Makroscope

About the museum

The Makroscope is a socio-cultural art and cultural center in downtown Mülheim, run by the association Makroscope e. V. Under its roof are studios, a photo lab, a rehearsal room, and seminar rooms; a large multipurpose room is used for exhibitions, lectures, film evenings, and, since 2013, a concert series of experimental music and sound art.

The building on Friedrich-Ebert-Straße has an eventful past: the former Hotel Terminus served from 1933 as the local office of the NSDAP, and after the Second World War a stationery department store was housed here for a long time before the building was put to cultural use.

The museum centerpiece is the Museum für Fotokopie (M.F.F.). Its collection on the technological history of copying has been assembled on a volunteer basis since 1985 by typesetter and designer Klaus Urbons. It includes historic copiers and fax machines, among them an early Rank Xerox automatic reproduction machine from 1953 and a flash copier by the inventor Edith Weyde, as well as an international archive of copy art. Many devices are in working order and are used artistically in workshops.

For his museum work, Urbons received the Ruhrpreis für Kunst und Wissenschaft of the city of Mülheim in 2017. The museum is currently being reorganized; visits and workshops are possible by arrangement.

Highlights

• Historic copiers from the beginnings to digital printing
• Rank Xerox automatic reproduction machine from 1953
• Flash copier by the inventor Edith Weyde
• International archive of copy art
• Workshops on working vintage copiers

Permanent exhibitions

• Museum für Fotokopie – Rotating displays of devices, documents, and copy art works show the development of copying technology from its beginnings to digital printing.

Operated by

Makroscope e. V.

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Kids & families

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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