Local Matters this week is about Esch2022, the capital of culture and for today’s piece, I went to visit our Radio Ara colleagues in the Bridderhaus, the new house for artist residencies that is going to officially open this Saturday. Our Radio Ara colleagues are right now installing a radio studio there for their Esch2022-project Radio Art Zone. So far, it looks like they have still a lot of work to do until Friday night. Construction workers are still moving ladders and hydraulic lifts around, finishing the last works in the building before Knut and his team members can install their sound equipment.

On Friday night, the first Radio Art Zone show will start on our frequency 87.8. From there on, the frequency will not broadcast our regular program anymore – for 100 days it will be hooked by Radio Art Zone. Knut explains: “We have have asked 200 artists from around the world and said please make a program for us. We give you carte blanche but we want something that is really made for broadcasting on the radio, and by the way, each show has to be 22 hours long. It’s like going to a painter and say can you do a painting for us – and by the way, the canvas is like 11 by 45 metres. The artists loved the challenge.”

Check out how this might sound like and what Radio Art Zone is all about in today’s Local Matters.