Netzwerk
Verbindungen fördern
Alliances
Extended network
Coordination
About the project
“Verbindungen fördern” (Fostering Connections) supports supra-regional alliances in the independent performing arts. Designed as structural funding, the model project provides financial resources for alliance work, networks, qualifies and promotes the exchange of knowledge between the alliances. You can find out more about the project on the BFDK website.
Info.Zoom - Exchange, networking, FAQs
Experience exchange: Acting in a network, making a political impact
NETZANSCHLUSS
Zirkus ONcare: Online exchange
Experience exchange: Effective cultural policy – strategies for the independent performing arts
What does ‘working in cultural policy’ actually mean – and what does it look like in practice? What strategies are there for helping to shape political decisions as an interest group, positioning projects effectively or establishing collaborative structures? What are the particularities of involving partners and stakeholders?
Helge-Björn Meyer provides an insight into the committee work of the BFDK and shows how political decision-making processes work and where representatives of the independent scene can exert influence.
Anna Steinkamp shares her expertise in strategic advocacy work using the example of ‘Promoting Connections’ and reports on how advocacy, especially in cooperation with networks, can be effective.
Eckhard Mittelstädt shares his many years of project experience from ‘tanz und theater machen stark’ (dance and theatre make you strong) – an exemplary project for a collaborative, partnership-based approach as a programme partner of ‘Kultur macht stark’ (culture makes you strong).
The exchange offers space for inspiration, discussion and networking – practical, open and with a view to common strategies.
Speakers: Helge-Björn Meyer, Eckhard Mittelstädt and Anna Steinkamp (BFDK)
How can the cultural policy concerns of the independent scene be effectively positioned in the political arena? Which narratives and arguments lead to success – even with MPs or administrators who are not familiar with the subject? And what is needed to keep cultural policy issues on the agenda in the long term?
We would like to discuss these and other questions with Anikó Glogowski-Merten (FDP), former member of the Bundestag Committee for Culture and Media, as part of our experience exchange.
The focus will be on concrete experiences from political practice: Which argumentation strategies actually work? How can the right means be used to make oneself heard – whether through networks, associations or the commitment of individual actors? And what paths lead to long-term visibility for cultural policy issues beyond project-related events?
Speaker: Anikó Glogowski-Merten (FDP)
In this experience exchange, the alliance partners of United Networks (UN) – Hannah Ma (hannahmadance), Ming Poon (Asian Performing Artists Lab) and Bassam Dawood and Chang Nai Wen (Sisyphos, der Flugelefant) – present the UN Hospitality Rider. This practical tool understands hospitality as a discrimination-sensitive practice of access, participation and care and was developed in collaboration with RuM artists, cultural initiatives, social partners and cultural institutions.
We invite you to join us for an open exchange: What does discrimination-sensitive cultural work mean? What conditions does discrimination-sensitive cultural work need in these contexts? What are the stumbling blocks in the collaboration between RuM artists, institutions and social organisations? And how can we work together to build sustainable, equitable structures – beyond short-term projects and well-meaning but one-sided ‘hospitality’?
The focus is on honest insights, shared learning and concrete impulses for cultural practice that emphasises access, participation and care.
Speakers: Hannah Ma (hannahmadance), Ming Poon (Asian Performing Artists Lab), Bassam Dawood and Chang Nai Wen (Sisyphos, der Flugelefant)
– Perspectives based on the example of the Kulturkessel project
What opportunities does private sector involvement open up, and what conditions are associated with it?
These questions are the focus of the experience exchange with Ilona Schaal (Theater Rampe) and Maximilian May (Kulturkessel project manager). The discussion will be based on the specific example of the Kulturkessel project, an initiative of the Cultural Committee of German Business, which was realised with the support of Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart. Theater Rampe is currently being supported by the project.
Together, we will take a look behind the scenes of the project: How did the collaboration come about? What freedoms and limitations does sponsorship by a commercial enterprise entail? And how can such a partnership between culture and business be made sustainable?
Speakers: Ilona Schaal (Theater Rampe) and Maximilian May (Kulturkessel project manager)
How can feedback be designed in such a way that it promotes creative processes rather than inhibiting them? What role do language, structure and attitude play in a constructive feedback dialogue? And how can a sustainable feedback culture be established in the loose, diverse structures of the independent performing arts?
In this exchange of experiences, we will join Andree Wenzel from Zirkus ON in exploring how feedback can be understood and used as a co-dramaturgical tool.
Using examples such as DASARTS, questionnaires, Mentimeter and feedback talks, we will present various formats that Zirkus ON is experimenting with. The aim is to create spaces for resonance in which feedback works on an equal footing, responsibility is shared and sustainable collaboration emerges.
Speaker: Andree Wenzel (Zirkus ON)
It’s that time again…
Withholding tax, value added tax: Various tax returns for the past months must be submitted by the 10th of the month following the end of the quarter. This joint session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a special focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic again until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange ideas.
Cultural policy round table with artistic contributions from Thuringian puppeteers
In Thuringia in particular, there is an urgent need for cultural policy dialogue if the right to participate in cultural life is to apply in rural areas as well. The cultural policy round table brings together a variety of cultural and cultural policy actors as well as freelance artists to stimulate this dialogue.
Findings from the model project ‘More Puppet Theatre on Site’ carried out in spring 2025 will be presented and examined. Input from representatives of cultural policy and culture will contribute to the discussion of concrete recommendations for action with the guests present and to further reflection.
An event organised by LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen in cooperation with the Thüringer Theaterverband and the Bündnis KompleXX Figurentheater.
The cartography of the puppet, figure and object theatre scene ‘KompleXXplorer’ is waiting for your entry! Whether you are a performer, puppet theatre educator, puppet maker, guest theatre or amateur performer – you are all invited to register here. If you have any questions or problems with the registration process, you can take part in an open question and answer session via Zoom on Wednesday, 1 October 2025, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. or 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. at this link.
In this workshop, Ingo Sawilla will use numerous practical examples, tips and tricks to talk about strategies for the efficient and creative use of communication measures for festivals, cultural institutions and event organisers, and provide inspiration for concrete implementation in daily work with the press, on social media and in sales. He has 20 years of practical experience in PR with a focus on social media for cultural institutions and provides insights into the confident use of contemporary forms of communication.
In this two-part workshop, Harriet Lesch provides insights into how festivals can deal with this complexity in terms of budget planning:
In the first part, she uses a sample budget to show how budgets for independent performing arts festivals are planned and which funding regulations can be consulted in order to draw up suitable application budgets. In the second part, participants can ask specific questions tailored to the realities of their festival work in order to come up with solutions together in discussion with the participating festival organisers and FESTIVALFRIENDS representatives.
– Shared knowledge from ‘Fostering Connections’
With NETZANSCHLUSS, the model project ‘Fostering Connections’, currently with nine funded alliances with a total of more than 130 partners from the independent performing arts, is concluding its final funding phase. To mark this occasion, we cordially invite you to TOLLHAUS Karlsruhe to gain insights into the knowledge gathered by the alliances.
NETZANSCHLUSS brings together all the expertise of the alliances supported by ‘Fostering Connections’. Participants in the alliances share their collective knowledge and experience in workshops and exchange formats. We also talk to cultural policy spokespersons about our pioneering funding model and emphasise the need for structural funding such as this beyond 2025.
With NETZANSCHLUSS, we are concluding ‘Fostering Connections’ and at the same time connecting all interested actors in the independent performing arts to our nationwide network.
What to expect:
• The best of the alliances
• Artistic contributions
• Launch of the final documentation #netzwert
• Free catering on both days
• Networking party
• 130+ participants
Creating networks, strengthening connections, keeping culture alive – especially in rural areas, networking is a key element in building sustainable structures and enabling artistic work.
We want to discuss together: What does successful networking in rural areas require? How can stakeholders strengthen each other? And how can sustainable relationships between art, local authorities and civil society be established?
Speaker: Pamela Goroncy and Jessica Buchholz (tanz weit draußen), Dr Elisabeth Nehring (Fachstelle Tanz MV), Kora Tscherning (puppeteer)
Whether it’s a regional alliance, an interdisciplinary collective or a loose action network, networks need communication – both internally and externally. But how does social media work in such structures? Who speaks for whom – and with whom? What coordination is needed in advance? Which formats are suitable for collective projects? Can a network really speak with one voice? Or is it more about creating spaces for resonance in which different voices can work together?
The first part focuses on fundamental considerations regarding communication in networks: What roles are needed? How can content be coordinated without reinforcing hierarchies? What pitfalls should be avoided?
The second part deals with the experiences and questions of the participants: What works – and what doesn’t? Which tools and working methods have proven themselves? The aim is a practical exchange that provides inspiration and encourages participants to think further about social media as a collaborative tool.
Speaker: Sebastian Göschel
Shrinking cultural budgets are also putting pressure on those involved in the independent performing arts in particular. In this situation, resilient networks are all the more important in order to be able to tackle shared problems together.
What characterises resilient networks and how can they be established?
Resilience should be understood as an empowering approach and not as a cost-effective substitute for solid cultural budgets. After a brief introduction to the topic of resilience and the role of social capital as the product of resilient networks, participants will be actively involved in the exchange of experiences. Together, they will discuss networking ideas and reflect on proposals for structuring.
Speaker: Dr. Marco Krüger (University of Tübingen)
Raising and proving own funds is a structural challenge for many actors in the independent performing arts – especially when it comes to network or alliance projects. In this exchange of experiences, we want to discuss experiences, questions and possible solidarity models together.
What ways have you found so far to generate own funds – and what difficulties have you encountered in doing so? Why is the requirement to contribute own funds often particularly problematic in the independent performing arts? And: What strategies or solidarity-based approaches already exist in the context of networks to overcome this hurdle together?
Speakers: Anne-Cathrin Lessel (LOFFT Leipzig) and Olaf Nachtwey (NFT)
Our collegial case consultation format cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
Following a common check-in and an introduction to a method of collegial case counselling, we will engage with the individual cases in small groups.
The break-out sessions then follow a structure in which several cases are discussed by one moderator, one case-giver and several counsellors. The allocation of roles can be agreed on individually in each round.
Accordingly, all participants are invited to share their own concerns, give feedback, listen, think together and thus support each other.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The prerequisite for participation is therefore to bring your own issue or problem in working with Excel in the context of production work in the independent performing arts and to present it in an open exchange format. We are looking for more complex issues that can be solved primarily in dialogue with colleagues from your own field of work.
Our collegial case consultation format cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
Folllowing a common check-in we will this time tackle a common topic and would like to exchange experiences and perspectives on the cooperation between the independent scene and state theatres.
Accordingly, all participants are invited to share their own concerns, give feedback, listen, think together and thus support each other.
EU citizens are free to move within the EU – of course. But what do I do if I want to invite artists and cultural workers from a third country to Germany for a guest performance or festival? Who needs a Schengen visa? How do artists and cultural workers get one, and how can I support them in the application process? How long are they allowed to stay in Germany? And are they even allowed to work with a Schengen visa? In our first workshop on visa issues, we will examine all the legal bases for short stays and focus on the implementation practices of the authorities involved. We will look at a few worst-practice examples and also discuss the (cultural) political dimensions of these issues.
Once the funding for a project is acquired, it is often a challenge to adjust the project budget in line with your own values and working methods. Especially when not every collaborator enters the process at the same time.
In this workshop, we will therefore present and discuss a budget template that not only contains concrete figures and sources (e. g. minimum fee recommendation, hourly rates for sign language interpreters, etc.), but also provides key questions for reflection on budget-justice and the implications for ethics and working methods. The aim is to clearly anchor the strategic and ethical positioning of the project and the people involved right from the initial budgeting process.
With the next edition of our core format, the big network meeting, for the fourth time we are inviting protagonists in artistic production in the independent performing arts to network together. It is important to us that the big network meeting is a shared space that consists less of self-promotion and more of colleagues interested in each other. The fourth big network meeting 2025 will take place from 30.05. – 01.06.2025 at Kampnagel in Hamburg.
Our offer of an online groove-in is aimed at all those for whom the upcoming network meeting is the first networking event or a first time in a long time. In the groove-in, we provide insights into the structure and vibe of the upcoming edition of the big network meeting and clarify any questions that arise about participation together.
With the next edition of our centrepiece format, the big network meeting, we are inviting those involved in artistic production in the independent performing arts to network together. For the fourth time already!
It is important to us that the big network meeting is a shared space that consists less of self-promotion and more of colleagues interested in each other. The fourth big network meeting 2025 will take place from 30 May to 1 June 2025 at Kampnagel in Hamburg.
In the four-hour, practice-orientated workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e. g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and develop it further according to individual needs.
For the development of one’s individual administration system, Martin will show in the workshop, for example, how a simple document assignment can be turned into cost centre accounting and budget monitoring in just a few steps within Excel. The functions used in Excel in this workshop are: SUMIF/S, IF/S, VLOOKUP and their combination.
We are facing a multidimensional global crisis, and I I must admit I do not have a ready-made-fit-all strategy for sustainable international career development for arts professionals. I am myself challenged by the following issues:
sustaining of a global network, building an international career while living in the peripheries, overproduction in the performing arts sector, widespread professional burnout, the isolation of the industry (the need for cross-sectoral projects), building financial independence and diversification of funding.
Short-term stays in Germany (or the Schengen Area) are subject to time restrictions. Longer stays generally require national visas or residence permits. This may be the case, for example, if artists or cultural workers are completing a residency, if they are hired at a theater for an entire season, or if the rehearsal period for a production lasts longer than three months—or if they want to relocate to Germany. We want to explore various residence options for third-country nationals who will be staying in Germany for the longer term, taking local administrative practices into account.
This first part of the series is dedicated to a juxtaposition or comparison of forms of employment in order to gain an overview of the spectrum of employment models. Sepide Freitag and Béla Bisom will combine their respective expertise and experience for this purpose. Together with the participants, they will work out the differences between various models, from employment to self-employment, and focus on some aspects that producers often encounter in the field of performing arts. In doing so, they always change perspectives and look at both ‘sides’, that of the employer/client and that of the employee/contractor. We explore various questions together: How do I figure out whether employment, hybrid employment or self-employment is the right model for me right now? When does it make sense to hire employees or when is a permanent position mandatory? Which ‘hard facts’ and which aspects of individual (and private) life situations are decisive? What should I bear in mind when transitioning between different models? What are the criteria, advantages and disadvantages for the contractor/employee and the client/employer? How can these be dealt with in each case?
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Brigitta & Gergely will dive into EU funding opportunities and share their experience in developing international projects, building partnerships, grant writing and what it takes to manage an EU project successfully. They will focus on the Creative Europe scheme, having extensive experience in that.
During the workshop you will have the chance to assess motivations, resources for and expectations from international collaborations.
Based on a fictitious artists’ collective and several sample productions within a calendar year, the participants will develop a budget monitoring template consisting of several cost and financing plans, but only one central document entry. The workshop will result in a budget monitoring system that can be helpful for producers to support collectives and individual artists with several projects.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
The impulse of Vânia Rodrigues has the following interests: While theatre and dance “companies”, mostly in the form of cultural associations, remain the paradigmatic organizational model in the performing arts, a limited yet growing number of artistic organizations are experimenting with different, more horizontal and collaborative forms of collective work. These are often production or creative structures managed jointly by artists and producers that, unlike conventional artistic collectives, are not vertically organized; do not rely on charismatic leadership; share administrative, management, production and even financial resources; distribute functions according to each project specific needs; and reclaim a distinct kind of comradeship-collaboration which entails authorial redistribution, and a new ecological sensitivity.
In this session, we will discuss experiences and implications of W.A.T. Working Apart Together and D.I.T. – Do It Together practices in performing arts production, and try to connect them with ecofeminist approaches to performance-making and collective organising in the context of the current ecocrisis.
gefährliche banden is an exchange format between the two networks gefährliche arbeit and produktionsbande – network performing arts producers where we talk about the practices, needs and visions for the collaboration of producers and technical directors as well as departments within independent scene productions. The format invites everyone related to the technical and/or production fields to share thoughts on how to make the collaboration between the fields more productive, smooth and cute.
This second exchange is facilitated by Anahí Pérez and Rosa Wernecke of Gefährliche Arbeit and Joelle Burrichter of produktionsbande.
Are your workdays getting longer while your body grows stiffer?
Did you even notice today that you were tired, hungry—or did you just push through and forget your body altogether?
No worries! Here comes your sweet physical reset:
A moment for your body to breathe, rebalance, and gently wake up again.
Producers Stretching invites you to bring mindful movement into your busy day.
In three simple phases, we build bridges between big responsibilities and aching backs, screen time and stiff necks—bringing a gentle flow into that constant “on-call” mode.
