The Spinnerei is a vast 19th-century cotton mill complex in the western Plagwitz district that has been transformed into Leipzig's most important contemporary art hub. The size is staggering: 10 hectares of red-brick factory buildings now house around 80 studios, 10 galleries, a cinema, cafés, and assorted creative businesses. It is the engine room of what became internationally known as the New Leipzig School of painting in the early 2000s.
Galerie EIGEN + ART, which represents Neo Rauch and other painters associated with the Leipzig School, has its main gallery here. Monthly open studios (usually the last Saturday) allow visitors to see artists at work. Even outside these events, the scale and atmosphere — peeling brick, industrial staircases, the lingering smell of cotton — make it worth the tram ride west from the centre. Tram 14 from the main station reaches Plagwitz in about 15 minutes.