Pug, Male, Mini Pop

Under the name WiCoPop*, new exciting places for improvising, designing and experimenting are being created in Kleine Schwalbacher Straße, where vacancies once prevailed. The project is funded by the 'Future City Centre' program of the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing and the Department of Economics and Employment.

City Councillor Christiane Hinninger, who recently took over responsibility for the economy in the state capital of Wiesbaden, is delighted about the start of the project, for which the economic development department applied to the state of Hesse with an innovative concept. "The aim here is not only to discuss new things, but also to try them out and develop them further. To this end, there will be offers from start-ups in the store, as well as events and exhibitions, which should also encourage new target groups to visit the city center."

Consisting of a PopUpStore* with shop windows on the street level, a CoLab* on the second floor and a CoSpace* on the second floor, the WiCoPop* offers many opportunities for the development of innovative concepts combined with valuable practical tests.
In the PopUpStore areas, manufacturers and start-ups will find a space to design and test innovative retail formats. Entrepreneurs who may not yet have had the confidence to use space in the center can test and optimize their concept within this subsidized pop-up model - for a limited time and in constant rotation with others. The CoLab is about the convergence of different positions in a "laboratory environment", where impulses for the future of Wiesbaden's city center and retail can be developed by consensus, through joint design and action.

The CoSpace* on the second floor offers an exhibition space for artistic positions and creative ideas for the future of the city center. In Kleine Schwalbacher Straße, WiCoPop* offers this space for development in real life and, thanks to live streaming of events and the integration of social media, the events and discourse radiate beyond this address.
Event dates and information on the projects can be found at WiCoPop.de. Virtual participation in events and a lively exchange of ideas, perspectives and insights is planned for the social media channels. The first exhibition of Neongolden@WiCoPop* and GLYG.Bar@WiCoPop* will be special attractions at the start in the heart of the city," says Birgit Knetsch, Head of the Department of Business and Employment, on the current status.

Source: Wicopop