No prior movement experience needed!
You can do all exercises either seated or standing.
Expect easy routines focused on mobility, stability, and producer-friendly breath and body awareness—right when your afternoon slump hits.
How do I approach being or becoming employed? How do I employ others? Are you an employee or employer for the first time and wondering what you need to consider to create a good employee-employer relationship? What do I need as a minimum in terms of basic infrastructure to be able to employ someone? How do I communicate the framework conditions as an employer? What about issues such as pseudo-self-employment (Scheinselbstständigkeit) and the prohibition of better employment (Besserstellungsverbot)? What responsibilities do I actually have as an employer? And what does that mean for employees? How do I create a functional, just and preferably anti-discriminatory working environment and what can I do beyond my basic and legal obligations as an employer?
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Producers often enable and hold spaces for others and their processes. They frequently act as sole connectors between all artistic, creatively-organizational, creative-technical, and administrative stakeholders. But what about their own needs and experiences?
Together, we ask: What does it mean to work as a disabled, chronically ill and/or neurodivergent producer in the independent performing arts? What does an accessible working practice look like where we can take our own access needs seriously and center them? How can mutual support take shape?
In this orientation session, we will share our work and experiences with you on the question of how the KSK can become more accessible for producers/production managers. The offer is intended to give you an insight into the discussion and help you decide whether an application for admission to the KSK is an option for you. We will clarify together what the advantages and disadvantages of membership might be and where caution might be required.
In this open workshop, choreographer Sonya Lindfors (ONE DROP) invites you to talk about fictions and frictions – about speculative practices and about why intersectionality is so f***ing hard. About the ghosts haunting theatre stages and the power of the stage as a miracle making machine! In this 4 hour workshop-session participants will be invited to approach the topic at hand, fictions and frictions, by discussing, listening, writing and lightly moving. Participants are invited to engage in a way that is suitable for them. This session is open to all interested in the topic.
This special jour fixe invites all produktionsbande active members, accomplices, friends, associates and supporters from the broad spectrum of production practice to come together with many voices and from all the heterogeneous perspectives on production and networking.
Active members of the what’s next working group have developed various drafts, plans and variants to keep the network alive from 2026 without funding.
The aim of this special future (jour) fixe is to decide with as many people as possible which of these drafts should shape and enable our future work!
How can I be and remain a freelancer? This is the starting question for this edition of the series on employment models and forms of employment from the perspective of contractors and clients. Our working world in the cultural sector is characterised by individual projects and teams that come together at short notice and on a temporary basis. Self-employment is usually the form of employment desired and utilised by both sides. However, it still often does not fit in with the requirements of public funding and has to be defended time and again.
With this mutual support session, produktionsbande offers a safer space for production managers who identify as Black, Afro-German, or People of Color. The focus is on centering their voices, lived realities, and shared exchange.
The session will be moderated by Nara Virgens, a Black German-Brazilian production manager active in the independent dance and performance scene since 2015.
After the orientation, Part II of the event series ksk for producers as well! is aimed at all those who would now like to submit their membership application to the KSK. The questionnaire on compulsory insurance under the artists’ social insurance act (only available in German language) is the document we will be looking at and completing together with you in this session. The basis for this is your own data.
After a joint look at the application process, you will work on your applications in small groups and enter into a joint exchange for the completion process. If you already have all the necessary documents together, the application can be sent off at the end of the evening! If your application is not yet complete, we will help each other to find out which documents are still missing.
Producers Stretching invites you to bring mindful movement into your busy day.
In three simple phases, we build bridges between big responsibilities and aching backs, screen time and stiff necks—bringing a gentle flow into that constant “on-call” mode.
No prior movement experience needed!
You can do all exercises either seated or standing.
Expect easy routines focused on mobility, stability, and producer-friendly breath and body awareness—right when your afternoon slump hits.
Zwischen 18. Juni und 6. Juli 2025 wird in jeder der drei Impulse-Städte Mülheim an der Ruhr, Köln und Düsseldorf im wöchentlichen Wechsel ein dichtes Programm aus den durch eine Jury ausgewählten Produktionen des Showcase und dem Programmschwerpunkt Post-West zu sehen sein. Post-West fokussiert auf den Austausch zwischen Ost und West und schafft Begegnungsräume zwischen den Freien Szenen und Künstler*innen der Gastgeber-Region NRW und Ostdeutschland. Ein dritter Programmbereich Impulse meets… beinhaltet diskursive Formate, Workshops und Partys in Zusammenarbeit mit lokalen Partner*innen und Freund*innen des Festivals.
What are the opportunities and limitations of private funding for networks in the independent performing arts? Marietta Schoenberg and Dr Dimitra Will (actori – leading strategy consultancy for culture) will explore this question in this experience exchange. After an introduction to the basic possibilities of private funding in the performing arts, they will look at the necessary framework conditions and discuss the opportunities and limitations of networks.
They will present various options – from fundraising and sponsoring to approaches such as crowdfunding.
The experience exchange offers participants the opportunity to raise their own questions, exchange experiences and jointly develop strategies for the sustainable financing of networks in the cultural sector.
Speakers: Marietta Schoenberg und Dr. Dimitra Will (actori – leading strategy consultancy for culture)
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 2 #finanzielle Strategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’. The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
Artistic networks are increasingly faced with the challenge of positioning themselves in a dynamic social and political environment in a visible, effective and identity-forming way. Strategic narratives help with this. They are not mere narratives, but structured offers of meaning that provide orientation, create a sense of belonging and make joint action understandable both internally and externally.
In our experience exchange, we want to work out what strategic narratives actually are, what they can do for artistic networks and what the critical success factors are. We want to find out together how we can increase the visibility and impact of networks, what the building blocks and pitfalls are, and how such a process can be initiated, structured and moderated.Strategic narratives for networks
The event is aimed at actors in artistic networks who want to strengthen their strategic communication, bring their members together or make their social relevance more visible.
Speakers: Antek Krönung und Peter Hüben (Communications agency Benning, Gluth & Partner)
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 4 #Kommunikationsstrategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
Cultural Entrepreneurship: Opportunities for entrepreneurial networks in the independent performing arts
How can independent performing arts organisations finance themselves and remain competitive in the face of reduced cultural budgets?
Together with Friederike Kislinger (Kreatives Sachsen) and Dr Anne Heinze (4transfer) from the Landesverband der Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft Sachsen e.V., we will explore this question. After an introduction to the topic of cultural entrepreneurship and an overview of the players and their working environments, we will take a brief look at the value of creative work and the importance of entrepreneurial thinking.
The experience exchange provides participants with concrete tools, tips and examples and gives them a clearer idea of how entrepreneurial thinking can work in their own network and what challenges need to be overcome.
gefährliche banden is an exchange format between the two networks gefährliche arbeit and produktionsbande – network performing arts producers where we talk about the practices, needs and visions for the collaboration of producers and technical directors as well as departments within independent scene productions. The format invites everyone related to the technical and/or production fields to share thoughts on how to make the collaboration between the fields more productive, smooth and cute.
This second exchange is facilitated by Anahí Pérez and Rosa Wernecke of Gefährliche Arbeit and Joelle Burrichter of produktionsbande.
Let’s change and share perspectives! What perspectives on the practice of producers and their roles in the independent performing arts ecosystem exist among colleagues? These and many related questions will be addressed in this session together with Vânia Rodrigues (Portugal) and Karolina Dziełak-Żakowska & colleagues (Poland).
While theatre and dance “companies”, mostly in the form of cultural associations, remain the paradigmatic organizational model in the performing arts, a limited yet growing number of artistic organizations are experimenting with different, more horizontal and collaborative forms of collective work. These are often production or creative structures managed jointly by artists and producers that, unlike conventional artistic collectives, are not vertically organized; do not rely on charismatic leadership; share administrative, management, production and even financial resources; distribute functions according to each project specific needs; and reclaim a distinct kind of comradeship-collaboration which entails authorial redistribution, and a new ecological sensitivity.
In this session, we will discuss experiences and implications of W.A.T. Working Apart Together and D.I.T. – Do It Together practices in performing arts production, and try to connect them with ecofeminist approaches to performance-making and collective organising in the context of the current ecocrisis.
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
After the Excel workshop for beginners (excel is not a landscape) and the issue for advanced users (excel is not a solution), in the last issue of the new workshop series excells the producer martin bien invites all nerds to join in Excel brainstorming and problem solving.
What problems with Excel are you still facing? Which challenges are you still unable to solve and would like to get advice from Excel-loving colleagues?
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The workshop excel is not a landscape has laid the foundations for budget monitoring within an individual production in the independent performing arts. By linking a continuous document entry with the cost centres within the cost and financing plan, a system is created that allows producers to see at any time which funds from the overall and individual budgets are still available for use in a production and which have already been spent.
With the workshop excel is not a solution (but a tool), martin bien builds on basic Excel functions (SUMIF, IF/S, VLOOKUP) and invites participants to combine them with each other. The aim of the workshop is to develop a monitoring template that is further developed from a single production to a cross-production Excel logic.
Brigitta & Gergely will dive into EU funding opportunities and share their experience in developing international projects, building partnerships, grant writing and what it takes to manage an EU project successfully. They will focus on the Creative Europe scheme, having extensive experience in that.
During the workshop you will have the chance to assess motivations, resources for and expectations from international collaborations.
In 2025, we commit to our resourcing approach as the produktionsbande network: As it is uncertain at the moment whether there are realistic prospects of funding from 2026, 2025 is our last year in which we can maintain the produktionsbande network with our existing structure.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
The question of which resources you would like to share is deliberately an open one: any knowledge, any template, any (detailed) information, no matter how small it may seem, can potentially become a resource.
In the joint session, we invite you to take stock of your individual and shared resources: What materials do we use that we want to share and make accessible to our colleagues?
This first part of the series is dedicated to a juxtaposition or comparison of forms of employment in order to gain an overview of the spectrum of employment models. Sepide Freitag and Béla Bisom will combine their respective expertise and experience for this purpose.
The workshop series work it out is dedicated to topics relating to working constellations (freelance, permanent, hybrid) and aims to structure the complex issues in our cultural sector and answer them from a practical perspective.
part #1: fixed – freelance: either/or/and | 18.06.2025, 10 – 14
part #2: focus: permanent employment | 11.09.2025, 10 – 14
part #3: focus: self-employment | date will be announced as soon as possible
Short-term stays in Germany (or the Schengen Area) are subject to time restrictions. Longer stays generally require national visas or residence permits. This may be the case, for example, if artists or cultural workers are completing a residency, if they are hired at a theater for an entire season, or if the rehearsal period for a production lasts longer than three months—or if they want to relocate to Germany. We want to explore various residence options for third-country nationals who will be staying in Germany for the longer term, taking local administrative practices into account.
speaker: felix sodemann
The workshop will be divided into three parts.
part one: introduction
part two: hands-on workshop
part three: wrap-up & reflection
On the one hand, Excel is a simple spreadsheet programme, but on the other hand, it can also be quite intimidating for beginners. For everyday production, however, a look at the budget is unavoidable and is usually directly linked to opening Excel.
In the four-hour, practice-orientated workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e. g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and develop it further according to individual needs.
3rd Bavarian Theatre Meeting for Young Audiences
A breath of fresh air is blowing through Nuremberg in June:
The six most exciting, innovative, melodious and relevant productions of Bavarian children’s and youth theatre can be seen on the stages of Nuremberg.
PERSPEKTIV:WECHSEL invites you to watch the film ‘Was wäre das für eine Geschichte’ followed by a discussion on the topics of criticism of racism and empowerment.
Towards an understanding of professional working standards in the independent performing arts
Together with laprofth Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.
At this symposium, we would like to examine criteria for ‘professionalism’ and ‘quality’ in a regional context. Between impulse, workshop and table discussions, we will open up a space for exchange between representatives of traditional and contemporary working models who are working together on a new artistic language. The aim is a practical and solidary redefinition of the terms by the scene itself.
Guests and speakers:
Mareike Buchmann (SYMSOMA)
Dennis Depta (GLANZ&KRAWALL)
Helge-Björn Meyer (Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste)
Karl Josef Pieper (former consultant for theatre affairs and international cultural relations)
Jana Sonnenberg (Landesverband Freie Darstellende Künste Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
Felix Worpenberg (flausen+)
We cordially invite you to the second edition of KONFRIENDS, which deals with the audience question.
KONFRIENDS will take place as part of the Impulse Festival and in cooperation with the NRW Landesbüro Freie Darstellende Künste e. V. from 19.06. to 20.06.2025 in Mülheiman der Ruhr.
Registration for free participation in KONFRIENDS is now open: Registration for KONFRIENDS here
Festival, symposium, lectures and intensive workshops
What can puppet theatre contribute to democratic processes? The festival with hand and foot
Foot Festival and the 9th German Puppet Theatre Conference explore these questions. Those who want to creatively
to contribute creatively to democratic coexistence is invited to attend theatre performances,
lectures, symposium and intensive workshops from 15-24.08.2025 at the Theatre of the Night in
Northeim.
With productions from Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy and guest speakers such as Simon Franzmann from the Institute for Democracy Research at the University of Göttingen, Sandra Bringer from the artist group ‘agree to disagree’ with artistic projects for democracy, Frank Karbstein – puppeteer and media educator from Gera, Luzia Oppermann from online-theater.live and the moderation of the secret dramaturgical society.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
Das flausen+stipendium bietet einer Gruppe Freiraum für szenische Erforschung neuer Ideen. Zum Abschluss geben die Künstler:innen beim „makingOFF“ Einblick in die Forschung.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The Netzwerk Freier Theater (NFT) invites you to the 2nd digital symposium of the ‘Klima ändern’ programme. At the second meeting of the three-part series, the topic of socio-ecological transformation and sustainability will be addressed under the title THE FUTURE OF THEATRE THE WAY WE WANT IT.
After a guest contribution by Jonas Lage from the Norbert Elias Centre at the University of Flensburg, the exchange will continue in break-out sessions on concrete good and best practice measures in the field of ecological transformation and sustainability.
The event is aimed in particular at production houses / independent theatres from the field of independent performing arts as well as all people who deal with the cross-cutting issue of sustainability in networks.
Registration by 30.04.2025 by e-mail to: gerstemann@netzwerkfreiertheater.de
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series ‘A cup of coffee with …’.
Ralph Lister has been running Take Art, a British rural development organisation with a focus on touring in rural areas, for 30 years. Without its own building, it is based on a farm in the south-west of England, is funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and has an annual turnover of around €650,000.
In his talk, Ralph will talk about how Take Art was set up, its activities and its importance to the Somerset region in the South West of England, as well as its role in the EU SPARSE Plus project and its valuable insights into dance in rural areas.
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series ‘A cup of coffee with …’.
Barbara Bess is a choreographer, dancer and curator whose work explores the intersection of urban and rural spatial cultures. Since 2021, she has been developing the ‘SOMATIC’ artist-in-residence programme for movement research in a former village school in Middle Franconia, Bavaria.
The ‘Alte Schule’ serves as a dynamic research platform that offers artists from various disciplines the opportunity to realise projects, collaborate and exchange ideas. It promotes sustainable forms of artistic production and supports the generation of knowledge through collective engagement. The programme welcomes performers, visual artists, dancers, multimedia artists, sculptors and others.
Come to the coffee talk with Barbara Bess to find out more about ‘SOMATIC’ and the potential of artistic practice in the rural region of Central Franconia.
Challenges of Cultural Work in Rural Areas
We invite you to join our first digital UN Roundtable of the 2025 series! Together with Hannah Ma (hannahmadance) & Ming Poon (APAL – Asia Performing Artists Lab) – alliance partners of United Networks – we will dive deep into the challenges faced by racialized and marginalized artists and cultural workers in rural areas.
This roundtable is the first of three in our 2025 series, centering on the theme of hospitality—a framework that we’ve been developing since 2023. We will share experiences, identify challenges, and develop concrete recommendations for the Hospitality Rider that will be further developed at the upcoming UN Lab Bräsen 2025.
Invitation for:
– racialized and marginalized artists and curators who have already worked in rural areas – or who are interested in doing so
– cultural organizations in rural regions that currently collaborate with racialized and marginalized artists and cultural workers or intend to in the future
With this workshop as part of the flausen+bundekongress, the BFDK would like to support those involved in the independent performing arts in developing and implementing cultural policy strategies as collaborative practice for their own organisation, collective or network. Good practice examples from the various BFDK projects and measures will first be presented as brief input. Participants will share their experiences across federal states and identify possible synergies for joint cultural policy action.
