Cabaret Voltaire

Cabaret Voltaire was the name of an artistic nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland. It was founded by Hugo Ball, with his companion Emmy Hennings, in the back room of Holländische Meierei, Spiegelgasse 1, on February 5, 1916, as a cabaret for artistic and political purposes. Other founding members were Marcel Janco, Richard Huelsenbeck, Tristan Tzara, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp. Events at the cabaret proved pivotal in the founding of the anarchic art movement known as Dada.
It closed in the summer of 1916.
Switzerland was a neutral country during World War I and among the many refugees coming to Zürich were artists from all over Europe. Ball and Hennings approached Ephraim Jan, patron of the Holländische Meierei at Spiegelgasse 1, which had already hosted Zürich's first literary cabaret, the Pantagruel in 1915. Jan permitted them to use the back room for events. The press release on 2 February 1916 announcing the opening of the club reads:

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