Pool People
2026
Michaelibad SWM München
Funded by Landeshauptstadt München, Public Art und der Berthold Leibinger Stiftung. supported by Real München e.V. und Kammerspiele München.
“Pool People” explores the past, present, and possible future of outdoor public swimming pools as spaces for democratic negotiation and diversity. At the “Michi,” the Michaelibad, Munich’s largest outdoor public swimming pool, a three-part art project took place in August 2026: a performance, an underwater sound installation, and a pool party.
The preceding artistic research incorporated both an exploration of historical themes surrounding Munich’s public swimming pools and contemporary processes of negotiation that shape how people coexist in these spaces. Archival research and conversations with historians and sociologists were complemented by interviews with swimmers between the slide, diving tower, and kiosk.
Under the direction of Christiane Huber, the opening performance brought together performers, young swimmers, and members of Munich’s youth theatre scene to tell the story of what the outdoor pool is in summer 2026, what it can be, and perhaps what it once was.