Open configuration settings
In small groups, participants present their previous approaches, experiences and ideas and receive feedback. The aim of the format is to enable participants to reflect on and evaluate their previous cultural policy work. By highlighting interfaces in their respective cultural policy work and receiving input from the BFDK, the participants should be able to jointly develop strategies and concrete projects to collaboratively achieve their shared cultural policy goals. The focus will be on the political power of alliances and the opportunities that arise through alliances and networks.
Registration by e-mail to: art.revolution@icloud.com
How do networks develop a strategy together – not just at the top, but for all members? How can they grow and maintain their commitment while remaining open and inclusive?
In this experience exchange with Kerstin Tebbe from collective mind, we will explore how common goals can be defined and strategies developed through participatory processes.
Open configuration settings
We will also look at concrete strategies for fostering meaningful member engagement – including how to generate commitment, create value and engage new members. We will highlight how equity, power and participation come into play in these processes – and how a thoughtful approach can ensure that all voices shape the direction and culture of the network. You will leave with tools, tips and shared experiences to build stronger, better aligned and more equitable networks.
Speaker: Kerstin Tebbe / collective mind
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 1 #Organisationsstrategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
The event will be held in English and is free of charge.
Registration deadline: Until 07 May 2025.
Once the funding for a project is acquired, it is often a challenge to adjust the project budget in line with your own values and working methods. Especially when not every collaborator enters the process at the same time.
In this workshop, we will therefore present and discuss a budget template that not only contains concrete figures and sources (e. g. minimum fee recommendation, hourly rates for sign language interpreters, etc.), but also provides key questions for reflection on budget-justice and the implications for ethics and working methods. The aim is to clearly anchor the strategic and ethical positioning of the project and the people involved right from the initial budgeting process.
Open Model project for fair pay in professional theatre for young audiences Configuration settings
The workshop is aimed at all actors in the independent performing arts. Experience with productions and cost and financing plans is helpful, but not a prerequisite.
The workshop is designed and moderated by Kaja Jakstat and Katja Sonnemann. It is based, among other things, on almost four years of experience and findings from the collaboration between produktionsbande.
Experience exchange ‘Opportunities and challenges of a contribution scheme for networks ’The funding of the independent performing arts is currently facing major challenges. Against this backdrop, in this experience exchange we will look at questions of alternative ways of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts. Using the example of the Netzwerk Freier Theater e.V., we will talk about the process of introducing a contribution system in the Netzwerk Freier Theater and about the opportunities, possibilities and limits of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts.
Open Model project for fair payment in professional theatre for young audiences Configuration settings
Ann-Cathrin Lessel and Olaf Nachtwey would like to stimulate a productive process of reflection on the topic of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts and enter into an open, productive exchange with the participants.
Speakers: Ann-Cathrin Lessel (LOFFT Theatre) and Olaf Nachtwey (NFT)
The event is an offer from ‘Fostering connections’ and part of Module 3 #finanzielle Strategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Fostering strategies – Qualification programme for strong supra-regional alliances’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
The event will be held in German and is free of charge.
Registration deadline: Until 01 May 2025.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to the topic of ‘generational change’ with Miriam Paul, director of Theater Fadenschein, Braunschweig and others.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to three of KompleXX Figurentheater’s activities: the intergenerational pilot project ‘Catch the Puppet!’, the mapping of the puppet theater scene in Germany and the interdisciplinary Figurentheater summer school. Under the keywords Insights and Outlooks, we want to describe an interim status, present initial evaluations, share challenges and encourage exchange.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to two KompleXX Puppet Theatre campaigns: the Thuringia pilot project ‘More local puppet theater’ and the fellowship program 4PS (4PuppetTheaterCollections). Under the keywords Insights and Outlooks, we want to describe an interim status, present initial evaluations, share challenges and encourage exchange.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to two KompleXX Puppet Theater activities: the Hackathon ‘Sensors & Storytelling’ and the Symposium for Puppet Theater Pedagogy. Anyone who wants to know exactly who is behind the individual KompleXX projects and what is currently being created is cordially invited!
At the finalchoice, artists present their projects for the 2er scholarship in Rhineland-Palatinate 2025. A jury of experts then decides on the award of the scholarship.
Researchers from various disciplines, students, artists, experts and the public are invited to engage with puppet theater research. The aim is to stimulate the willingness to conduct research in puppet theater and to convey methods for its interdisciplinary research.
In a multi-day symposium with keynote speeches and best-practice examples, national and international actors will be invited to exchange ideas in order to record a structural analysis and documentation of the diversity of puppet theater pedagogy. The event will take place at the Figurentheater-Kolleg in Bochum in September 2025 and is aimed at the research audience as well as artists and educators.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
The Thuringian puppeteers meet at the premises of the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen in Erfurt to discuss in a moderated process what guest performance funding in Thuringia could look like. The resulting practical expertise will be made available to the Theaterverband Thüringen.
The creation alliance Zirkus ON invites you to the stage presentations of the 7th edition on September 24th in Karlsruhe.
As part of the ATOLL Festival in Karlsruhe, the Kreationsbündnis für Zirkuskunst – Zirkus ON will be presenting the current projects of the 7th edition to a public audience for the first time. Three work-in-progress shows will be on display. For the stage presentations, the focus is on feedback. The presentations are each followed by a short audience feedback format to actively support the projects for further creation.
Zirkus ON opens up the digital space to playfully discuss the topic of care, gather experiences and formulate the needs of the circus scene.
We discuss and present our performances, our artistic dialog with the audience, our artistic work. But we hardly talk about the work involved and the work of being able to show the performance. With Zirkus ONcare, we want to give space for this side of the work: to talk about it, to listen, to collect, to process and to present in order to create, as always, conditions in which we can work well. In particular, we want to look at so-called care work.
Save the date!
The creation alliance Zirkus ON cordially invites all alliance partners together with the Pfefferberg Theater to the kick-off presentations of the 7th Zirkus ON Edition on June 5 in Berlin.
The three artist groups, which were selected by the expert jury of the Zirkus ON creation alliance at the end of March, will present their project and then exchange ideas with the expert audience.
Following our big network meetings in hamburg (2021), munich (2022) and dresden (2023), we are returning to hamburg for the fourth edition, this time at kampnagel. From 30.05. to 01.06.2025, our fourth major network meeting will once again offer much-needed opportunities for exchange and networking for those involved in artistic production. We invite you to hold spaces together that combine multiple perspectives and draw their strength from dialog.
The new UN handout summarizes the findings of the UN Roundtables 2024, at which marginalized and racialized experts from the arts and culture discussed key challenges and solutions. The recommendations developed are aimed at cultural policy, administration and institutions – with the aim of improving access and creating more justice.
Live: Insta Live Talks with the experts – discuss with us!
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series “Auf einen Kaffee mit …”.
“SPARSE” has established rural touring networks in four European countries from 2018 to 2021. “SPARSE Plus”, which runs from 2023 to 2027, includes 11 partners from 9 European countries and conducts international tours.
Bebê de Soares is the artistic director of “Teatro 4Garoupas” near Cologne. She is a board member of “ASSITEJ” International. Since 2019, after 8 years in Chile, she is back in Germany, where she works as a producer and organizer of tours, residencies and collaborations at European level, such as “PERFORM EUROPE” and SPARSE Plus.
In this coffee talk, Bebê de Soares will give an insight into her work within the international rural touring network.
Our offer of an online groove-in is aimed at all those for whom the upcoming network meeting is the first networking event or a first time in a long time. In the groove-in, we provide insights into the structure and vibe of the upcoming edition of the big network meeting and clarify any questions that arise about participation together.
The joint working session excel is a life (not a good one, but one* does it) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a scheduled workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still bother us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
With the workshop excel is not a solution (but a tool), martin bien builds on basic Excel functions (SUMWENN, WENN/S, SVERWEIS) and invites participants to combine them with each other. The aim of the workshop is to develop a monitoring template that is further developed from a single production to a cross-production Excel logic.
In the four-hour, practice-oriented workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e.g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and expand it according to their individual needs.
For the development of your own administration system, Martin will show in the workshop, for example, how a cost center accounting and budget monitoring can be created from a simple document assignment in just a few steps within Excel. This workshop will focus on working with Excel using the functions: SUMWENN/S, WENN/S, SVERWEIS and their nesting.
In 2025, we would like to commit to our resourcing approach as the produktionsbande network: As it is uncertain at the moment whether there are realistic prospects of funding from 2026, 2025 is our last year in which we can maintain the produktionsbande network with our existing structure.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e.g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 a.m., choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series “Auf einen Kaffee mit …”.
Nadja Raszewski (choreographer and dance mediator) and Daniela Grosset (cultural manager and theater educator) have realized many dance productions and socio-cultural projects in a wide variety of contexts in Berlin, Germany and internationally in recent years. Their work is always about participation and co-design by the participants. In 2019, they founded the “Kollektiv Kulturland Ogrosen” out of a biographically motivated desire to expand their field of action into rural areas and to be active there both culturally and educationally. They now live on the site of a former pig farm in Ogrosen (Lower Lusatia) and organize art events in the form of residencies, workshops and performances, grow flowers and are members of the slowflower movement. Various dance productions have already been developed and shown in the expanded dance studio. Through the combination of art, movement, horticulture and education, culture in rural areas should not remain inaccessible as an elitist dimension, but should be experienced by everyone.
get to know “tanz weit draußen”
Under this motto, we open the doors to our Info.Zoom every two months on the third Friday from 10 to 11 am. Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
Dates: 21.02.10 a.m. / 18.04. 10 a.m. / 20.06. 10 a.m. / 17.10. 10 a.m. / 19.12. 10 a.m.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
This session is the third out of three public input sessions within the frame of the digital companionship programme: transnational contexts & relations, that is organised and hosted by Kreativ-Transfer, a project of Dachverband Tanz Deutschland and produktionsbande. In the companionship programme, one companion with transnational expertise supports one participant in the development and expansion of their own transnational working practice as a producer in the independent performing arts.
speaker: godlive lawani
the idea
bring actors together
strengthening the performing arts
actively shaping the future
The flausen+kongresses usually take place every two years on a biennial basis.
AUGENBLICK MAL! is the only nationwide festival of theatre for young audiences in Germany. The event has been held in Berlin every two years since 1991. At the festival, ten productions selected from the theatres’ proposals are shown and reflected upon and discussed in a supporting programme. The events are aimed at theatre professionals from Germany and around the world, young audiences and all other interested parties. You are very welcome!
Advance ticket sales are open!
On this website you can find the entire programme, an introduction to the team and information on ticketing.
The presale is open!
The next ASSITEJ Award Ceremony will take place on May 10, 2025 as part of AUGENBLICK MAL! The Festival of Theater for Young Audiences.
ASSITEJ awards several prizes every two years. The prizes honor people or institutions
who make a special contribution to the performing arts for young audiences and their diversity,
who are particularly committed to raising the profile of work for young audiences and with children and young people,
who seek dialog with the audience and promote reflection on it,
who are a source of inspiration for others – be it locally, regionally, nationally or globally.
International Cultural Exchange Freiburg (IKF)
Zirkus ON invites you to the 2nd edition of Zirkus ONstage together with the Internationale Kulturbörse Freiburg!
With Zirkus ONstage, the creative alliance for circus arts – Zirkus ON will be presenting three circus creations from the last Zirkus ON editions to a German and international audience of experts at the International Cultural Exchange in Freiburg (IKF) from January 20 to 22.
Groups of artists selected by an expert jury and supported for two years by the Zirkus ON creation alliance with mentoring, residencies, presentations, knowledge transfer formats and networking will perform. Zirkus ONstage is the final format of the creation program and creates a bridge between creation and distribution.
Rui Silveira on Something Great, a non-profit organization and live arts center in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
In this conversation, Rui will tell the story of Something Great, its history and its transformation from an internationally renowned performing arts touring agency based in Berlin to a cultural charity and live arts center rooted in an 18.6 hectare estate in the southwest of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Dedicated to the support, promotion and presentation of live art, the center focuses primarily on contemporary dance and performance art, but is also open to other art forms, such as the visual arts.
With another edition of the workshop “Radically polite in dealing with right-wing populism”, we are continuing the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” of our project “Promoting connections”.
#Communicate
The workshop looks at right-wing populist argumentation patterns and signal words and the intention behind them. How can we take a clear stance against right-wing populist statements in everyday life? Is a conversation useful and if so, how can it succeed?
Participants can expect a mixture of input, practical exercises and moderated discussion. They will gain applicable basic knowledge about right-wing populism and learn to recognize different situations and differentiate how to deal with them.
The workshop will be led by Tadel verpflichtet! e.V., which is committed to democratic coexistence.
Speakers: Matthias Jung, Katharina Klasen
With the experience exchange “Dealing with Nazi history in rural areas – between art project and educational work” with Felix Forsbach, we are continuing the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” of our project “Promoting connections”.
#Becoming active together
National Socialism remains a challenging topic that continues to have an impact today. This complexity contributes to the fact that right-wing extremist parties are gaining popularity again, threatening the existence of artists, cultural associations and initiatives for cosmopolitanism and diversity. This workshop will discuss the space of possibility that can be created through an artistic examination of National Socialism in the lives of people in rural areas.
In the social sculpture “augustusburger-protokolle”, Felix Forsbach has been artistically and transdisciplinary dedicated to the Nazi history of Augustusburg, a small town in Central Saxony, since 2021. His artistic work has led to a public discourse on how to deal with the history of the place and has reached many people of different ages through the explicitly artistic examination of the Nazi era. As part of the workshop, he will talk about the possibility of bonds between artists and residents and about the opportunities of long and processual residencies to encourage artists to tackle political issues explicitly and directly.
The event will be held in German and is free of charge. Places are limited.
After orientation and action, in the third part of the event series ksk for producers as well! we would like to conclude by inviting you to a joint exchange, which at the same time offers a space for open questions or issues that you have encountered in your membership application for the KSK.
The offer provides you with time together with us and all participants in which you can discuss and advance your concerns for the further processing and finalization of your application or your documents to be submitted.
To participate, it is therefore important that you bring a specific issue or question with you, which you briefly present and which can then be worked on together with you in breakout groups to support you in your KSK application process.
Sarah Soethoudt is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, cultural coach and founding member of the artist collective FLUJAS in Venlo, Noord-Limburg.
This region consists mainly of villages and small towns, which is both an enrichment and a challenge for professional artists. As a dancer and choreographer, Sarah develops site-specific works that are inspired by the surrounding forests and use them as a backdrop. She also devises specific performances in collaboration with partners such as museums and conservation organizations.
In her role as a cultural coach, she supports local artistic initiatives and encourages both professional artists and the residents of Venlo. FLUJAS is an artist-led collective that campaigns for better working conditions in Noord-Limburg. Most artists in this region face challenges such as visibility, funding, collaboration and know-how. FLUJAS brings artists together and offers them space to work and create with confidence and without pressure.
In this Kaffetalk, Sarah talks about her mediation work as a cultural coach, her artistic practice and collective work with a special focus on rural areas in the Netherlands.
Christina Elliot, Head of Programming & Producing at “The Place”, London’s center for dance development. Christina leads on the theater program, artist development initiatives, new productions and touring projects.
In this coffee talk, Christina will introduce the Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI) – a nationwide project that supports dance artists and rural promoters to create high quality dance performances in rural areas. Since 2015, RTDI has brought some of the UK’s best dance companies, such as Lost Dog, Protein and Scottish Dance Theatre, to rural areas.
Christina will share her experiences and explain how RTDI has transformed the dance scene in rural areas of the UK and continues to positively impact the touring landscape.
cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
In this session we deal with the complex topic of hospitality and discuss questions such as: How does it work? What makes a valuable hospitality practice, what are the ingredients? What field are we in? What are practices of hosting & guesting | invitation practices | opportunities & challenges of hospitality? How do I develop a multidirectional perspective and how does dealing with hospitality also influence questions of team development?
For producers, working at the interfaces with all those involved in an artistic production means maintaining open communication in all directions and, at the same time, bundling information and making it accessible to everyone. Friction can arise in this complex communication work, which can lead to potential conflicts.
In this two-part workshop for producers, Dana Caspersen will provide insights into methods for constructively framing, handling and, ideally, jointly resolving conflicts.
In this session we invite a critical eye on our existing networks, our informal champions and how to utilise these tools to identify new opportunities, disseminate work and push producing practices. We will look at the structure of networks and the importance of reciprocity in building lasting relationships. We will use this time to form a temporal network of information exchange where participants will be invited to offer their experiences and talk about their desires.
Tech riders or technical riders are technical documentations that are sent to theaters and event spaces in advance in order to plan the setup together. In the workshop, we talk about what should be included for stage, lighting, video, sound and special effects. And what other different forms of technical documentation can be used to make our lives easier when setting up.
