Renovation of the Dresden Robotron canteen from 2027

Dresden is getting a new exhibition venue for contemporary art in the Robotron canteen. According to the city, the mostly empty, dilapidated low-rise building from the GDR era in the city center will be renovated in 2027 and 2028. With the total of 6.1 million euros available, the listed building, an architectural testimony to East German modernism, can be secured and a heating system installed.

The federal government is contributing 4 million euros from the program for buildings of national importance, the municipal budget is contributing 600.000 euros and there is a private donation.

Domicile for Ostrale Biennale and Kunsthaus Dresden

VEB Robotron was the largest computer manufacturer in the GDR, with its headquarters and development department located in the city on the Elbe. The company canteen in the immediate vicinity of the German Hygiene Museum, which was saved from demolition, has for years been the preferred home of the organizers of the international art exhibition Ostrale, which is already held there every two years and will thus have a permanent location in the future.

In May 2024, the city council decided to acquire the property, renovate it and make it usable for the Kunsthaus Dresden and the Ostrale Biennale - and also accepted a financial injection from the Dresden banking family Arnhold, who live in the USA.