Cabaret Voltaire

Cabaret Voltaire was the name of a short-lived artistic nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland in 1916. 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. In 2013, the Cabaret Voltaire performances were collectively ranked by Dale Eisinger of Complex as the 25th best work of performance art in history.Cabaret Voltaire closed in the summer of 1916, but the Cabaret was revived in the same building in the 21st century.