This edition of skills & discourse is dedicated to income tax in an international context. Besides a theoretical focus with an application outlook by Felix Sodemann (touring artists), we will also take a closer look at the implementation in production practice together with Felix and Harriet Lesch with your example cases. Please send us your examples and questions with your registration by 6 October at the latest so that we can prepare them, include them in the workshop and discuss them together. Registration without submission of cases is open longer.
The Verband freier Kinder- und Jugendtheater Bayern e.V. represents the concerns and needs of independent and professional theaters for young audiences. The association works to improve the working conditions and perception of independent children’s and youth theater throughout Bavaria. It also ensures that the needs of the sector continue to be taken into account in the design of new and existing state cultural funding.
With Michael Dietrich from Verband freier Kinder- und Jugendtheater Bayern e.V.
ASSITEJ e.V., the network of children’s and young people’s theaters, has conducted the first study to present the performing arts for young audiences in Germany in all their heterogeneity. Staff, programs and audiences of around 1,000 municipal and independent children’s and youth theaters, sections of municipal and state theaters as well as guest performance organizers throughout Germany were examined.
With Valerie Eichmann from ASSITEJ Germany
The Netzwerk Regie, which was founded in 2017 under the umbrella of ensemble-netzwerk, has represented the professional group of theater directors since 2022 and offers all professional colleagues a forum for networking and exchange. Among other things, the Netzwerk Regie has developed new model work contracts for directors with the German Stage Association, defined lower fee limits, organized congresses and training events, represented the interests of directors on a wide variety of panels and in discussion groups and is in close dialogue with cultural policy makers, trade unions and other networks.
With Jacob Weiß from Netzwerk Regie e.V.
The German Forum for Puppet Theater and Puppetry Art is planning a European Production House for Puppet Theater together with the Figurentheater-Kolleg Bochum. The aim of the project is to create a platform that promotes international exchange and the production of puppet theater plays. The aim is to create an infrastructure that offers puppet theater artists the spaces and conditions they need for their extraordinary work – unique in Europe and with the “Made in Bochum” seal of quality.
With Annette Dabs, Director of the German Forum for Puppet Theater and Puppetry, Bochum
With Seta Guetsoyan, Director of the Figurentheater-Kollegs, Bochum
What can you expect?
United Networks and House of Brownies invite you to a special BIPoC community gathering where you will have the opportunity to network with other BIPoC artists, creatives, associations, organizations and collectives from Hamburg and beyond. Let’s exchange ideas and find new ways to share resources within our BIPoC communities and collaborate more effectively.
Look forward to an interactive afternoon of speed working where you can find out how collaborative working can be strengthened. You will also have the opportunity to showcase your skills and resources in our Marketplace and see what other participants have to offer. Afterwards, you can continue networking over a delicious dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. At the end of the evening, there will be a live performance that you shouldn’t miss!
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom on December 13 from 10 to 11 am. This will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom again on November 15 from 10 to 11 am. This will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
Bianca Kruppa (Diebis, Bavaria) on community work on the “wrong farm” and the joy of making mistakes
What can a modern, sustainable and culturally diverse life look like in which a large number of people can participate and help shape it? With this central question in mind, the “False Farm” can be seen as a place that is constantly evolving. It offers space for content that is shaped by the creativity and expertise of local people. As co-founder of the “False Farm”, Bianca sees this place as a kind of collective resistance to the pursuit of the supposedly “right answer” – and instead creates space for something new. In doing so, Bianca’s community often finds itself in a field of tension between aspiration and reality – without losing the joy of experimentation.
In this coffee talk, Bianca shares her experiences as a community dance artist and dance facilitator in the context of her work on the “False Farm”. The focus is on community building and her personal research questions about dance in rural spaces. Bianca lives and works in rural southern Germany and is currently studying a Masters in Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism at London Contemporary Dance School.
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom for the first time on October 18 from 10 to 11 am. From then on, this will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
Roberto Casarotto (Bassano del Grappa, Venuto, Italy) on curating dance projects in north-eastern Italy
Roberto Casarotto is the co-director of »Aerowaves«, the European Platform for Dance promoting cross-border mobility of the work of emerging dance artists. He is also the initiator of »Dance Well« – Movement Research for Parkinson’s and other processes aimed at fostering participation in cultural activities both on a community and on an individual level. From 2006 to 2022, he was responsible for the dance projects and programs at »Centro per la Scena Contemporanea di Bassano del Grappa« (CSC) and »Operaestate Festival Veneto« in small cities and rural areas in the North East of Italy. He still develops international projects there now, supported by the EU Creative Europe and Erasmus + Programs, aimed at supporting artistic research, engaging local citizens and promoting artistic mobility and development in the field of dance. Prior to working for dance organizations, Roberto was a professional contemporary dancer.
In this Coffee Talk, Roberto will give insights into his wide range of experience in program creation and producing contemporary international dance in rural areas of northern Italy.
From participating in learning processes to attending performances during the weekend gatherings, “Implantieren ‘24” offers a variety of ways to get involved and, in collaboration with numerous partners, weaves a rich ecosystem of relationships.
“Implantieren ‘24” is a performing arts festival called “On the Ruins of the University.” Taking place on the former university campus in Bockenheim, Frankfurt, it explores what new things can grow from the ideological heritage and physical remains of the university. The festival questions how we can reinvent societal learning without exclusions and how can we learn from brokenness now, rather than just preparing for the future?
With its 13 projects, across venues in Neu-Isenburg, Offenbach and Frankfurt, the festival lays out an imaginary topography of a university in ruins. There are projects that delve into the dungeons of the university, where the Enlightenment persecuted heretics, objectors, and deviant bodies, questioning which forms of knowledge and which bodies have been excluded. And others that settle in the in-between and unused spaces, asking if it’s possible to gather without purpose and practice a new form of community. And also those that study how the campus can be transformed back to its literal meaning, a “field,” and how this transformation can help us reopen questions about the endangered ecologies we are part of today.
The theme of the “Verbindunngen fördern” conference “democracy and digitality” is the interfaces between democracy and digitality.
Experts from various disciplines will share their knowledge, experiences and strategies in the form of keynotes, impulses, workshops and exchange rounds and actively invite participants to test and reflect.
During a political soirée on the first day of the conference, politicians and experts from the independent scene are invited to publicly discuss the role of structural funding for democracy.
The event is also explicitly aimed at people who are not active in the performing arts but would like to exchange ideas and gain qualifications on these topics. The full program will follow shortly.
Registration via eventbrite
The registration deadline is November 4.
As part of the ATOLL Festival in Karlsruhe, the Kreationsbündnis für Zirkuskunst – Zirkus ON is presenting the 6th edition projects selected by a jury to a public audience for the first time.
The following work-in-progress pieces will be on show, each with a short
audience feedback format afterwards:
Hybrid by IceDanceTheater-Fusion
Lasterhaft by La Tanik
still.dependent by Hanschitz & Beierer
On the following day (19.9.), the alliance partners and mentors will meet with the artists. Based on the DasArts feedback methodology, the three projects will be discussed individually. Constructive feedback will be collected for further creation.
For the third time, the Netzwerk Freie Szene Saar is organizing the festival of independent performing arts in Saarland. From drama, music, dance, performance, sound art and live radio plays to children’s theater, everything the Saarland independent scene has to offer will be on display in and around the Erzhalle of the Völkinger Hütte World Cultural Heritage Site.
In the run-up to the festival, City Management Völklingen will host the STADTLABOR, which invites you to workshops, discussions and exchange formats to bring artists and city residents as well as art and everyday life together.
#Becoming active together
In this workshop as part of the training programme “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society”, central fighting terms, rhetorical patterns and organized approaches of the right-wing culture war will be explained. In addition, possible courses of action for dealing with intimidation, hostility and threats are presented and discussed. Participants are given the space to present their experiences and reflect on situations in interactive exercises.
Art and culture represent an important field of action for right-wing extremism and populism to implement their political ideas. This is because this is where current social issues and conflicts are discussed and where there is room for controversial debates. What strategies does this cultural struggle from the right pursue? How can and should we react to it?
The aim of the event is to raise participants’ awareness of the strategies and facets of this cultural struggle on the one hand and to strengthen their confidence to act on the other.
Speakers: Kerstin Kuballa and Matthias Müller from the Mobile Counseling Service against Right-Wing Extremism Berlin (MBR).
The SPURENSUCHE 2024, the working meeting of the independent children’s and youth theaters, will take place on October 10th (from 2 p.m.) and October 11th (until 4 p.m.) in the Junges Theater Augsburg together with the PERSPEKTIV:WECHSEL alliance. After 2 years, the alliance, which is supported by “Verbindungen fördern”, has brought the following questions to the SPURENSUCHE:
What is the starting point of the German children’s and youth theatre festival scene in relation to diversification processes?
How can processes of critical debate about power find their way into artistic practice?
How do we create safer spaces that live up to their name?
What have we learned and what do we want to discuss with you?
#Act and Hold
In this workshop as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – using knowledge to qualify for action for a diverse society”, the participants work together with speakers from the Anne Frank Education Center to recognize the different forms and mechanisms of racism, to develop a self-reflective attitude and to take the perspectives of those affected seriously. Building on this, there is space for reflection and exchange on action strategies in the context of art and culture.
Racism is part of our everyday lives and our society. Whether visible or invisible – racism influences our relationships and coexistence and has a violent effect. However, the experiences of those affected are often not recognized. When dealing with racism, it is often the debates about language and images that unsettle many people. Many everyday terms and images have their origins in colonial racist ideas or are based on ideologies of inequality.
The seminar at the Anne Frank Education Centre offers the opportunity for discussion and exchange. It raises awareness of the different forms and mechanisms of racism, develops a self-reflective attitude and takes the perspectives of those affected seriously. Building on this, space is provided for reflection and exchange on action strategies in the context of art and culture.
Speakers: Anne Frank Education Centre
#Take action together
This experience exchange as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” takes place as a hybrid format at the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL in the Harz Mountains. Together with the Landeszentrum Freies Theater Sachsen-Anhalt e. V., Frauke Wetzel (“Der Rahmen ist Programm”) and Jan Hendrik Hermann (THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL) will open a discussion framework and exchange moment for colleagues with curatorial responsibility for festivals, festivals or other public cultural events.
Diverse, empowering, open and safe cultural events are essential pillars of a democratic society – and cannot be taken for granted. How can festival organizers open up and maintain these democratic spaces through curation and event design? Which regional practices can be adapted in supra-regional exchange? What hurdles do the actors encounter in their respective working practices? Local and international festival organizers are invited to discuss these and other questions together in a moderated discussion.
The aim of the Experience Exchange is to provide a platform for networking and exchange between national and international festival organizers in order to discuss practical experiences, consider (joint) options for action and learn from each other. The promotion of democratic cooperation in the festival or event context forms the connecting element.
#Take action together
In this experience exchange as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society”, Diana Wesser and Sandra Bringer from the Artist Lab “Celebrating festivals” share research results and strategies on festivals as performative acts with a focus on rural areas. Do right-wing groups use existing festivals to cultivate and expand their following? Can performing arts compete with right-wing groups and gain a new audience at village festivals? What overlaps are there with festivals? What strategies can be adapted for festival work in rural areas?
In the subsequent exchange, festival organizers are invited to share regional experiences and discuss supra-regional approaches.
background
Theatricality, fictionalization, assembly, play, stories and regional themes – these are festival components that can have a socio-political impact, strengthen communities and experience diversity in a positive way.
As part of the Artist Lab “Celebrating Festivals”, 2023 investigated how festivals work in rural areas. Village festivals and festivals in small towns in Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were visited.
The Artist Lab “Feste Feiern” sees itself as a network of associates, interested people in rural areas, creators and co-creators that goes beyond the participating artists. “Feste Feiern” encourages people in rural areas to forge stronger relationships and open up spaces for encounters using the performing arts.
Zur Veranstaltung
The second experience exchange in the #Gemeinsam aktiv werden module will take place as a hybrid format at the Phoenix Theater Festival. Participation is possible in presence and digitally.
We also recommend participating in the face-to-face workshop at the Phoenix Theater Festival entitled “HACKATON Toolbox performing arts & activism – think, develop, act” and in the qualification and networking format at the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL entitled “Creating democratic spaces and keeping them open in festival curation”. The formats can be combined in terms of content. There will be moments of exchange at all events, which are intended to promote supra-regional networking among festival organizers.
#Take action together
In this workshop, Sandra Bringer and Diana Wesser invite you to a practical think tank as part of the qualification program “Promoting Democracy – Qualifying with Knowledge for Action for a Diverse Society”. The aim is to explore the relationship between art and political activism and the extent to which the performing arts are useful as a tool, a channel and a place for socio-political democratic negotiation processes. The aim is to create a “performing arts & activism toolbox” oriented towards the common good.
Festivals act as central anchor points for a decentralized independent scene and offer low-threshold opportunities for exchange, contact and the activation of audiences in the independent performing arts. This is where the workshop comes in. It will take place at the Phoenix Theater Festival in Erfurt.
In a short input, Sandra Bringer and Diana Wesser will map the topic using examples of their own performative attitude and exemplary formats of other activists and artists. In the subsequent hackathon, smaller groups will develop their own performative and/or discursive formats in a theory-practice transfer. The ideas will be implemented on site in a practical self-experiment. The tools developed for events and festivals will then be made available online for everyone in line with the open source concept.
Following the presence workshop, a hybrid experience exchange entitled “Festivals and festival culture – countering the decline of democracy in rural areas through performance” will take place at the Phoenix Theater Festival. In addition to this, we also recommend taking part in the qualification and networking format as part of the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL entitled “Creating democratic spaces and keeping them open in festival curation”.The formats can be combined in terms of content.
There will be moments of exchange at all events, which are intended to promote supra-regional networking among festival organizers.
Munich moves @ rodeo 2024. Here, radical cheerleading meets soft masculinity. Here, dancing in anatomy classes and singing about nursing are just part of the experience. Here, people come together to watch, talk, sleep, and celebrate diversity through shows, workshops, and parties, both in the Kreativquartier and across various venues throughout the city.
At rodeo 2024, the body is in the spotlight: whether seen as male or female, young or old, healthy or ill; conforming to norms or defying them; As a queer, virtual, or collective body. Bodies are more than just bones and skin—they are seismographs of our society, bearing the imprints of values, ideologies, and desires. How we perceive and treat bodies is an eminently political question. Recently, the growing right-wing movement has also targeted the body as a battleground, agitating against “gender ideology” and sexual self-determination.
This year’s Rodeo selection stands for diversity against these repressive policies. In their works, the artists celebrate resistance, rebellion, and defiance. They envision utopias for a better tomorrow while also exploring themes of weakness, exhaustion, and vulnerability.
How do we remain tender in times of brutalization? How can we make our echo chambers and bubbles permeable again? The 12 selected pieces are a plea for empathy and attentiveness—toward people and the world around us.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes – that’s what they say when something that was thought to be dead rises again, when there is a new beginning for something that was already finished or when you get something back that you thought was lost. All of this applies to what PHOENIX e.V. wants to do with cultural sites that have been abandoned.
Lack of money, rationalization and mergers were the main reasons why deep wounds were torn by the abandonment or closure of entire buildings, especially in the new federal states. Cultural sites such as the Schauspielhaus in Erfurt were abandoned overnight and left to their own devices. Sites of collective memory and personal history rotted away in the middle of the city.
PHOENIX wants to revive such places – through sustainable and long-term artistic initiatives. By organizing and staging cultural events such as festivals, conferences, theater productions, performances, concerts, urban projects, exhibitions and symposia, PHOENIX aims to set an example, provide encouragement, support local actors and thus reposition culture in the city. This is not about commercial use, but exclusively about specifically expanding the cultural offer in the respective city.
When working together, there are hierarchies, whether we like it or not. Sometimes it has to do with individual ways of working, sometimes it is due to the responsibilities of tasks, or both. Hierarchies are not bad in themselves, unless they are denied, or they are not comprehensible. In any case, they require common, transparent agreements. In this workshop we would like to find out with the participants how hierarchies and unresolved power relations can be detected and addressed in the context of cooperation and which tools are needed for this.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The prerequisite for participation is therefore to bring your own issue or problem in working with Excel in the context of production work in the independent performing arts and to present it in an open exchange format.
