kitev

What kitev does

kitev – Kultur im Turm e.V. is a non-profit cultural association (eingetragener Verein) registered in Germany and operating from the listed water tower at Willy-Brandt-Platz 1 adjacent to Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof. Founded in 2004, with the Tank-FX acoustic-reverb project pre-dating the formal association as its conceptual parent, kitev develops art installations, media-art projects, and community cultural programs in post-industrial Oberhausen and the broader Ruhr region. Its technical portfolio includes Tank-FX (an internet-accessible reverb using the tower's two 350 m³ concrete water tanks), the 700-metre Museumsbahnsteig light installation (33,000 RGB-LEDs, 1,024 colour channels), the Funkturm Oberhausen permanent video projection across the tower's window rows, and the award-winning Bahnhofsuhren 2.0 LED station clocks. Programs target local residents, youth, refugees and migrants, and international cultural partners, with project scope spanning urban development studies, anti-discrimination work, open workshops, and contemporary-art residencies.

The business model is grant-driven rather than commercial. kitev is funded by public cultural authorities (Stadt Oberhausen, LVR – Landschaftsverband Rheinland), EU programmes (Creative Europe, AMIF, EPIC), and foundations (European Cultural Foundation, MitOst, Robert Bosch Stiftung, DOEN). Cultural events and workshops are free or donation-based; the only disclosed transactional price point is the GastGastgeber micro-hotel at €35/night during RUHR.2010. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: projects are activated through open calls, workshops, and recurring programming, with international reach achieved via TANDEM cultural-manager exchange programmes co-developed with European Cultural Foundation and MitOst. The Tank-FX platform provides a self-serve global channel for musicians, with over 19,000 audio samples processed to date.

Strategically, kitev functions as an urban-development laboratory that converts underused infrastructure (the water tower, vacant post-war buildings, the central station platform) into experimental cultural and community space. Recent activity (2025-2026) centres on the Manifesta 16 Ruhr go(o)d kitchen collaboration with Oberhausener Tafel, the EU-funded Epic Up migrant-integration consortium across 8 EU countries, a feasibility study on repurposing two vacant Alt-Oberhausen structures, and a new network of local resource centres. Revenue, headcount (7), and board composition (Agnieszka Wnuczak, Christoph Stark, Stefan Schroer) are stable, while project intensity and partnership breadth have continued to expand.

Name

kitev

Legal name

kitev – Kultur im Turm e.V.

Website

https://kitev.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

kitev – Kultur im Turm e.V. is a non-profit cultural association in Oberhausen, Germany that operates community programs, art installations, and urban development projects from a renovated water tower, serving residents, migrants, youth, and international cultural partners via EU and public funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oberhausen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Cultural Funding: Non-profit association operating through public funding from cultural ministries, regional cultural funding (LVR), EU project grants, and municipal support from Stadt Oberhausen.
2. Project-Based Grants: EU funding programs (AMIF, EPIC, Creative Europe), state-level funding (Regionale Kulturförderung), and foundation grants from organizations like Robert Bosch Stiftung, DOEN Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

kitev – Kultur im Turm e.V. is a non-profit cultural association that operates the renovated water tower at Oberhausen central station as a cultural venue. It produces media art installations (Tank-FX reverb, Funkturm video installation, Bahnhofsuhren 2.0 LED clocks, Museumsbahnsteig light installation) and runs community workshops, cooking schools, dance projects, and international cultural exchange programs focused on urban development, migrant integration, and participatory art.

Product overview

kitev – Kultur im Turm e.V. is a cultural organization based in Oberhausen, Germany, operating from a historic water tower at Willy-Brandt-Platz 1 near the main train station. The organization focuses on urban development, art, architecture, and cultural projects including community engagement, refugee integration, and artistic interventions. It runs various programs such as local resource centers, open workshops, artistic residencies, and cultural events. The organization collaborates with international partners and hosts projects related to urban art, media art installations (such as Tank-FX reverb system and Funkturm video installation), and community-building initiatives. Note: This is a cultural/non-profit organization rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tank-FX
• Museumsbahnsteig
• Funkturm Oberhausen
• Bahnhofsuhren 2.0
• go(o)d kitchen
• Refugees' Kitchen
• Epic Up
• Lokale Ressourcenzentren
• Creative City Oberhausen
• Gemeinsam gegen jeden Antisemitismus

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 19,000 samples processed through Tank-FX system
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and regular.

