Food has a new attraction. The new store for “Aufwind” was opened today at Vereinstrasse 21 in the city center. “Aufwind” is a three-part overall experience, consisting of a museum, documentary film and virtual reality experience, in which participants immerse themselves in the world of German aviation pioneers. Actors such as Wotan Wilke Möhring, Moritz Führmann, Michelle Barthel and Lusie Befort, among others, took part in this unique project. Barthel and Befort came personally to the opening to look at the completely redesigned store and answer questions from the press.
“Aufwind” takes place at a time when the dream of flying was still very big for people. A unique VR film experience was created in which participants slip into the role of Thea Rasche from Essen. She was one of the first female aerobatic pilots in the world and achieved international fame as “Flying Fräulein”. With it, participants overcome boundaries and resistance, assert themselves against prejudices and show everyone what they are made of.
The virtual reality film experience “Upwind” consists of three elements. A museum room was designed in cooperation with the Ruhr Museum. Here you will find exhibits on early aviation in the Ruhr area and numerous photographs from Thea Rasche’s personal estate. This illustrates the flight history of Thea Rasche and the former Essen-Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen airport. The second element is a cinema room. In a documentary film lasting around twenty minutes, participants learn more details about the history of aviation, in general and in the Ruhr area, as well as about the first female aviation pioneers in Germany. This film was produced together with the Ruhr Museum and the German Museum in Munich. The heart of “Aufwind” is the third element, the virtual reality film experience. Visitors are sent into the Essen of 1912 using a “motion seat” and VR glasses. There they become part of a film-like, virtual world. You take on the role of Thea Rasche, later drive over the former Kettwiger Straße and fly over Essen and the Ruhr area in a historic plane for the coronation. The special thing: The Motion Seat transfers all movements to the body. Effects such as wind and cold make the experience even more real. “Aufwind” is an experience for all the senses.
“Upwind” already thrilled an international audience in 2023 when it screened in the immersive media section at the Venice Film Festival. The project has now started in Essen in a permanent shop. The virtual reality film experience is officially open and welcomes visitors on Thursdays and Fridays from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets cost 25 euros per person and can only be booked online at www.visitessen.de/aufwind.
“Aufwind” is a production by the Düsseldorf company NEONREAL, which has already realized the mixed reality time travel “Essen 1887” together with EMG – Essen Marketing GmbH. “Aufwind” was funded by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and the medienboard Berlin Brandenburg. The newly designed shop at Vereinstrasse 21 in Essen was designed by EMG – Essen Marketing GmbH as the operator in cooperation with the Ruhr Museum.