In the digital companionship programme, one companion with transnational expertise supports one participant in the development and expansion of their own transnational working practice as a producer in the independent performing arts. The ten companionship duos will each spend six individual companionship sessions independently and self-organised in the digital space with a focus on personal exchange of experience and knowledge on transnational contexts and relationships. We will accompany the six individual sessions in the respective duo constellations with digital supporting events: a common kick-off and closing meeting, informal meetings between the companions and participants, a moderated reflection session and three public inputs on selected topics of the programme.
Time, money, and the involvement of experts are decisive factors in producing accessibility. To work as an anti-ableist producer, one constantly explores their scope for action and deals with different conditions.
The speakers will distinguish the two concepts and share criteria, using various examples from their own anti-ableist practice. In the workshop, we will work together to develop an understanding of how to plan accessibility measures for your own project with different time and budget constraints and implement them with experts.
In the workshop, the participants deal with power structures and (their own) privileges and develop strategies for mutual support in the hierarchical theater structures. They will also look at their own resources and how they can make use of them. How can I become sensitive to implicit exclusion and discrimination? How can I support colleagues who are subjected to racist attacks? How can I express criticism without jeopardizing my career?
The aim of the workshop is to unite theater makers through sensitization and to enable new forms of community in the field of theater.
– Let’s talk about Wallpaper –
We, “The Lemon” collective, will explore the Poetic, Political, and Narrative Potential of wallpapers – a seemingly mundane silent witness that is around us.
Coming from different backgrounds in classical music, software engineering, theatrical performance, and multimedia art, we peel back the layers, discovering a tapestry of stories.
Sitting in a bar staring at the wall while having nothing serious to say, made us discover personal and cultural connections to the topic.
We seek to unravel the storytelling potential, finding parallels to political issues such as gentrification of cities and socio-economic differences.
Who is able to shape their personal surroundings to their wishes? How much do our surroundings influence our way of thinking/feeling?
THE LEMON : Alicia Reyes, Lucas Xerxes, Robin Plenio, Joern Griepenburg
In the heart of the post-Soviet era, we as a group of young Russians, the first free generation, confronts the complexities of our homeland’s socio-political landscape. Faced with challenges, including widespread arrests and a stifling atmosphere, we embark on a profound research project focusing on the omnipresent tool wielded by the Putin regime: propaganda.
This interdisciplinary team, consisting of actors, musicians, and a puppet theater artist, aims to dissect the evolution of Russian propaganda from the Soviet Union’s collapse to the present day. Rejecting traditional hierarchical structures, the team operates horizontally, exploring the effectiveness of a leaderless collaborative approach in artistic endeavors.
Ilya Khodyrev, Mikhail Poliakov, Vsevolod Kovalenko, Tatyana Ochsenohr
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
[Whole]Contacts create a state of suspension full of ambiguity. When and how does contact arise, what are the limits and what happens if it flickers, exists for a while and then doesn’t again? We want to research establishing contact, maintaining contact and breaking off contact and investigate how these processes work or fail. As a young theater collective, it is important to us to break down elitist barriers to access to theater as well as those between audience and performers. In our research we deal with physical and linguistic [shaky] contact in analog and digital space, as well as their entanglement.
FUTUR.X: Fiona Grün, Anastiya Shtemenko , Alexandra Paal, Sophie Gigou, Stefan Ammer
We, Pia Katharina Jendreizik, Declan Hurley and Brice Stapelfeldt from people like die, are exploring, together with Fia Neises, the chances and possibilities of a form of stage expression that includes deaf, blind and visually impaired, hearing and sighted artists and their audiences and their individual Perceptual styles taken into account.
Our goal is to develop a barrier-free aesthetic practice. The starting point will (as always) be communication. How do we organize ourselves? How do we find an equal basis? How do we ask each other questions and what questions do we ask?
What is important for the development of barrier-free aesthetics? What is possible? What do we want? How do we build on experiences we have? What do we share? What could we share?
PEOPLE LIKE THIS : Declan Hurley, Pia Katharina Jendreizik, Brice Stapelfeldt, Fia Neises
The funding grant notification has arrived! But what happens now? What actually does necessary, economical and sparingly mean, what is unsexy called regulation on sub-threshold procurement (in German even unsexier: Unterschwellenvergabeordnung) or an early commencement of the project? What in the Federal Travel Expenses Act is important for us who work in cultural funding, which documents do I have to collect and how do I document/explain correctly?
The workshop excel is not a landscape has laid the foundations for budget monitoring within an individual production in the independent performing arts. By linking a continuous document entry with the cost centres within the cost and financing plan, a system is created that allows producers to see at any time which funds from the overall and individual budgets are still available for use in a production and which have already been spent.
The session with Agnieszka is intended to provide a safer space for exchange, centering disabled and/or chronically ill producers and their perspectives.
The following topics will be discussed: What does it mean to work as a disabled and/or chronically ill person as a producer in the independent performing arts? How do other colleagues experience this? How do accessible working practices look like for disabled and/or chronically ill producers?
cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from their own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
As part of our onboarding, we provide an insight into our offering and show ways to become an active part of produktionsbande. Onboarding takes place online via Zoom and can be conducted in German or English, depending on requirements.
The UN Roundtable format includes regular online meetings where UN partners, other BIPoC networks and individual arts and cultural practitioners from across Germany come together to share their knowledge and tools to strengthen intersectional BIPoC movements. Shared tools will then be developed in the form of an infographic and/or video for other members of the community to use.
UN Labs are residencies for BIPoC artists to promote creative exchange, experimentation and collaboration in rural areas or a project workshop program for BIPoC artists to work with young people who are socio-economically disadvantaged due to their refugee context.
UNacademy are discussion rounds between artists and cultural professionals, politicians and administrators, for the exchange of knowledge and experience as well as for exploring needs-oriented options for action.
UN Roundtables are residencies for BIPoC artists to promote creative exchange, experimentation and collaboration in rural areas or a project workshop program for BIPoC artists to work with young people who are socio-economically disadvantaged due to their refugee context.
Choreographer Hannah Ma (Wawern, Rhineland-Palatinate) talks about the idea of how dance can be radically solidary and asks: How can we use dance in rural areas to work together in the long term, form friendships, networks and communities, cultivate and promote discourse, (privilege) reflection, solidarity and empathy?
Dramaturge Charlotte Mathiessen (Zurich, Switzerland) presents the unique funding platform TanzPlan Ost, which enables contemporary dance in the region of Eastern Switzerland/Principality of Liechtenstein as part of a three-stage model.
https://www.tanzplan-ost.ch/editorial
The new series will start on June 13 at the original time with an opening in English, in which Pascal Sangl and Elisabeth Nehring will give a thematic outlook and the “tanz weit draußen” network will introduce itself and its work. Representatives of the regional teams from Brandenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Aktion Tanz and the project management team will be present to answer questions and exchange ideas.
/// The event will be held in English ///
The 4 Puppet Theater Collections (4PS) of the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance are awarding the 4PS Fellowship for the first time in 2025, an endowed research grant that offers space for concentrated work over six months to develop new ideas and approaches for the collections through research, research and conception.
The aim of the 4PS Fellowship is to initiate the research process for Citizen Science in the collections and to connect the four collections.
Das Kollektiv b/w*itch fragt nach queerfeministischen Perspektiven auf solidarisches Zusammensein. Für die Flausen+ Zeit forschen wir an kollaborativen Spielstrategien und dem queeren und feministischen Potential von Pilzen. In Moving Guts entwickeln wir ein Spielformat, das die unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten der Pilze als Ausgangspunkt für kollaborative Spielstrategien nimmt. Das Spiel als Format dient uns dazu utopische Momente zu ermöglichen und gemeinschaftliche Gefüge zu erleben. Ziel des Spieles ist das Patriarchat zu zersetzen, zu kompostieren und Nährstoffe für anderes freizusetzen. Wir forschen am Bühnenraum und wie dieser sich in ein begehbares Spielfeld verwandeln kann.
B/W*ITCH: Anngret Schultze , Esther Adam, Katharina Greeven, Kattalin Mitxelena Newiger
SHOW
The flausen+festival brings together follow-up productions by former flausen+ scholarship holders in one place and offers an insight into artistic debates about innovative topics, formats and aesthetics.
NETWORK
The flausen+festival thus creates a versatile space for encounters, networking and discourse with other artists, a specialist audience, but also the interested public.
DEVELOP
In addition, the festival provides impulses for flausen+ as an internal platform: in working discussions with flausen+ participants, with space and time to evaluate the program and discussions on current problems that affect artists and small and medium-sized theaters.
FAVORITEN – the theater, dance and performance festival of the independent scene in North Rhine-Westphalia – has been held every two years in Dortmund since 1985. It is one of the oldest festivals of the independent performing arts in Germany and is aimed equally at the people of the city and region as well as at a nationwide and international (professional) audience. For the 2022 and 2024 editions of the festival, Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller will be the artistic directors of FAVORITEN for the first time.
Under the motto (Un)Learning for possible futures, Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller will address the challenges of the present and the future on an artistic and discursive level for the FAVORITEN Festival. They place the joint, continuous process of learning and growing together between genders, generations, classes and borders at the center of the festival. They want to grow together with Dortmund and the city society and at the same time put out feelers on a global level via the digital space and in doing so also learn with and from international partners.
Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller pursue a collective way of working. What they have in common is an excellent knowledge of the independent scene in North Rhine-Westphalia, a reflection on the perspectives of this very scene, and a great interest in shaping cultural policy and in regional, national, and international cooperation. The previous festival work of all three is characterized by a broad perspective on a wide variety of artistic genres.
This year, the artistic direction of FAVORITEN has been advertised directly for two editions. The longer-term perspective should enable a more sustainable collaboration with artists, partners and networks and support an even stronger anchoring of the festival in the city.
The next festival edition will take place from September 5-15, 2024 in Dortmund and digitally.
Hauptsache Frei was founded as a festival for the independent performing arts in Hamburg. Now in its 10th year, it has a new look to celebrate artistic diversity in Hamburg and beyond.
We are happy to invite you to experience contemporary trends, aesthetic innovations and socio-political discourse in a diverse interdisciplinary program at Fringify and to join in the conversation.
Düsseldorf and Mülheim an der Ruhr
The Impulse Theater Festival, together with artists and the Ringlokschuppen Ruhr, is opening a summer pool in MüGa Park for eleven days. The Conte Potuto group is designing a bathroom of dreams: almost without water, but full of the visitors’ wishes and ideas. TachoTinta play on dry land with the underwater rugby team, and in the TIGERS’ KITCHEN they don’t just fry, they also produce tasty hits.
OSTEN is a festival for art and mutual interest. It explores and celebrates “the East” as a landscape of change for people, nature and coexistence. From June 1st to 16th, 2024, the festival invites you for the second time to (re)discover the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen and “the East” with a diverse cultural program.
While the first festival focused on the Bitterfeld Cultural Palace, the 2024 festival will turn several places of industrial culture into a stage and explore unusual spaces in the city in the area between the former cinema, the municipal cultural center, the former factory fire department of the film and fiber factory, the industrial and film museum and the town hall.
The festival The Framework is the Program (DRiP) will take place in 2024 in collaboration with the Fritz Theater.
DRiP 2024 addresses the view from East to West and vice versa. In a city that experienced a revolutionary transformation after 1990 and whose consequences are still felt and visible, DRiP wants to offer an artistic platform for employment.
We don’t want to talk about each other, we want to enter into dialogue with each other and stay in conversation. We want to invite artists and visitors to change perspectives and look from East to West and vice versa. We show performances from Chemnitz, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia/Brazil and Manchester.
Netzwerk
Verbindungen fördern
What does ‘working in cultural policy’ actually mean – and what does it look like in practice? What strategies are there for helping to shape political decisions as an interest group, positioning projects effectively or establishing collaborative structures? What are the particularities of involving partners and stakeholders?
Helge-Björn Meyer provides an insight into the committee work of the BFDK and shows how political decision-making processes work and where representatives of the independent scene can exert influence.
Anna Steinkamp shares her expertise in strategic advocacy work using the example of ‘Promoting Connections’ and reports on how advocacy, especially in cooperation with networks, can be effective.
Eckhard Mittelstädt shares his many years of project experience from ‘tanz und theater machen stark’ (dance and theatre make you strong) – an exemplary project for a collaborative, partnership-based approach as a programme partner of ‘Kultur macht stark’ (culture makes you strong).
The exchange offers space for inspiration, discussion and networking – practical, open and with a view to common strategies.
Speakers: Helge-Björn Meyer, Eckhard Mittelstädt and Anna Steinkamp (BFDK)
How can the cultural policy concerns of the independent scene be effectively positioned in the political arena? Which narratives and arguments lead to success – even with MPs or administrators who are not familiar with the subject? And what is needed to keep cultural policy issues on the agenda in the long term?
We would like to discuss these and other questions with Anikó Glogowski-Merten (FDP), former member of the Bundestag Committee for Culture and Media, as part of our experience exchange.
The focus will be on concrete experiences from political practice: Which argumentation strategies actually work? How can the right means be used to make oneself heard – whether through networks, associations or the commitment of individual actors? And what paths lead to long-term visibility for cultural policy issues beyond project-related events?
Speaker: Anikó Glogowski-Merten (FDP)
In this experience exchange, the alliance partners of United Networks (UN) – Hannah Ma (hannahmadance), Ming Poon (Asian Performing Artists Lab) and Bassam Dawood and Chang Nai Wen (Sisyphos, der Flugelefant) – present the UN Hospitality Rider. This practical tool understands hospitality as a discrimination-sensitive practice of access, participation and care and was developed in collaboration with RuM artists, cultural initiatives, social partners and cultural institutions.
We invite you to join us for an open exchange: What does discrimination-sensitive cultural work mean? What conditions does discrimination-sensitive cultural work need in these contexts? What are the stumbling blocks in the collaboration between RuM artists, institutions and social organisations? And how can we work together to build sustainable, equitable structures – beyond short-term projects and well-meaning but one-sided ‘hospitality’?
The focus is on honest insights, shared learning and concrete impulses for cultural practice that emphasises access, participation and care.
Speakers: Hannah Ma (hannahmadance), Ming Poon (Asian Performing Artists Lab), Bassam Dawood and Chang Nai Wen (Sisyphos, der Flugelefant)
– Perspectives based on the example of the Kulturkessel project
What opportunities does private sector involvement open up, and what conditions are associated with it?
These questions are the focus of the experience exchange with Ilona Schaal (Theater Rampe) and Maximilian May (Kulturkessel project manager). The discussion will be based on the specific example of the Kulturkessel project, an initiative of the Cultural Committee of German Business, which was realised with the support of Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart. Theater Rampe is currently being supported by the project.
Together, we will take a look behind the scenes of the project: How did the collaboration come about? What freedoms and limitations does sponsorship by a commercial enterprise entail? And how can such a partnership between culture and business be made sustainable?
Speakers: Ilona Schaal (Theater Rampe) and Maximilian May (Kulturkessel project manager)
How can feedback be designed in such a way that it promotes creative processes rather than inhibiting them? What role do language, structure and attitude play in a constructive feedback dialogue? And how can a sustainable feedback culture be established in the loose, diverse structures of the independent performing arts?
In this exchange of experiences, we will join Andree Wenzel from Zirkus ON in exploring how feedback can be understood and used as a co-dramaturgical tool.
Using examples such as DASARTS, questionnaires, Mentimeter and feedback talks, we will present various formats that Zirkus ON is experimenting with. The aim is to create spaces for resonance in which feedback works on an equal footing, responsibility is shared and sustainable collaboration emerges.
Speaker: Andree Wenzel (Zirkus ON)
It’s that time again…
Withholding tax, value added tax: Various tax returns for the past months must be submitted by the 10th of the month following the end of the quarter. This joint session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a special focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic again until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange ideas.
Cultural policy round table with artistic contributions from Thuringian puppeteers
In Thuringia in particular, there is an urgent need for cultural policy dialogue if the right to participate in cultural life is to apply in rural areas as well. The cultural policy round table brings together a variety of cultural and cultural policy actors as well as freelance artists to stimulate this dialogue.
Findings from the model project ‘More Puppet Theatre on Site’ carried out in spring 2025 will be presented and examined. Input from representatives of cultural policy and culture will contribute to the discussion of concrete recommendations for action with the guests present and to further reflection.
An event organised by LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen in cooperation with the Thüringer Theaterverband and the Bündnis KompleXX Figurentheater.
The cartography of the puppet, figure and object theatre scene ‘KompleXXplorer’ is waiting for your entry! Whether you are a performer, puppet theatre educator, puppet maker, guest theatre or amateur performer – you are all invited to register here. If you have any questions or problems with the registration process, you can take part in an open question and answer session via Zoom on Wednesday, 1 October 2025, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. or 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. at this link.
