Paderborn Workshop reopens in new facilities with Portuguese in the direction

A Oficina da Cultura de Paderborn reopened in September, after a profound renovation, with new facilities for more than 140 associations, including The Lusitanians of Paderborn, represented in the direction by Artur Domingues.

“ There we can develop our dreams, our culture,” Lusa Artur Domingues said, who has been in the direction of Kulturwerkstatt since 1988 and has been president since 2018, on a path linked to the creation and consolidation of this meeting space between communities.

Domingues arrived in Paderborn in 1980, at the age of 17, to join his father, emigrated to Germany since 1972. He grew up in Lisbon, in an area he remembers as difficult, and the move to the German city represented a break with the life he knew.

“ When I arrived in Paderborn, I came to my father, to spend only the summer vacation, from that moment, I arrived in paradise ", told.

After learning German in an intensive course, he started working in a steel pipe factory, but opted for professional training in industrial mechanics and welding. He's been working at the same company for about 45 years, the same one where his father worked, and now one of his children works.

The connection to the Portuguese community arose through a group of young people with whom he created a theater group, a folk ranch and a football team. The Association The Lusitanians of Paderborn was formalized in the early 1980s, with the aim of promoting Portuguese culture and coexistence among immigrants.

“ I managed, thank God, with the younger ones, some of them are still in the Association of Lusitanians, we formed a theater group ", he recalled.

In 1987, Domingues was invited by the Chamber of Paderborn to attend meetings for the creation of a culture house for associations without their own facilities. The project was hosted by the Lusitanians and Kulturwerkstatt officially opened in 1988 in an old warehouse made available by the municipality.

“ I told my friends, look, we'll never be able to pay a tuition of 400, 500 marks a month for a downtown, a little corner down a street. Here is the ideal place”, he recalled.

The municipal building was subject to renovation and expansion works that lasted for about four years. The new facilities have approximately 3,300 square meters and include a large event hall, cafeteria, dance rehearsal rooms, photography and painting workshops and a puppet theater studio.

The official reopening took place on September 27. 140 associations were registered, while 15 other groups expressed interest in joining. Administrative management is ensured by the City Council and cultural programming is the responsibility of the associations.

The board has 10 elements, three representatives of the municipality and seven elected by the associations. Domingues is one of the elected representatives and highlights cooperation between groups as one of the main advantages of space.

“ Each association has its activity, but we are all interconnected”, he explained, referring that the dissemination of events circulates among the different communities and allows the public to expand each initiative.

The Lusitanians of Paderborn organized in 1993 the first Fado Night at Kulturwerkstatt. After an interruption motivated, among other factors, by the father's illness and death, Domingues resumed the initiative with the encouragement of a friend. The event became the main annual moment of the association and attracts public from various German cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Cologne.

In 2019, the old room received 319 people for the show. This year's edition is scheduled for November 21st, already in the renovated facilities, with natural fadoists from Cantanhede and a group of former students from the Porto School of Economics dedicated to Fado de Coimbra.

“ For me, my team marvels are always the greatest”, said Arthur Domingues, acknowledging the work of the collaborators who have been with him for decades.

The responsible now prepares the 40th Fado Night, scheduled for 20 November 2027, and wants to create in the Workshop of Culture the first fado school in Germany.

German is the common language of the institution, although each association can use its language in its own activities. For Domingues, coexistence between communities is one of the hallmarks of space.

“ The harmony that exists in that Workshop of Culture, everyone realizes this ", highlighted.