want to build something together? Planning a creative activity? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Get to know each other and join the conversation. On some dates, we partner with other projects that also offer advice on selected topics—but at its core, the Parents’ Café is a place to network and spend time with other parents, moms, and dads, and it’s also a space where you’re welcome to bring your kids. We have a large garden with plenty of space to play and run around, and we have everything you need to organize a barbecue or other activities. Just stop by and join in!
Feel free to send us your ideas at mitmachen@neuesvolkshaus.de
This program is part of the ESF Plus funding initiative.
Fathers from the neighborhood are warmly invited to stop by the self-organized fathers’ evenings. There’s plenty of space outside at the entrance to the building and in the living room to sit together and talk about everyday life. Get to know other fathers from the neighborhood and share stories. Just enjoy a relaxing evening.
Feel free to bring something to grill or for card games.
Feel free to invite father friends or other acquaintances from daycare or the neighborhood.
If there’s interest, we can also take a tour of the public areas of the Neues Volkshaus Cotta together.
Funded with ESF Plus grants.
We had planned three creative workshops during the fall break with Buchkinder e.V. and the artists Carolin Müller and Jay Steinert. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive enough registrations, so we won’t be able to hold them.
If you have any questions, feel free to call us, stop by during office hours on Tuesday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., or send us an email.
Funded by the “Kultur macht stark” program of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Starting in October, we’ll be offering a new open yoga class with Jacqueline!
Physical exercises, breathing exercises, and stillness—Viniyoga based on the principle: You don’t have to fit the practice—the practice is adapted to your abilities and needs.
For more information, contact Jacqueline Modrakowski at 0152 / 05993831.
The Neighborhood Culture Working Group is a group of people who want to get involved in the Cotta neighborhood. It focuses on urban planning and development, historic preservation, the history of the neighborhood, its people and buildings, and other topics. Together with interested Cotta residents, the members of the working group aim to connect and support existing initiatives in the neighborhood.
The meeting on September 27 will take place at the Heilandskirche!
The working group meets regularly on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the new Volkshaus Cotta.
There is an article from March 2025 about the work of the Neighborhood Culture Working Group: https://kirchspiel-dresden-west.de/news/neue-wege-fuer-die-stadtteilkultur
Registration is strongly encouraged, as the group occasionally holds off-site events: stadtteilkultur01157@gmail.com
This program is open to anyone with questions about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting during the first year.
Two midwives are here for you, and so are we from the Neues Volkshaus Cotta.
Meet other parents from the neighborhood and spend a morning with us in our cozy lounge or, if the weather is nice, out in the garden.
Unfortunately, there’s a flight of stairs leading to the grounds—but we’re happy to help with the stroller.
If possible, please bring your chip card with you for the consultation.
Dates:
October 6
November 3
10–11 a.m. on each date
This program is part of the ESF Plus funding initiative.
Open art group for everyone, especially for people in challenging phases of life.
The resource-oriented group cordially invites all people - especially those who find themselves in challenging or changing phases of life, for example due to illness, career changes, the transition to retirement or similar situations.
In a protected and appreciative space, creating art together offers the opportunity to calm down and recharge your batteries. Creative inspiration promotes solution-oriented thinking and opens up new perspectives. This creates space for strengthening, personal development and confidence. Participation is free of charge.
Registration via: farbeleben@gmx.de
The offer is part of the ESF Plus funding.
Hello! Lilly, Jan, Katja, Victoria, Carsten, Marre... and the Volkshaus community want the Volkshaus Cotta to remain a vibrant place for everyone. To make that happen, we need your help! We’re currently working hard—figuring out how to finance the space, looking for supporters, sponsors, and backers, and planning a fundraising campaign. But we can’t do this alone! We need people to get involved—whether you have time, ideas, or just the desire to make a difference.
You can help by getting involved (e.g., with organization, finances, or research), sending us your ideas, creating something yourself, or simply stopping by to find out more. The Volkshaus should be open to everyone—and you can help shape it!
#FutureProtectedArea #NewVolkshausCotta #Together #Support #OurVolkshausWantsToLive #NVC - New Visions Cotta
#Together for Our Volkshaus—for a Connected Neighborhood #Neighborhood Needs an Open House
Get in touch with us! 📩 gerngruppe@neuesvolkshaus.de Send us a message and stop by. We look forward to seeing you!
The Neues Volkshaus Cotta and the Künstlerbund Dresden invite visual artists and collectives to a two-week residency in western Dresden.
The residency is geared toward artistic practices that are situated within social contexts and engage in dialogue with neighborhoods, places, urban spaces, and their stakeholders.
The central question is:
How can artistic practice engage with a neighborhood, its people, stories, conflicts, and everyday knowledge?
The program views art not exclusively as the production of works, but as a process of perception, encounter, and collaborative development. We are seeking approaches that are open to exchange, collective processes, and new forms of knowledge.
We are particularly interested in how artistic work can help shape social spaces, make them visible, or reexamine them.
Starting in March, artist Victoria Gentsch will be offering a new program at our space: a place for free painting—no prior experience required. A variety of materials and paints will be available, and all participants are invited to discover new creative sides of themselves. There will be three more sessions through January 2027 to deepen your skills and get to know one another. Victoria Gentsch works as a visual artist in Dresden and also has studio space here at the Neues Volkshaus Cotta.
This program is part of the ESF Plus funding initiative.
Exhibition format: "Seen like this."
In the period 2026-2028 is the 100th anniversary of the Volkshaus Cotta. We look forward to your help in this context! The house has been brought to life by so many people, ensembles and initiatives over the years. Every story, every picture and every document is an important part of it.
That is why we invite you: Share your memories! Whether it's a personal anecdote, an old photo or a drawing - your contributions are invaluable. Help us to preserve the stories surrounding the Volkshaus Cotta and make them visible for future generations.
Let's discover together the many facets of the former "Richard-Gärtner" district cultural center, which many of you will surely remember as the "Rote Hütte". We have collected treasures from private and public archives - from chronicles of the "Spielbrett" theater group to rediscovered photos of the reopening in 1980 and finds from the Deutsche Fotothek.
We would like to develop projects together with senior citizens in and around the Volkshaus Cotta to revitalize the house and garden. Together with the volunteers and project manager Yvonne, you can develop and present your personal project idea in two ideas workshops. Perhaps you will find like-minded people in the group who would like to work on an idea together.
Finally, we will support you in bringing your project to life. To do this, you can take part in our monthly meetings. The entire offer is free of charge.
Please register by e-mail with Yvonne at yvonne@konglomerat.org or at 0176-22352779
The "Senior:innen für Cotta" project, funded by the Social Welfare Office of the City of Dresden, serves as an incubator and supporter for your project idea. Here you can implement your own creative ideas or take part in artistic and craft workshops and meet new people and exchange ideas. We have the following offers in our repertoire in 2025.
> Ideas Café 60+
> The joy of singing
> Open craft and games get-together
> Repair café get-together for senior citizens with smartphone advice