In this workshop, Ingo Sawilla will use numerous practical examples, tips and tricks to talk about strategies for the efficient and creative use of communication measures for festivals, cultural institutions and event organisers, and provide inspiration for concrete implementation in daily work with the press, on social media and in sales. He has 20 years of practical experience in PR with a focus on social media for cultural institutions and provides insights into the confident use of contemporary forms of communication.
In this two-part workshop, Harriet Lesch provides insights into how festivals can deal with this complexity in terms of budget planning:
In the first part, she uses a sample budget to show how budgets for independent performing arts festivals are planned and which funding regulations can be consulted in order to draw up suitable application budgets. In the second part, participants can ask specific questions tailored to the realities of their festival work in order to come up with solutions together in discussion with the participating festival organisers and FESTIVALFRIENDS representatives.
– Shared knowledge from ‘Fostering Connections’
With NETZANSCHLUSS, the model project ‘Fostering Connections’, currently with nine funded alliances with a total of more than 130 partners from the independent performing arts, is concluding its final funding phase. To mark this occasion, we cordially invite you to TOLLHAUS Karlsruhe to gain insights into the knowledge gathered by the alliances.
NETZANSCHLUSS brings together all the expertise of the alliances supported by ‘Fostering Connections’. Participants in the alliances share their collective knowledge and experience in workshops and exchange formats. We also talk to cultural policy spokespersons about our pioneering funding model and emphasise the need for structural funding such as this beyond 2025.
With NETZANSCHLUSS, we are concluding ‘Fostering Connections’ and at the same time connecting all interested actors in the independent performing arts to our nationwide network.
What to expect:
• The best of the alliances
• Artistic contributions
• Launch of the final documentation #netzwert
• Free catering on both days
• Networking party
• 130+ participants
Creating networks, strengthening connections, keeping culture alive – especially in rural areas, networking is a key element in building sustainable structures and enabling artistic work.
We want to discuss together: What does successful networking in rural areas require? How can stakeholders strengthen each other? And how can sustainable relationships between art, local authorities and civil society be established?
Speaker: Pamela Goroncy and Jessica Buchholz (tanz weit draußen), Dr Elisabeth Nehring (Fachstelle Tanz MV), Kora Tscherning (puppeteer)
Whether it’s a regional alliance, an interdisciplinary collective or a loose action network, networks need communication – both internally and externally. But how does social media work in such structures? Who speaks for whom – and with whom? What coordination is needed in advance? Which formats are suitable for collective projects? Can a network really speak with one voice? Or is it more about creating spaces for resonance in which different voices can work together?
The first part focuses on fundamental considerations regarding communication in networks: What roles are needed? How can content be coordinated without reinforcing hierarchies? What pitfalls should be avoided?
The second part deals with the experiences and questions of the participants: What works – and what doesn’t? Which tools and working methods have proven themselves? The aim is a practical exchange that provides inspiration and encourages participants to think further about social media as a collaborative tool.
Speaker: Sebastian Göschel
Shrinking cultural budgets are also putting pressure on those involved in the independent performing arts in particular. In this situation, resilient networks are all the more important in order to be able to tackle shared problems together.
What characterises resilient networks and how can they be established?
Resilience should be understood as an empowering approach and not as a cost-effective substitute for solid cultural budgets. After a brief introduction to the topic of resilience and the role of social capital as the product of resilient networks, participants will be actively involved in the exchange of experiences. Together, they will discuss networking ideas and reflect on proposals for structuring.
Speaker: Dr. Marco Krüger (University of Tübingen)
Raising and proving own funds is a structural challenge for many actors in the independent performing arts – especially when it comes to network or alliance projects. In this exchange of experiences, we want to discuss experiences, questions and possible solidarity models together.
What ways have you found so far to generate own funds – and what difficulties have you encountered in doing so? Why is the requirement to contribute own funds often particularly problematic in the independent performing arts? And: What strategies or solidarity-based approaches already exist in the context of networks to overcome this hurdle together?
Speakers: Anne-Cathrin Lessel (LOFFT Leipzig) and Olaf Nachtwey (NFT)
Our collegial case consultation format cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
Following a common check-in and an introduction to a method of collegial case counselling, we will engage with the individual cases in small groups.
The break-out sessions then follow a structure in which several cases are discussed by one moderator, one case-giver and several counsellors. The allocation of roles can be agreed on individually in each round.
Accordingly, all participants are invited to share their own concerns, give feedback, listen, think together and thus support each other.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The prerequisite for participation is therefore to bring your own issue or problem in working with Excel in the context of production work in the independent performing arts and to present it in an open exchange format. We are looking for more complex issues that can be solved primarily in dialogue with colleagues from your own field of work.
Our collegial case consultation format cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
Folllowing a common check-in we will this time tackle a common topic and would like to exchange experiences and perspectives on the cooperation between the independent scene and state theatres.
Accordingly, all participants are invited to share their own concerns, give feedback, listen, think together and thus support each other.
EU citizens are free to move within the EU – of course. But what do I do if I want to invite artists and cultural workers from a third country to Germany for a guest performance or festival? Who needs a Schengen visa? How do artists and cultural workers get one, and how can I support them in the application process? How long are they allowed to stay in Germany? And are they even allowed to work with a Schengen visa? In our first workshop on visa issues, we will examine all the legal bases for short stays and focus on the implementation practices of the authorities involved. We will look at a few worst-practice examples and also discuss the (cultural) political dimensions of these issues.
Once the funding for a project is acquired, it is often a challenge to adjust the project budget in line with your own values and working methods. Especially when not every collaborator enters the process at the same time.
In this workshop, we will therefore present and discuss a budget template that not only contains concrete figures and sources (e. g. minimum fee recommendation, hourly rates for sign language interpreters, etc.), but also provides key questions for reflection on budget-justice and the implications for ethics and working methods. The aim is to clearly anchor the strategic and ethical positioning of the project and the people involved right from the initial budgeting process.
With the next edition of our core format, the big network meeting, for the fourth time we are inviting protagonists in artistic production in the independent performing arts to network together. It is important to us that the big network meeting is a shared space that consists less of self-promotion and more of colleagues interested in each other. The fourth big network meeting 2025 will take place from 30.05. – 01.06.2025 at Kampnagel in Hamburg.
Our offer of an online groove-in is aimed at all those for whom the upcoming network meeting is the first networking event or a first time in a long time. In the groove-in, we provide insights into the structure and vibe of the upcoming edition of the big network meeting and clarify any questions that arise about participation together.
With the next edition of our centrepiece format, the big network meeting, we are inviting those involved in artistic production in the independent performing arts to network together. For the fourth time already!
It is important to us that the big network meeting is a shared space that consists less of self-promotion and more of colleagues interested in each other. The fourth big network meeting 2025 will take place from 30 May to 1 June 2025 at Kampnagel in Hamburg.
In the four-hour, practice-orientated workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e. g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and develop it further according to individual needs.
For the development of one’s individual administration system, Martin will show in the workshop, for example, how a simple document assignment can be turned into cost centre accounting and budget monitoring in just a few steps within Excel. The functions used in Excel in this workshop are: SUMIF/S, IF/S, VLOOKUP and their combination.
We are facing a multidimensional global crisis, and I I must admit I do not have a ready-made-fit-all strategy for sustainable international career development for arts professionals. I am myself challenged by the following issues:
sustaining of a global network, building an international career while living in the peripheries, overproduction in the performing arts sector, widespread professional burnout, the isolation of the industry (the need for cross-sectoral projects), building financial independence and diversification of funding.
Short-term stays in Germany (or the Schengen Area) are subject to time restrictions. Longer stays generally require national visas or residence permits. This may be the case, for example, if artists or cultural workers are completing a residency, if they are hired at a theater for an entire season, or if the rehearsal period for a production lasts longer than three months—or if they want to relocate to Germany. We want to explore various residence options for third-country nationals who will be staying in Germany for the longer term, taking local administrative practices into account.
This first part of the series is dedicated to a juxtaposition or comparison of forms of employment in order to gain an overview of the spectrum of employment models. Sepide Freitag and Béla Bisom will combine their respective expertise and experience for this purpose. Together with the participants, they will work out the differences between various models, from employment to self-employment, and focus on some aspects that producers often encounter in the field of performing arts. In doing so, they always change perspectives and look at both ‘sides’, that of the employer/client and that of the employee/contractor. We explore various questions together: How do I figure out whether employment, hybrid employment or self-employment is the right model for me right now? When does it make sense to hire employees or when is a permanent position mandatory? Which ‘hard facts’ and which aspects of individual (and private) life situations are decisive? What should I bear in mind when transitioning between different models? What are the criteria, advantages and disadvantages for the contractor/employee and the client/employer? How can these be dealt with in each case?
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Brigitta & Gergely will dive into EU funding opportunities and share their experience in developing international projects, building partnerships, grant writing and what it takes to manage an EU project successfully. They will focus on the Creative Europe scheme, having extensive experience in that.
During the workshop you will have the chance to assess motivations, resources for and expectations from international collaborations.
Based on a fictitious artists’ collective and several sample productions within a calendar year, the participants will develop a budget monitoring template consisting of several cost and financing plans, but only one central document entry. The workshop will result in a budget monitoring system that can be helpful for producers to support collectives and individual artists with several projects.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
The impulse of Vânia Rodrigues has the following interests: While theatre and dance “companies”, mostly in the form of cultural associations, remain the paradigmatic organizational model in the performing arts, a limited yet growing number of artistic organizations are experimenting with different, more horizontal and collaborative forms of collective work. These are often production or creative structures managed jointly by artists and producers that, unlike conventional artistic collectives, are not vertically organized; do not rely on charismatic leadership; share administrative, management, production and even financial resources; distribute functions according to each project specific needs; and reclaim a distinct kind of comradeship-collaboration which entails authorial redistribution, and a new ecological sensitivity.
In this session, we will discuss experiences and implications of W.A.T. Working Apart Together and D.I.T. – Do It Together practices in performing arts production, and try to connect them with ecofeminist approaches to performance-making and collective organising in the context of the current ecocrisis.
gefährliche banden is an exchange format between the two networks gefährliche arbeit and produktionsbande – network performing arts producers where we talk about the practices, needs and visions for the collaboration of producers and technical directors as well as departments within independent scene productions. The format invites everyone related to the technical and/or production fields to share thoughts on how to make the collaboration between the fields more productive, smooth and cute.
This second exchange is facilitated by Anahí Pérez and Rosa Wernecke of Gefährliche Arbeit and Joelle Burrichter of produktionsbande.
Are your workdays getting longer while your body grows stiffer?
Did you even notice today that you were tired, hungry—or did you just push through and forget your body altogether?
No worries! Here comes your sweet physical reset:
A moment for your body to breathe, rebalance, and gently wake up again.
Producers Stretching invites you to bring mindful movement into your busy day.
In three simple phases, we build bridges between big responsibilities and aching backs, screen time and stiff necks—bringing a gentle flow into that constant “on-call” mode.
No prior movement experience needed!
You can do all exercises either seated or standing.
Expect easy routines focused on mobility, stability, and producer-friendly breath and body awareness—right when your afternoon slump hits.
How do I approach being or becoming employed? How do I employ others? Are you an employee or employer for the first time and wondering what you need to consider to create a good employee-employer relationship? What do I need as a minimum in terms of basic infrastructure to be able to employ someone? How do I communicate the framework conditions as an employer? What about issues such as pseudo-self-employment (Scheinselbstständigkeit) and the prohibition of better employment (Besserstellungsverbot)? What responsibilities do I actually have as an employer? And what does that mean for employees? How do I create a functional, just and preferably anti-discriminatory working environment and what can I do beyond my basic and legal obligations as an employer?
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Producers often enable and hold spaces for others and their processes. They frequently act as sole connectors between all artistic, creatively-organizational, creative-technical, and administrative stakeholders. But what about their own needs and experiences?
Together, we ask: What does it mean to work as a disabled, chronically ill and/or neurodivergent producer in the independent performing arts? What does an accessible working practice look like where we can take our own access needs seriously and center them? How can mutual support take shape?
In this orientation session, we will share our work and experiences with you on the question of how the KSK can become more accessible for producers/production managers. The offer is intended to give you an insight into the discussion and help you decide whether an application for admission to the KSK is an option for you. We will clarify together what the advantages and disadvantages of membership might be and where caution might be required.
In this open workshop, choreographer Sonya Lindfors (ONE DROP) invites you to talk about fictions and frictions – about speculative practices and about why intersectionality is so f***ing hard. About the ghosts haunting theatre stages and the power of the stage as a miracle making machine! In this 4 hour workshop-session participants will be invited to approach the topic at hand, fictions and frictions, by discussing, listening, writing and lightly moving. Participants are invited to engage in a way that is suitable for them. This session is open to all interested in the topic.
This special jour fixe invites all produktionsbande active members, accomplices, friends, associates and supporters from the broad spectrum of production practice to come together with many voices and from all the heterogeneous perspectives on production and networking.
Active members of the what’s next working group have developed various drafts, plans and variants to keep the network alive from 2026 without funding.
The aim of this special future (jour) fixe is to decide with as many people as possible which of these drafts should shape and enable our future work!
How can I be and remain a freelancer? This is the starting question for this edition of the series on employment models and forms of employment from the perspective of contractors and clients. Our working world in the cultural sector is characterised by individual projects and teams that come together at short notice and on a temporary basis. Self-employment is usually the form of employment desired and utilised by both sides. However, it still often does not fit in with the requirements of public funding and has to be defended time and again.
With this mutual support session, produktionsbande offers a safer space for production managers who identify as Black, Afro-German, or People of Color. The focus is on centering their voices, lived realities, and shared exchange.
The session will be moderated by Nara Virgens, a Black German-Brazilian production manager active in the independent dance and performance scene since 2015.
After the orientation, Part II of the event series ksk for producers as well! is aimed at all those who would now like to submit their membership application to the KSK. The questionnaire on compulsory insurance under the artists’ social insurance act (only available in German language) is the document we will be looking at and completing together with you in this session. The basis for this is your own data.
After a joint look at the application process, you will work on your applications in small groups and enter into a joint exchange for the completion process. If you already have all the necessary documents together, the application can be sent off at the end of the evening! If your application is not yet complete, we will help each other to find out which documents are still missing.
Producers Stretching invites you to bring mindful movement into your busy day.
In three simple phases, we build bridges between big responsibilities and aching backs, screen time and stiff necks—bringing a gentle flow into that constant “on-call” mode.
No prior movement experience needed!
You can do all exercises either seated or standing.
Expect easy routines focused on mobility, stability, and producer-friendly breath and body awareness—right when your afternoon slump hits.
Zwischen 18. Juni und 6. Juli 2025 wird in jeder der drei Impulse-Städte Mülheim an der Ruhr, Köln und Düsseldorf im wöchentlichen Wechsel ein dichtes Programm aus den durch eine Jury ausgewählten Produktionen des Showcase und dem Programmschwerpunkt Post-West zu sehen sein. Post-West fokussiert auf den Austausch zwischen Ost und West und schafft Begegnungsräume zwischen den Freien Szenen und Künstler*innen der Gastgeber-Region NRW und Ostdeutschland. Ein dritter Programmbereich Impulse meets… beinhaltet diskursive Formate, Workshops und Partys in Zusammenarbeit mit lokalen Partner*innen und Freund*innen des Festivals.
What are the opportunities and limitations of private funding for networks in the independent performing arts? Marietta Schoenberg and Dr Dimitra Will (actori – leading strategy consultancy for culture) will explore this question in this experience exchange. After an introduction to the basic possibilities of private funding in the performing arts, they will look at the necessary framework conditions and discuss the opportunities and limitations of networks.
They will present various options – from fundraising and sponsoring to approaches such as crowdfunding.
The experience exchange offers participants the opportunity to raise their own questions, exchange experiences and jointly develop strategies for the sustainable financing of networks in the cultural sector.
Speakers: Marietta Schoenberg und Dr. Dimitra Will (actori – leading strategy consultancy for culture)
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 2 #finanzielle Strategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’. The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
Artistic networks are increasingly faced with the challenge of positioning themselves in a dynamic social and political environment in a visible, effective and identity-forming way. Strategic narratives help with this. They are not mere narratives, but structured offers of meaning that provide orientation, create a sense of belonging and make joint action understandable both internally and externally.
In our experience exchange, we want to work out what strategic narratives actually are, what they can do for artistic networks and what the critical success factors are. We want to find out together how we can increase the visibility and impact of networks, what the building blocks and pitfalls are, and how such a process can be initiated, structured and moderated.Strategic narratives for networks
The event is aimed at actors in artistic networks who want to strengthen their strategic communication, bring their members together or make their social relevance more visible.
