HydroPunk and Pader bubbles

8. August 2025

Not only, but also for the last weeks of the summer holidays, ‘Der Fluss bin ich – Eine Ausstellung an der Pader’ (I am the river – An exhibition on the Pader) offers activities for children and young people in the accompanying programme, which turn the art along the Pader and the Pader itself into an experience.

Workshop for young people aged 10 to 18

In collaboration with the art education collective NEXUS, the free ‘HydroPunk’ workshop for young people will take place as part of the holiday week programme (18 to 22 August 2025) and on two weekends (13/14 September 2025 and 20/21 September 2025), from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, the free workshop ‘HydroPunk’ will take place for young people with and without disabilities between the ages of 10 and 18, which deals with the ‘sound of the Pader yesterday, today and tomorrow’. What does a river sound like? What stories does the water carry? And what perspectives open up when you encounter the Pader through artistic means? Participants will meet at Schloß Neuhaus and collect sounds along the Pader, build models, map their impressions and transfer them into digital spaces. The result is sound collages, speculative miniatures and virtual environments that condense into a multi-layered image of the river and will be presented on Saturday, 4 October, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Kunstmuseum im Marstall. Registrations are still possible by emailing kollektivnexus@gmail.com.

Hands-on activities and discussions at the ‘Pader bubbles’

The Dielenpader basin in the immediate vicinity of the city library has always been a special place for families and other curious visitors to experience the Pader. If you stamp your feet hard on the ground in certain places or even jump with gusto, air bubbles will bubble up to the surface of the water from the spongy ground. Paderborn artist Manfred Webel has made these bubbles visible as steel sculptures, and his installation ‘be Pader, my friend’ attracts people to the Pader and captivates them. Until the end of the exhibition on Sunday, 5 October, Manfred Webel will be on site every Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., inviting visitors to participate in discussions and interactive activities for children and adults.

Family tour of the City Museum

As a starting point for visiting the exhibition, the team recommends not only the Art Museum in the Marstall but also the City Museum on Abdinghof. Entitled ‘... the Pader and its city’, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover the special relationship between the city and its eponymous river. Historical maps, cityscapes, works of art and everyday objects, as well as around 20 contemporary works by local artists, tell of the close connection between the city and the river. The selection is complemented by photographic works from a German-Polish photographer exchange with Paderborn's twin city Przemyśl. Two international contributions to ‘Der Fluss bin ich’ (I am the river) go beyond the human perspective: Pallavi Paul follows the dipper through images and sound, while Anne Duk Hee Jordan focuses on the hidden creatures in the groundwater of the Pader.

On Saturday, 23 August, and Saturday, 20 September, at 3 p.m. each day, the City Museum is offering an interactive guided tour followed by creative activities for families with children aged 6 and above. The cost is 5 euros per family (children and two adults). Please register by emailing c.ferres@paderborn.de.

Further information about the exhibition and the accompanying programme can be found at www.tatort-paderborn.de.