A breeding ground for creativity, a place where people can be themselves, an example for techno and dance organizations worldwide. Compliments galore for Paradigm. How bad would it be if the festival were to collapse due to noise measures taken by the municipality of Groningen?
“People used to dance around a fire. Nowadays people dance on the dance floor in front of a DJ,” says Lutz Leichsenring of Club Commission Berlin. The organization has been representing the interests of the Berlin nightlife scene since 2001. The German capital has been known for decades as the place in Europe where the creative nightlife world flourishes. A good place to ask what the creative club world can mean for a city.
Techno club or golf club, not so different
“The need to get together with like-minded people, to discover yourself sexually and spiritually, and to have a place where you feel safe, special, and respected is a basic human need,” says Leichsenring. “Some think that at a golf club, others in a techno club.”
Luc de Beaumont of Complex in Maastricht, a club comparable to Paradigm, agrees. “In principle, we are a commercial organization, but our target group comes to us because they are looking for a place to express themselves.”’
Future Paradigm Festival
The future of Paradigm Festival is still not entirely certain. Two weeks ago this newspaper wrote that Paradigm seems to be the victim of the discussion about noise nuisance in the city. The use of the Suikerunie terrain – the home of Paradigm – is under discussion.
At the moment, organizers are allowed to hold a music event outside both in the Stadspark and on the Suikerunieterrein twelve days a year. A draft vision stated that the intention was to reduce this number considerably. This only applies to outdoor events. The parties that Paradigm organizes in the Zeefgebouw on the Suikerunieterrein are not covered by this. Paradigm Festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors throughout the year.
That vision, although that was the planning, has not yet been presented. After the unrest that has arisen, the municipality is re-evaluating how to deal with noise pollution and complaints from local residents.
Paradigm was founded in 2011 and has been on the Suikerunieterrein since 2016, where it has a contract with the municipality until 2030. The organization invested heavily in soundproofing measures and in the decoration of the stages and the terrain. In addition to the festival, many parties are organized. Paradigm is one of the biggest names in the artistic dance world and is highly regarded.
Research into the influence of nightlife
Leichsenring regularly meets with local, regional and national authorities. His organization can be compared to the function of night mayor, which Groningen also has. He is also conducting research with a professor from Harvard, among others, on the influence of nightlife in cities, under the heading of Creative Footprint.
Leichsenring sees the challenges – regulations, complaints about noise pollution, struggles around locations – that Paradigm faces in almost all major cities. It has improved in recent years thanks to the emergence of night mayors (85 cities now have one). And there is a growing awareness that a creative nightlife has a positive influence on cities.
There was a big protest in Utrecht on Saturday, ‘Rave for Rafelranden’, because people there think that the municipality is not doing enough to preserve the creative fringe edges. De Beaumont: “We also encounter enough challenges, such as unnecessarily complicated bureaucracy. That is why we consult monthly with the municipality.”
But what do you say in those conversations? Leichsenring: “With the Creative Footprint study we measure the social, cultural and economic impact of specific venues and clubs in cities. We needed those measurable arguments, because we only had emotional arguments before.”
Art and live music or cheap shots
The research puts the clubs on a scale. Is it more about art, culture, live music, providing a place for marginalized groups and progressive programming? Or does a club market itself with cheap shots and mainstream music? Mapping the night in this way helps to advise governments, says Leichsenring.
Incidentally, he does not see ‘shots and mainstream’ as inferior. Diversity is important and mainstream clubs often serve as a stepping stone to the more ‘sophisticated’ nightlife. Leichsenring also emphasizes that it is riskier to set up cultural nightclubs. They often need more help, for example from Club Commission. “Mainstream survives better in a city. A Starbucks has it easier than a local coffee shop.”
“Through our research, we see how the nightlife world causes people to come together in a polarizing and more individualistic world. These organizations ensure that people stay in cities instead of leaving,” says Leichsenring. “But basically nightclubs are a place for people to let go of the worries of the day and relax. After two corona years, it has become all the more apparent how important that is.”
Cities are facing major challenges
It may sound woolly to people who have nothing to do with dance parties, but even then you should respect it according to Leichsenring. “It is admirable how much creativity and energy entrepreneurs put into these stages. And it is not without risk.”
Leichsenring gives an example. The city of Berlin has made plans for a highway right through the city. That would mean the end of at least nine nightclubs. Nightlife is even under pressure in the city that is known worldwide for it.
“There is less need for shops, offices are empty due to home workers. That is the big challenge that all cities have to deal with.” According to Leichsenring, it is important that the heartbeat does not disappear from the city. A diverse cultural offer helps with this.
,,And I don’t just mean galleries, that’s boring. The cultural world of nightclubs is about more than making money and entertaining people. Art, music and expression are central. Many clubs have a political agenda. They take in refugees and the homeless. A club in Berlin uses a large part of its income for a hospital in Senegal.”
Because cities and clubs need each other, there is a lot of consultation and cooperation. Although that goes a bit against the idea of the artistic, contrarian and underground idea of nightlife, say both De Beaumont and Leichsenring.
City becomes a village
When organizations like Paradigm disappear from a city, young people leave, says De Beamont. “They no longer have a place to express themselves. You get an aging ghost town.” Leichsenring: “Without a rich nightlife, a city becomes a village.”
But isn’t the disappearance of Paradigm Festival also part of the cycle of the creative world? Does this create room for new initiatives to stand up? “No,” interrupts Leichsenring. “The hottest clubs in Berlin have been around for decades and are constantly renewing themselves. If they stop on their own, fine. But who gets to decide that something should disappear if the community still needs it? That does not create a good environment for a thriving cultural nightlife.”