Speakers: Antek Krönung und Peter Hüben (Communications agency Benning, Gluth & Partner)
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 4 #Kommunikationsstrategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
Cultural Entrepreneurship: Opportunities for entrepreneurial networks in the independent performing arts
How can independent performing arts organisations finance themselves and remain competitive in the face of reduced cultural budgets?
Together with Friederike Kislinger (Kreatives Sachsen) and Dr Anne Heinze (4transfer) from the Landesverband der Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft Sachsen e.V., we will explore this question. After an introduction to the topic of cultural entrepreneurship and an overview of the players and their working environments, we will take a brief look at the value of creative work and the importance of entrepreneurial thinking.
The experience exchange provides participants with concrete tools, tips and examples and gives them a clearer idea of how entrepreneurial thinking can work in their own network and what challenges need to be overcome.
gefährliche banden is an exchange format between the two networks gefährliche arbeit and produktionsbande – network performing arts producers where we talk about the practices, needs and visions for the collaboration of producers and technical directors as well as departments within independent scene productions. The format invites everyone related to the technical and/or production fields to share thoughts on how to make the collaboration between the fields more productive, smooth and cute.
This second exchange is facilitated by Anahí Pérez and Rosa Wernecke of Gefährliche Arbeit and Joelle Burrichter of produktionsbande.
Let’s change and share perspectives! What perspectives on the practice of producers and their roles in the independent performing arts ecosystem exist among colleagues? These and many related questions will be addressed in this session together with Vânia Rodrigues (Portugal) and Karolina Dziełak-Żakowska & colleagues (Poland).
While theatre and dance “companies”, mostly in the form of cultural associations, remain the paradigmatic organizational model in the performing arts, a limited yet growing number of artistic organizations are experimenting with different, more horizontal and collaborative forms of collective work. These are often production or creative structures managed jointly by artists and producers that, unlike conventional artistic collectives, are not vertically organized; do not rely on charismatic leadership; share administrative, management, production and even financial resources; distribute functions according to each project specific needs; and reclaim a distinct kind of comradeship-collaboration which entails authorial redistribution, and a new ecological sensitivity.
In this session, we will discuss experiences and implications of W.A.T. Working Apart Together and D.I.T. – Do It Together practices in performing arts production, and try to connect them with ecofeminist approaches to performance-making and collective organising in the context of the current ecocrisis.
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
After the Excel workshop for beginners (excel is not a landscape) and the issue for advanced users (excel is not a solution), in the last issue of the new workshop series excells the producer martin bien invites all nerds to join in Excel brainstorming and problem solving.
What problems with Excel are you still facing? Which challenges are you still unable to solve and would like to get advice from Excel-loving colleagues?
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The workshop excel is not a landscape has laid the foundations for budget monitoring within an individual production in the independent performing arts. By linking a continuous document entry with the cost centres within the cost and financing plan, a system is created that allows producers to see at any time which funds from the overall and individual budgets are still available for use in a production and which have already been spent.
With the workshop excel is not a solution (but a tool), martin bien builds on basic Excel functions (SUMIF, IF/S, VLOOKUP) and invites participants to combine them with each other. The aim of the workshop is to develop a monitoring template that is further developed from a single production to a cross-production Excel logic.
Brigitta & Gergely will dive into EU funding opportunities and share their experience in developing international projects, building partnerships, grant writing and what it takes to manage an EU project successfully. They will focus on the Creative Europe scheme, having extensive experience in that.
During the workshop you will have the chance to assess motivations, resources for and expectations from international collaborations.
In 2025, we commit to our resourcing approach as the produktionsbande network: As it is uncertain at the moment whether there are realistic prospects of funding from 2026, 2025 is our last year in which we can maintain the produktionsbande network with our existing structure.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
The question of which resources you would like to share is deliberately an open one: any knowledge, any template, any (detailed) information, no matter how small it may seem, can potentially become a resource.
In the joint session, we invite you to take stock of your individual and shared resources: What materials do we use that we want to share and make accessible to our colleagues?
This first part of the series is dedicated to a juxtaposition or comparison of forms of employment in order to gain an overview of the spectrum of employment models. Sepide Freitag and Béla Bisom will combine their respective expertise and experience for this purpose.
The workshop series work it out is dedicated to topics relating to working constellations (freelance, permanent, hybrid) and aims to structure the complex issues in our cultural sector and answer them from a practical perspective.
part #1: fixed – freelance: either/or/and | 18.06.2025, 10 – 14
part #2: focus: permanent employment | 11.09.2025, 10 – 14
part #3: focus: self-employment | date will be announced as soon as possible
Short-term stays in Germany (or the Schengen Area) are subject to time restrictions. Longer stays generally require national visas or residence permits. This may be the case, for example, if artists or cultural workers are completing a residency, if they are hired at a theater for an entire season, or if the rehearsal period for a production lasts longer than three months—or if they want to relocate to Germany. We want to explore various residence options for third-country nationals who will be staying in Germany for the longer term, taking local administrative practices into account.
speaker: felix sodemann
The workshop will be divided into three parts.
part one: introduction
part two: hands-on workshop
part three: wrap-up & reflection
On the one hand, Excel is a simple spreadsheet programme, but on the other hand, it can also be quite intimidating for beginners. For everyday production, however, a look at the budget is unavoidable and is usually directly linked to opening Excel.
In the four-hour, practice-orientated workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e. g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and develop it further according to individual needs.
3rd Bavarian Theatre Meeting for Young Audiences
A breath of fresh air is blowing through Nuremberg in June:
The six most exciting, innovative, melodious and relevant productions of Bavarian children’s and youth theatre can be seen on the stages of Nuremberg.
PERSPEKTIV:WECHSEL invites you to watch the film ‘Was wäre das für eine Geschichte’ followed by a discussion on the topics of criticism of racism and empowerment.
Towards an understanding of professional working standards in the independent performing arts
Together with laprofth Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.
At this symposium, we would like to examine criteria for ‘professionalism’ and ‘quality’ in a regional context. Between impulse, workshop and table discussions, we will open up a space for exchange between representatives of traditional and contemporary working models who are working together on a new artistic language. The aim is a practical and solidary redefinition of the terms by the scene itself.
Guests and speakers:
Mareike Buchmann (SYMSOMA)
Dennis Depta (GLANZ&KRAWALL)
Helge-Björn Meyer (Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste)
Karl Josef Pieper (former consultant for theatre affairs and international cultural relations)
Jana Sonnenberg (Landesverband Freie Darstellende Künste Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
Felix Worpenberg (flausen+)
We cordially invite you to the second edition of KONFRIENDS, which deals with the audience question.
KONFRIENDS will take place as part of the Impulse Festival and in cooperation with the NRW Landesbüro Freie Darstellende Künste e. V. from 19.06. to 20.06.2025 in Mülheiman der Ruhr.
Registration for free participation in KONFRIENDS is now open: Registration for KONFRIENDS here
Festival, symposium, lectures and intensive workshops
What can puppet theatre contribute to democratic processes? The festival with hand and foot
Foot Festival and the 9th German Puppet Theatre Conference explore these questions. Those who want to creatively
to contribute creatively to democratic coexistence is invited to attend theatre performances,
lectures, symposium and intensive workshops from 15-24.08.2025 at the Theatre of the Night in
Northeim.
With productions from Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy and guest speakers such as Simon Franzmann from the Institute for Democracy Research at the University of Göttingen, Sandra Bringer from the artist group ‘agree to disagree’ with artistic projects for democracy, Frank Karbstein – puppeteer and media educator from Gera, Luzia Oppermann from online-theater.live and the moderation of the secret dramaturgical society.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
Das flausen+stipendium bietet einer Gruppe Freiraum für szenische Erforschung neuer Ideen. Zum Abschluss geben die Künstler:innen beim „makingOFF“ Einblick in die Forschung.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The Netzwerk Freier Theater (NFT) invites you to the 2nd digital symposium of the ‘Klima ändern’ programme. At the second meeting of the three-part series, the topic of socio-ecological transformation and sustainability will be addressed under the title THE FUTURE OF THEATRE THE WAY WE WANT IT.
After a guest contribution by Jonas Lage from the Norbert Elias Centre at the University of Flensburg, the exchange will continue in break-out sessions on concrete good and best practice measures in the field of ecological transformation and sustainability.
The event is aimed in particular at production houses / independent theatres from the field of independent performing arts as well as all people who deal with the cross-cutting issue of sustainability in networks.
Registration by 30.04.2025 by e-mail to: gerstemann@netzwerkfreiertheater.de
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series ‘A cup of coffee with …’.
Ralph Lister has been running Take Art, a British rural development organisation with a focus on touring in rural areas, for 30 years. Without its own building, it is based on a farm in the south-west of England, is funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and has an annual turnover of around €650,000.
In his talk, Ralph will talk about how Take Art was set up, its activities and its importance to the Somerset region in the South West of England, as well as its role in the EU SPARSE Plus project and its valuable insights into dance in rural areas.
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series ‘A cup of coffee with …’.
Barbara Bess is a choreographer, dancer and curator whose work explores the intersection of urban and rural spatial cultures. Since 2021, she has been developing the ‘SOMATIC’ artist-in-residence programme for movement research in a former village school in Middle Franconia, Bavaria.
The ‘Alte Schule’ serves as a dynamic research platform that offers artists from various disciplines the opportunity to realise projects, collaborate and exchange ideas. It promotes sustainable forms of artistic production and supports the generation of knowledge through collective engagement. The programme welcomes performers, visual artists, dancers, multimedia artists, sculptors and others.
Come to the coffee talk with Barbara Bess to find out more about ‘SOMATIC’ and the potential of artistic practice in the rural region of Central Franconia.
Challenges of Cultural Work in Rural Areas
We invite you to join our first digital UN Roundtable of the 2025 series! Together with Hannah Ma (hannahmadance) & Ming Poon (APAL – Asia Performing Artists Lab) – alliance partners of United Networks – we will dive deep into the challenges faced by racialized and marginalized artists and cultural workers in rural areas.
This roundtable is the first of three in our 2025 series, centering on the theme of hospitality—a framework that we’ve been developing since 2023. We will share experiences, identify challenges, and develop concrete recommendations for the Hospitality Rider that will be further developed at the upcoming UN Lab Bräsen 2025.
Invitation for:
– racialized and marginalized artists and curators who have already worked in rural areas – or who are interested in doing so
– cultural organizations in rural regions that currently collaborate with racialized and marginalized artists and cultural workers or intend to in the future
With this workshop as part of the flausen+bundekongress, the BFDK would like to support those involved in the independent performing arts in developing and implementing cultural policy strategies as collaborative practice for their own organisation, collective or network. Good practice examples from the various BFDK projects and measures will first be presented as brief input. Participants will share their experiences across federal states and identify possible synergies for joint cultural policy action.
Open configuration settings
In small groups, participants present their previous approaches, experiences and ideas and receive feedback. The aim of the format is to enable participants to reflect on and evaluate their previous cultural policy work. By highlighting interfaces in their respective cultural policy work and receiving input from the BFDK, the participants should be able to jointly develop strategies and concrete projects to collaboratively achieve their shared cultural policy goals. The focus will be on the political power of alliances and the opportunities that arise through alliances and networks.
Registration by e-mail to: art.revolution@icloud.com
How do networks develop a strategy together – not just at the top, but for all members? How can they grow and maintain their commitment while remaining open and inclusive?
In this experience exchange with Kerstin Tebbe from collective mind, we will explore how common goals can be defined and strategies developed through participatory processes.
Open configuration settings
We will also look at concrete strategies for fostering meaningful member engagement – including how to generate commitment, create value and engage new members. We will highlight how equity, power and participation come into play in these processes – and how a thoughtful approach can ensure that all voices shape the direction and culture of the network. You will leave with tools, tips and shared experiences to build stronger, better aligned and more equitable networks.
Speaker: Kerstin Tebbe / collective mind
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 1 #Organisationsstrategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
The event will be held in English and is free of charge.
Registration deadline: Until 07 May 2025.
Once the funding for a project is acquired, it is often a challenge to adjust the project budget in line with your own values and working methods. Especially when not every collaborator enters the process at the same time.
In this workshop, we will therefore present and discuss a budget template that not only contains concrete figures and sources (e. g. minimum fee recommendation, hourly rates for sign language interpreters, etc.), but also provides key questions for reflection on budget-justice and the implications for ethics and working methods. The aim is to clearly anchor the strategic and ethical positioning of the project and the people involved right from the initial budgeting process.
Open Model project for fair pay in professional theatre for young audiences Configuration settings
The workshop is aimed at all actors in the independent performing arts. Experience with productions and cost and financing plans is helpful, but not a prerequisite.
The workshop is designed and moderated by Kaja Jakstat and Katja Sonnemann. It is based, among other things, on almost four years of experience and findings from the collaboration between produktionsbande.
Experience exchange ‘Opportunities and challenges of a contribution scheme for networks ’The funding of the independent performing arts is currently facing major challenges. Against this backdrop, in this experience exchange we will look at questions of alternative ways of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts. Using the example of the Netzwerk Freier Theater e.V., we will talk about the process of introducing a contribution system in the Netzwerk Freier Theater and about the opportunities, possibilities and limits of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts.
Open Model project for fair payment in professional theatre for young audiences Configuration settings
Ann-Cathrin Lessel and Olaf Nachtwey would like to stimulate a productive process of reflection on the topic of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts and enter into an open, productive exchange with the participants.
Speakers: Ann-Cathrin Lessel (LOFFT Theatre) and Olaf Nachtwey (NFT)
The event is an offer from ‘Fostering connections’ and part of Module 3 #finanzielle Strategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Fostering strategies – Qualification programme for strong supra-regional alliances’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
The event will be held in German and is free of charge.
Registration deadline: Until 01 May 2025.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to the topic of ‘generational change’ with Miriam Paul, director of Theater Fadenschein, Braunschweig and others.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to three of KompleXX Figurentheater’s activities: the intergenerational pilot project ‘Catch the Puppet!’, the mapping of the puppet theater scene in Germany and the interdisciplinary Figurentheater summer school. Under the keywords Insights and Outlooks, we want to describe an interim status, present initial evaluations, share challenges and encourage exchange.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to two KompleXX Puppet Theatre campaigns: the Thuringia pilot project ‘More local puppet theater’ and the fellowship program 4PS (4PuppetTheaterCollections). Under the keywords Insights and Outlooks, we want to describe an interim status, present initial evaluations, share challenges and encourage exchange.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to two KompleXX Puppet Theater activities: the Hackathon ‘Sensors & Storytelling’ and the Symposium for Puppet Theater Pedagogy. Anyone who wants to know exactly who is behind the individual KompleXX projects and what is currently being created is cordially invited!
At the finalchoice, artists present their projects for the 2er scholarship in Rhineland-Palatinate 2025. A jury of experts then decides on the award of the scholarship.
Researchers from various disciplines, students, artists, experts and the public are invited to engage with puppet theater research. The aim is to stimulate the willingness to conduct research in puppet theater and to convey methods for its interdisciplinary research.
In a multi-day symposium with keynote speeches and best-practice examples, national and international actors will be invited to exchange ideas in order to record a structural analysis and documentation of the diversity of puppet theater pedagogy. The event will take place at the Figurentheater-Kolleg in Bochum in September 2025 and is aimed at the research audience as well as artists and educators.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
The Thuringian puppeteers meet at the premises of the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen in Erfurt to discuss in a moderated process what guest performance funding in Thuringia could look like. The resulting practical expertise will be made available to the Theaterverband Thüringen.
The creation alliance Zirkus ON invites you to the stage presentations of the 7th edition on September 24th in Karlsruhe.
As part of the ATOLL Festival in Karlsruhe, the Kreationsbündnis für Zirkuskunst – Zirkus ON will be presenting the current projects of the 7th edition to a public audience for the first time. Three work-in-progress shows will be on display. For the stage presentations, the focus is on feedback. The presentations are each followed by a short audience feedback format to actively support the projects for further creation.
Zirkus ON opens up the digital space to playfully discuss the topic of care, gather experiences and formulate the needs of the circus scene.
We discuss and present our performances, our artistic dialog with the audience, our artistic work. But we hardly talk about the work involved and the work of being able to show the performance. With Zirkus ONcare, we want to give space for this side of the work: to talk about it, to listen, to collect, to process and to present in order to create, as always, conditions in which we can work well. In particular, we want to look at so-called care work.
Save the date!
The creation alliance Zirkus ON cordially invites all alliance partners together with the Pfefferberg Theater to the kick-off presentations of the 7th Zirkus ON Edition on June 5 in Berlin.
