But we were determined to make that vision a reality: We chose colors for the walls, painted, hung the curtains, installed sound panels, and slowly saw the empty space form into what we envisioned.
From the very beginning, the Blue House was a community effort. It simply could have not have happened with the help of everyone around us: friends, family members, volunteers and colleagues. Mine’s (our former director) parents even came in from Bochum to help install the kitchen and to sew the curtains. Dawa, Ricarda’s kid (OK and OLC Project Manager) painted artworks that still brighten our walls today. Every skill, every helping hand, no matter how small, became part of this place. We felt incredibly grateful to be surrounded by such a generous community.
The Blue House is alive. It’s a place where everyone can leave their mark, where different perspectives meet both on and off the walls, and where people continuously inspire one another.
The Blue House has allowed for our activities to grow. The Open Kitchen moved from a tiny kitchen to a spacious room where participants can freely interact, share recipes and cook together. The Open Music Lab has also welcomed more people than ever before, and the Community Hub now has a regular program. Having more room has also given us freedom to experiment with new formats and turn community members’ ideas into reality.
For us, another important milestone is that this is our first wheelchair-accessible space. We're proud to be able to open our doors to more people and make our activities more accessible than ever before. At the same time, we know accessibility is an ongoing journey. We continue learning how to improve our programs and spaces so that people with different needs, experiences and identities can all feel welcome here.
Over the last year, the Blue House has hosted more than 500 activities and welcomed over 7500 participants. But the most meaningful numbers are the ones that we can’t measure. How many friendships have begun here? How many skills were shared? How many conversations have changed someone’s perspective?
Just last Friday we celebrated our first birthday together: we played bingo, shared delicious home-made food, and sang karaoke until the sun went down. Looking around, you could tell how everyone related to the space in their own way, but those who had been coming for months moved naturally through its colourful rooms with the quiet confidence that only comes from finding a place that feels like home.
Today, our cozy Blue House has become everything we hoped it would be: warm, welcoming and full of life. A place where people can show up exactly as they are, without having to fit anyone else's expectations, and know that their ideas, experiences and stories matter.
We hope for it to continue for many, many more years of opening our doors, welcoming people from all over the world, and continuing to learn from one another.
Happy Birthday, Blue House!