amiga-news.de - Interview: Markus Tillmann about the Warhol connection and amiga40-highlights

13.Jul.2025 Interview: Markus Tillmann about the Warhol connection and amiga40-highlights
Organizer Markus Tillmann talks to amiga-news.de about the upcoming amiga40 event in October and why the Amiga still has such a vibrant community 40 years after its launch. He also reveals what visitors can expect at the next event, including previously undisclosed guests of honor. The interview was conducted by Nico Barbat.

Amiga-News (AN): Markus, 2025 is a double anniversary: the Amiga turns 40 and your event series celebrates its 10th anniversary. You probably never planned a career as an event organizer. How did you go from studying business administration to organizing Germany's biggest Amiga event?

Markus Tillmann (MT): The idea wasn't mine or our team's. In 2015, there were already a few celebrations planned for the 30th anniversary of the Amiga. The pioneers were the guys from the Netherlands, who had already got a lot of things off the ground. At the same time, there were also events in America and England. We were actually the last ones to join in.

In the A1K forum, several users expressed their desire for an anniversary event in Germany. That was the catalyst. At the time, I was completing my degree in business administration, and the idea arose that we could take on the planning and organization of the event as our project work - as our final thesis for the degree.

AN: The success of your events has grown steadily over the years. How do you reflect on this development - does it still surprise you?

MT: The fact that the visitor count has continued to rise over the years was not necessarily a given, considering that Commodore has been insolvent for a few years now. But the whole thing is simply kept alive and running by the fans and the community. When we planned amiga30, we didn't know: would 100, 200, 300 people come? It was all totally uncertain. Then we had a great turnout, and that has continued to increase over the years. With the current location, we have the capacity to actually let in up to 1,100 visitors a day, and we are currently well on our way to achieving that.

AN: So there are tickets available again for last-minute bookers?

MT: Yes, tickets are available again (purchaseable at www.amigaevent.de/ticket, editor's note). Due to the change of location, we were able to offer 100 additional tickets. Of those, 60 are already gone, but there are still tickets available for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

AN: What's awaiting everyone who already has a ticket or can still get one? What program highlights can you already reveal?

MT: We try to incorporate something new at every event. This year, we set up a repair corner for the first time - I'm very excited to see how visitors will respond. The idea has been around for a while, but we also want to encourage people outside the die-hard community to get their Amiga out of the basement or attic. Maybe there are people who haven't turned on their Amiga in 20 years and don't even know if it still works. We offer a place for them to come: "Just bring your computer, have it checked out, and find out what needs to be done."

Next, then, the SetPatch party enters its second round: On Friday evening, we'll be celebrating in Gladbach's old town. The FastLoaders from Norway will once again be headlining alongside other musical acts. From a financial point of view, the party is pretty crazy, but we wanted to pull out all the stops for the 40th event.

Even more, there will be an exhibition for the first time, thanks to Petro Tyschtschenko and Mario Schweder. We will set up something fancy and present a few interesting Amigas.

AN: Such an exhibition has surely only been made possible by the change of location. What new opportunities does this open up?

MT: We were extremely satisfied with the Kunstwerk venue, which was a cool location. In comparison, the Red Box or NEW Box seems rather unspectacular, but we simply have more space - that's a big plus.

We are now able to arrange everything on one level, spread across two rooms: the foyer is used for the user tables, the exhibition, and the stage with the stage program. Then we hold a hall where all the exhibitors will be. We also have a fairly large backstage area. This takes the pressure and cramped feeling off us, as we now have a room where we can conduct interviews in peace, for example.

The stage is comparatively modern. We have a projector available - these are little things we weren't provided in the Kunstwerk.

This year, there will also be several entrance gates for exhibitors to unload their vehicles, which will make things more relaxed. And since the hall is located near the stadium, we have over 4,000 parking spaces available.

I am very excited about the new location myself and hope that it will have a positive impact on exhibitors and visitors alike, creating an even better trade fair atmosphere.

AN: You mentioned the location, the technology, and logistical issues. How big is the organizational team that has to tackle these challenges?

MT: Thorsten and I are the core team. We have lots and lots of helpers who take care of various projects - Paul Kitching does a lot of the graphics, and many people from the community offer their help. It's often just a matter of finding the time to organize everything alongside their normal jobs and other private commitments. We usually start about a year in advance, but you need that time. It's always a huge effort to get commitments, for example. Sometimes it all depends on a single response that is needed to finish a poster.

This year was also a bit of a financial challenge because everything is becoming more expensive and the change of location has increased costs. That caused us a lot of headaches for a long time, but things are easing up now because we've been able to sell a lot of tickets. We've had a really positive response, which is very motivating.

AN: This huge response is sure to motivate the guests of honor as well - seeing how enthusiastic the community still is. Which prominent guests can you already announce for amiga40?

MT: AmigaBill will open the event. Petro Tyschtschenko will show parts of the collection of the former Commodore Museum of the Streiff & Helmold company. Amiga developer Dave Haynie will be there again, for the sixth time. Commodore legends RJ Mical and Ron Nicolson have also confirmed their attendance, as have musician Chris Hülsbeck and journalist Hans Ippisch. Games graphic designer Simon Butler will be traveling from England, as will David Pleasance and Colin Proudfoot, who will talk about their Commodore rescue plan after the company went bankrupt in the mid-1990s.

A special guest I am particularly looking forward to seeing, also because it will be his first time here, is Peter Keshishian. He was team leader for the Amiga department at Commodore back then. He lives in America, but happens to be in Germany at the same time - which is a stroke of luck for us.

And then there's Jeff Bruette. His story is truly remarkable: he was the one who showed Andy Warhol how to use the painting program at the legendary Amiga presentation in New York in 1985. Until recently, he still owned the original diskette containing Warhol's digital artwork, which was then auctioned off for US$ 26 million. He will be talking to us about these historic moments.

AN: That's a guest list that's sure to stir up a lot of positive nostalgia. When you cast your eyes to the future, where do you see the Amiga and its community in the next ten years?

MT: I just hope that developments continue in all areas and that people don't lose motivation. We want to contribute to this with the event. I hope that the various companies and rights holders will finally communicate in a solution-oriented manner and understand that users are pretty annoyed by these endless disputes.

At Amiga 40, we will try to bring some parties together around one table and start a dialogue. The most important thing is to keep motivation high within the community and to demonstrate that there are enthusiastic people who want to continue actively developing and working creatively for the Amiga.

In recent years, it has always been the community and its self-driven developments that have kept the Amiga system alive. This valuable work must not be jeopardized by endless legal battles.

AN: Markus, thank you very much for talking to us, and good luck with amiga40! (nba)

[News message: 13. Jul. 2025, 12:26] [Comments: 0]
[Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]

< Next message

Prior message >