• Ettijahat - Independent Culture (Damascus, Syria)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Syrian organization stimulating independent culture. Partner in TANDEM SHAML program. Developed 'Now T_here' performance project exploring Syrian experiences during conflict. First meetings in Tunis (2012), Istanbul (2012), Beirut (2013), Cairo (2013).
• Ateliers Stark (Berlin)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founders of kitev along with Agnieszka Wnuczak. Responsible for architectural design and media art installations. Developed Museumsbahnsteig (2006), Funkturm Oberhausen (2010), Bahnhofsuhren (2010), and numerous other projects. Core creative and technical partner.
• Silvertree (Köln)coreTechnology or IntegrationVideo artists with roots in algorithmic composition. Provided technical expertise for video installations since Leerstand 09 (2009). Realized Funkturm Oberhausen video installation. Studio relocated to the tower. Specializes in panorama projection, architecture illumination, live VJ'ing, and interactive installations.
• Artronis Visual (Berlin)coreTechnology or IntegrationCreative engineering company specializing in LED system technology, interactive lighting projects, and architectural illumination. Part of kitev since Museumsbahnsteig illumination. Technical partner for Bahnhofsuhren RGB-LED systems.
• LVR - Landschaftsverband RheinlandmajorOthersRegional cultural funding body providing financing for Funkturm Oberhausen, Museumsbahnsteig, and other major projects. Co-financed permanent video installation in tower windows.
• Totem (Kherson, Ukraine)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUkrainian cultural organization. Partner in TANDEM Ost program. Collaboration on developing cultural spaces in Kherson and artistic work on public/private space themes.
• Theatre Centre Meyerhold (Kherson, Ukraine)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUkrainian theater organization. Partner in TANDEM Ost program focusing on cultural exchange and collaborative artistic production.
• KEK - Centre for Contemporary Architecture (Budapest, Hungary)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHungarian center for contemporary architecture. Partner in TANDEM Ost program. Key to exploring urban culture and architecture in Budapest.
• European Cultural FoundationmajorOthersAmsterdam-based foundation developing TANDEM programs for cultural manager exchange between EU and neighboring countries. Primary funder of international partnership programs kitev participates in.
• Stadt OberhausenmajorOthersMunicipal partner providing support for various projects including c.lab creative laboratory, Creative City Oberhausen, and access to public spaces.
• TU Berlin - Fachgebiet Donatella FiorettiregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture department collaborated on Oberhausen 1zu1 (2008) and subsequent student projects. 90 architecture students developed public space interventions around the train station.
• Oberhausener TafelmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal food bank. Partner in go(o)d kitchen project - creating open learning and meeting kitchen in Heilige Familie church for Manifesta 16 Ruhr. Combines food distribution with cooking workshops and community meals.
• Theater OberhausenregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal theater. Co-partner in 'Gemeinsam gegen jeden Antisemitismus' project combining theater, culture, and anti-discrimination work.
• LVR-Industriemuseum (Rheinisches Industriemuseum)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional industrial museum. Co-developed Museumsbahnsteig project. Provided three rail-bound vehicles from heavy industry for display.
• Fraunhofer Institut UMSICHTregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in c.lab creative laboratory project for sustainable and participatory inner-city development in Alt-Oberhausen.
• MitOst (Berlin)majorOthersGerman organization developing TANDEM cultural exchange programs. Co-developer of European Cultural Foundation partnership programs.
• Gedenkhalle OberhausenregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural venue. Partner in 'Gemeinsam gegen jeden Antisemitismus' project.
• Büro für InterkulturregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal intercultural office. Partner in anti-Semitism awareness project.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• PACT Zollverein: Performing arts and cultural venue on the Zollverein UNESCO site in Essen (Ruhr); shares kitev's mission of operating cultural programming in a repurposed industrial landmark within the same Ruhr region.
• Ringlokschuppen: Independent theater and cultural venue in a former roundhouse in Mülheim/Ruhr, providing year-round contemporary cultural programming analogous to kitev's water-tower cultural space.

Direct peers

• ufaFabrik Berlin: International cultural and community center in a former cinema/film lab in Berlin; analogous to kitev in operating from a distinctive, repurposed venue delivering community-engaged cultural programming and international exchange.
• Urbane Künste Ruhr: Ruhr-wide initiative producing urban art commissions and temporary-use cultural projects; directly comparable to kitev's Zwischennutzung model and artistic interventions in post-industrial public spaces.

Others

• European Cultural Foundation (TANDEM): Amsterdam-based foundation running TANDEM cultural-manager exchange programs in which kitev participates as a partner; comparable as a cross-border cultural-cooperation intermediary and a key funding/program channel.
• MitOst e.V. Berlin-based cultural association operating TANDEM and related international cultural-exchange programs; co-develops the European Cultural Foundation programs in which kitev is a sustained partner organization.

Broad incumbents

• HELLERAU – Europäisches Zentrum der Künste Dresden: European center for the arts in a historic Dresden festival building, combining residencies, contemporary performance, and international collaboration; comparable in mission scale and EU-funded international programming.
• Zeche Zollverein (Stiftung Zollverein): UNESCO World Heritage industrial site in Essen converted into a campus for culture, design, and education; provides the broader Ruhr-region institutional context in which kitev's Zwischennutzung work is embedded.
• Kampnagel Hamburg: Large-scale independent performing-arts and cultural-production center in a former factory; operates a comparably hybrid program of contemporary performance, residencies, and international cultural exchange as kitev.
• LVR-Industriemuseum: Regional industrial-heritage museum network operated by LVR (also a kitev funder/partner); comparable as a Ruhr-area cultural institution interpreting post-industrial sites, with which kitev has co-developed projects such as Museumsbahnsteig.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kit.kitev
• Instagraminstagram.com/kitev.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kitev

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about kitev