Melt Dome
— Synopsis
A two-week social laboratory disguised as a festival, built by fifty collaborators on a square in central Olten.
Melt Dome is a participatory format: a temporary dome structure on a public plaza becomes home to fourteen days of collective experiments — workshops, meals, slow conversations, sound pieces, building games, a daily public radio hour, an evening light bath. There is no audience. The dome opens only when there are enough people to make it open.
First edition Olten 2024 ran with CHF 70k+ raised, fifty named collaborators, fourteen play days and an estimated 4,200 unique participants. Second edition Lucerne 2028 is in production with the city, a regional fund and a fielded artistic team of twelve.
14d
Play days
50+
Collaborators
4,200
Unique participants
2
Editions to date
From an open frame to a fortnight of public life — the route is the same every time.
I. Frame
Site & invitation
A site is agreed with the host city. We invite fifty collaborators from a single 500-metre radius around it. No theme — only the dome.
II. Build
Two-week construction
The dome rises in public over fourteen days, with passers-by joining the build. Each collaborator brings one offering for the open period.
III. Open
Fourteen play days
The dome opens daily at 16:00 — only when there are enough people present to hold the format. No fixed programme, only a daily rhythm.
IV. Close
Documentation & transfer
A closing morning, a printed score, a transferable production manual. The next host city receives a copy by Christmas.
Coverage
- 07 / 2024"A temporary cathedral of small ideas in central Olten."Neue Zürcher Zeitung
- 07 / 2024"The festival that refuses to be photographed."Hochparterre
- 08 / 2024"What Olten figured out that the rest of us are still missing."Republik
- 02 / 2025"Melt Dome to travel to Lucerne — a script for collective time."SRF Kultur
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