The three artist groups, which were selected by the expert jury of the Zirkus ON creation alliance at the end of March, will present their project and then exchange ideas with the expert audience.
Following our big network meetings in hamburg (2021), munich (2022) and dresden (2023), we are returning to hamburg for the fourth edition, this time at kampnagel. From 30.05. to 01.06.2025, our fourth major network meeting will once again offer much-needed opportunities for exchange and networking for those involved in artistic production. We invite you to hold spaces together that combine multiple perspectives and draw their strength from dialog.
The new UN handout summarizes the findings of the UN Roundtables 2024, at which marginalized and racialized experts from the arts and culture discussed key challenges and solutions. The recommendations developed are aimed at cultural policy, administration and institutions – with the aim of improving access and creating more justice.
Live: Insta Live Talks with the experts – discuss with us!
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series “Auf einen Kaffee mit …”.
“SPARSE” has established rural touring networks in four European countries from 2018 to 2021. “SPARSE Plus”, which runs from 2023 to 2027, includes 11 partners from 9 European countries and conducts international tours.
Bebê de Soares is the artistic director of “Teatro 4Garoupas” near Cologne. She is a board member of “ASSITEJ” International. Since 2019, after 8 years in Chile, she is back in Germany, where she works as a producer and organizer of tours, residencies and collaborations at European level, such as “PERFORM EUROPE” and SPARSE Plus.
In this coffee talk, Bebê de Soares will give an insight into her work within the international rural touring network.
Our offer of an online groove-in is aimed at all those for whom the upcoming network meeting is the first networking event or a first time in a long time. In the groove-in, we provide insights into the structure and vibe of the upcoming edition of the big network meeting and clarify any questions that arise about participation together.
The joint working session excel is a life (not a good one, but one* does it) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a scheduled workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still bother us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
With the workshop excel is not a solution (but a tool), martin bien builds on basic Excel functions (SUMWENN, WENN/S, SVERWEIS) and invites participants to combine them with each other. The aim of the workshop is to develop a monitoring template that is further developed from a single production to a cross-production Excel logic.
In the four-hour, practice-oriented workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e.g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and expand it according to their individual needs.
For the development of your own administration system, Martin will show in the workshop, for example, how a cost center accounting and budget monitoring can be created from a simple document assignment in just a few steps within Excel. This workshop will focus on working with Excel using the functions: SUMWENN/S, WENN/S, SVERWEIS and their nesting.
In 2025, we would like to commit to our resourcing approach as the produktionsbande network: As it is uncertain at the moment whether there are realistic prospects of funding from 2026, 2025 is our last year in which we can maintain the produktionsbande network with our existing structure.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e.g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 a.m., choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series “Auf einen Kaffee mit …”.
Nadja Raszewski (choreographer and dance mediator) and Daniela Grosset (cultural manager and theater educator) have realized many dance productions and socio-cultural projects in a wide variety of contexts in Berlin, Germany and internationally in recent years. Their work is always about participation and co-design by the participants. In 2019, they founded the “Kollektiv Kulturland Ogrosen” out of a biographically motivated desire to expand their field of action into rural areas and to be active there both culturally and educationally. They now live on the site of a former pig farm in Ogrosen (Lower Lusatia) and organize art events in the form of residencies, workshops and performances, grow flowers and are members of the slowflower movement. Various dance productions have already been developed and shown in the expanded dance studio. Through the combination of art, movement, horticulture and education, culture in rural areas should not remain inaccessible as an elitist dimension, but should be experienced by everyone.
get to know “tanz weit draußen”
Under this motto, we open the doors to our Info.Zoom every two months on the third Friday from 10 to 11 am. Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
Dates: 21.02.10 a.m. / 18.04. 10 a.m. / 20.06. 10 a.m. / 17.10. 10 a.m. / 19.12. 10 a.m.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
This session is the third out of three public input sessions within the frame of the digital companionship programme: transnational contexts & relations, that is organised and hosted by Kreativ-Transfer, a project of Dachverband Tanz Deutschland and produktionsbande. In the companionship programme, one companion with transnational expertise supports one participant in the development and expansion of their own transnational working practice as a producer in the independent performing arts.
speaker: godlive lawani
the idea
bring actors together
strengthening the performing arts
actively shaping the future
The flausen+kongresses usually take place every two years on a biennial basis.
AUGENBLICK MAL! is the only nationwide festival of theatre for young audiences in Germany. The event has been held in Berlin every two years since 1991. At the festival, ten productions selected from the theatres’ proposals are shown and reflected upon and discussed in a supporting programme. The events are aimed at theatre professionals from Germany and around the world, young audiences and all other interested parties. You are very welcome!
Advance ticket sales are open!
On this website you can find the entire programme, an introduction to the team and information on ticketing.
The presale is open!
The next ASSITEJ Award Ceremony will take place on May 10, 2025 as part of AUGENBLICK MAL! The Festival of Theater for Young Audiences.
ASSITEJ awards several prizes every two years. The prizes honor people or institutions
who make a special contribution to the performing arts for young audiences and their diversity,
who are particularly committed to raising the profile of work for young audiences and with children and young people,
who seek dialog with the audience and promote reflection on it,
who are a source of inspiration for others – be it locally, regionally, nationally or globally.
International Cultural Exchange Freiburg (IKF)
Zirkus ON invites you to the 2nd edition of Zirkus ONstage together with the Internationale Kulturbörse Freiburg!
With Zirkus ONstage, the creative alliance for circus arts – Zirkus ON will be presenting three circus creations from the last Zirkus ON editions to a German and international audience of experts at the International Cultural Exchange in Freiburg (IKF) from January 20 to 22.
Groups of artists selected by an expert jury and supported for two years by the Zirkus ON creation alliance with mentoring, residencies, presentations, knowledge transfer formats and networking will perform. Zirkus ONstage is the final format of the creation program and creates a bridge between creation and distribution.
Rui Silveira on Something Great, a non-profit organization and live arts center in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
In this conversation, Rui will tell the story of Something Great, its history and its transformation from an internationally renowned performing arts touring agency based in Berlin to a cultural charity and live arts center rooted in an 18.6 hectare estate in the southwest of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Dedicated to the support, promotion and presentation of live art, the center focuses primarily on contemporary dance and performance art, but is also open to other art forms, such as the visual arts.
With another edition of the workshop “Radically polite in dealing with right-wing populism”, we are continuing the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” of our project “Promoting connections”.
#Communicate
The workshop looks at right-wing populist argumentation patterns and signal words and the intention behind them. How can we take a clear stance against right-wing populist statements in everyday life? Is a conversation useful and if so, how can it succeed?
Participants can expect a mixture of input, practical exercises and moderated discussion. They will gain applicable basic knowledge about right-wing populism and learn to recognize different situations and differentiate how to deal with them.
The workshop will be led by Tadel verpflichtet! e.V., which is committed to democratic coexistence.
Speakers: Matthias Jung, Katharina Klasen
With the experience exchange “Dealing with Nazi history in rural areas – between art project and educational work” with Felix Forsbach, we are continuing the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” of our project “Promoting connections”.
#Becoming active together
National Socialism remains a challenging topic that continues to have an impact today. This complexity contributes to the fact that right-wing extremist parties are gaining popularity again, threatening the existence of artists, cultural associations and initiatives for cosmopolitanism and diversity. This workshop will discuss the space of possibility that can be created through an artistic examination of National Socialism in the lives of people in rural areas.
In the social sculpture “augustusburger-protokolle”, Felix Forsbach has been artistically and transdisciplinary dedicated to the Nazi history of Augustusburg, a small town in Central Saxony, since 2021. His artistic work has led to a public discourse on how to deal with the history of the place and has reached many people of different ages through the explicitly artistic examination of the Nazi era. As part of the workshop, he will talk about the possibility of bonds between artists and residents and about the opportunities of long and processual residencies to encourage artists to tackle political issues explicitly and directly.
The event will be held in German and is free of charge. Places are limited.
After orientation and action, in the third part of the event series ksk for producers as well! we would like to conclude by inviting you to a joint exchange, which at the same time offers a space for open questions or issues that you have encountered in your membership application for the KSK.
The offer provides you with time together with us and all participants in which you can discuss and advance your concerns for the further processing and finalization of your application or your documents to be submitted.
To participate, it is therefore important that you bring a specific issue or question with you, which you briefly present and which can then be worked on together with you in breakout groups to support you in your KSK application process.
Sarah Soethoudt is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, cultural coach and founding member of the artist collective FLUJAS in Venlo, Noord-Limburg.
This region consists mainly of villages and small towns, which is both an enrichment and a challenge for professional artists. As a dancer and choreographer, Sarah develops site-specific works that are inspired by the surrounding forests and use them as a backdrop. She also devises specific performances in collaboration with partners such as museums and conservation organizations.
In her role as a cultural coach, she supports local artistic initiatives and encourages both professional artists and the residents of Venlo. FLUJAS is an artist-led collective that campaigns for better working conditions in Noord-Limburg. Most artists in this region face challenges such as visibility, funding, collaboration and know-how. FLUJAS brings artists together and offers them space to work and create with confidence and without pressure.
In this Kaffetalk, Sarah talks about her mediation work as a cultural coach, her artistic practice and collective work with a special focus on rural areas in the Netherlands.
Christina Elliot, Head of Programming & Producing at “The Place”, London’s center for dance development. Christina leads on the theater program, artist development initiatives, new productions and touring projects.
In this coffee talk, Christina will introduce the Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI) – a nationwide project that supports dance artists and rural promoters to create high quality dance performances in rural areas. Since 2015, RTDI has brought some of the UK’s best dance companies, such as Lost Dog, Protein and Scottish Dance Theatre, to rural areas.
Christina will share her experiences and explain how RTDI has transformed the dance scene in rural areas of the UK and continues to positively impact the touring landscape.
cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
In this session we deal with the complex topic of hospitality and discuss questions such as: How does it work? What makes a valuable hospitality practice, what are the ingredients? What field are we in? What are practices of hosting & guesting | invitation practices | opportunities & challenges of hospitality? How do I develop a multidirectional perspective and how does dealing with hospitality also influence questions of team development?
For producers, working at the interfaces with all those involved in an artistic production means maintaining open communication in all directions and, at the same time, bundling information and making it accessible to everyone. Friction can arise in this complex communication work, which can lead to potential conflicts.
In this two-part workshop for producers, Dana Caspersen will provide insights into methods for constructively framing, handling and, ideally, jointly resolving conflicts.
In this session we invite a critical eye on our existing networks, our informal champions and how to utilise these tools to identify new opportunities, disseminate work and push producing practices. We will look at the structure of networks and the importance of reciprocity in building lasting relationships. We will use this time to form a temporal network of information exchange where participants will be invited to offer their experiences and talk about their desires.
Tech riders or technical riders are technical documentations that are sent to theaters and event spaces in advance in order to plan the setup together. In the workshop, we talk about what should be included for stage, lighting, video, sound and special effects. And what other different forms of technical documentation can be used to make our lives easier when setting up.
This edition of skills & discourse is dedicated to income tax in an international context. Besides a theoretical focus with an application outlook by Felix Sodemann (touring artists), we will also take a closer look at the implementation in production practice together with Felix and Harriet Lesch with your example cases. Please send us your examples and questions with your registration by 6 October at the latest so that we can prepare them, include them in the workshop and discuss them together. Registration without submission of cases is open longer.
With Hikmat El-Hammouri from ver.di
The Verband freier Kinder- und Jugendtheater Bayern e.V. represents the concerns and needs of independent and professional theaters for young audiences. The association works to improve the working conditions and perception of independent children’s and youth theater throughout Bavaria. It also ensures that the needs of the sector continue to be taken into account in the design of new and existing state cultural funding.
With Michael Dietrich from Verband freier Kinder- und Jugendtheater Bayern e.V.
ASSITEJ e.V., the network of children’s and young people’s theaters, has conducted the first study to present the performing arts for young audiences in Germany in all their heterogeneity. Staff, programs and audiences of around 1,000 municipal and independent children’s and youth theaters, sections of municipal and state theaters as well as guest performance organizers throughout Germany were examined.
With Valerie Eichmann from ASSITEJ Germany
The Netzwerk Regie, which was founded in 2017 under the umbrella of ensemble-netzwerk, has represented the professional group of theater directors since 2022 and offers all professional colleagues a forum for networking and exchange. Among other things, the Netzwerk Regie has developed new model work contracts for directors with the German Stage Association, defined lower fee limits, organized congresses and training events, represented the interests of directors on a wide variety of panels and in discussion groups and is in close dialogue with cultural policy makers, trade unions and other networks.
With Jacob Weiß from Netzwerk Regie e.V.
The German Forum for Puppet Theater and Puppetry Art is planning a European Production House for Puppet Theater together with the Figurentheater-Kolleg Bochum. The aim of the project is to create a platform that promotes international exchange and the production of puppet theater plays. The aim is to create an infrastructure that offers puppet theater artists the spaces and conditions they need for their extraordinary work – unique in Europe and with the “Made in Bochum” seal of quality.
With Annette Dabs, Director of the German Forum for Puppet Theater and Puppetry, Bochum
With Seta Guetsoyan, Director of the Figurentheater-Kollegs, Bochum
What can you expect?
United Networks and House of Brownies invite you to a special BIPoC community gathering where you will have the opportunity to network with other BIPoC artists, creatives, associations, organizations and collectives from Hamburg and beyond. Let’s exchange ideas and find new ways to share resources within our BIPoC communities and collaborate more effectively.
Look forward to an interactive afternoon of speed working where you can find out how collaborative working can be strengthened. You will also have the opportunity to showcase your skills and resources in our Marketplace and see what other participants have to offer. Afterwards, you can continue networking over a delicious dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. At the end of the evening, there will be a live performance that you shouldn’t miss!
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom on December 13 from 10 to 11 am. This will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom again on November 15 from 10 to 11 am. This will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
Bianca Kruppa (Diebis, Bavaria) on community work on the “wrong farm” and the joy of making mistakes
What can a modern, sustainable and culturally diverse life look like in which a large number of people can participate and help shape it? With this central question in mind, the “False Farm” can be seen as a place that is constantly evolving. It offers space for content that is shaped by the creativity and expertise of local people. As co-founder of the “False Farm”, Bianca sees this place as a kind of collective resistance to the pursuit of the supposedly “right answer” – and instead creates space for something new. In doing so, Bianca’s community often finds itself in a field of tension between aspiration and reality – without losing the joy of experimentation.
In this coffee talk, Bianca shares her experiences as a community dance artist and dance facilitator in the context of her work on the “False Farm”. The focus is on community building and her personal research questions about dance in rural spaces. Bianca lives and works in rural southern Germany and is currently studying a Masters in Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism at London Contemporary Dance School.
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom for the first time on October 18 from 10 to 11 am. From then on, this will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
Roberto Casarotto (Bassano del Grappa, Venuto, Italy) on curating dance projects in north-eastern Italy
Roberto Casarotto is the co-director of »Aerowaves«, the European Platform for Dance promoting cross-border mobility of the work of emerging dance artists. He is also the initiator of »Dance Well« – Movement Research for Parkinson’s and other processes aimed at fostering participation in cultural activities both on a community and on an individual level. From 2006 to 2022, he was responsible for the dance projects and programs at »Centro per la Scena Contemporanea di Bassano del Grappa« (CSC) and »Operaestate Festival Veneto« in small cities and rural areas in the North East of Italy. He still develops international projects there now, supported by the EU Creative Europe and Erasmus + Programs, aimed at supporting artistic research, engaging local citizens and promoting artistic mobility and development in the field of dance. Prior to working for dance organizations, Roberto was a professional contemporary dancer.
In this Coffee Talk, Roberto will give insights into his wide range of experience in program creation and producing contemporary international dance in rural areas of northern Italy.
From participating in learning processes to attending performances during the weekend gatherings, “Implantieren ‘24” offers a variety of ways to get involved and, in collaboration with numerous partners, weaves a rich ecosystem of relationships.
“Implantieren ‘24” is a performing arts festival called “On the Ruins of the University.” Taking place on the former university campus in Bockenheim, Frankfurt, it explores what new things can grow from the ideological heritage and physical remains of the university. The festival questions how we can reinvent societal learning without exclusions and how can we learn from brokenness now, rather than just preparing for the future?
With its 13 projects, across venues in Neu-Isenburg, Offenbach and Frankfurt, the festival lays out an imaginary topography of a university in ruins. There are projects that delve into the dungeons of the university, where the Enlightenment persecuted heretics, objectors, and deviant bodies, questioning which forms of knowledge and which bodies have been excluded. And others that settle in the in-between and unused spaces, asking if it’s possible to gather without purpose and practice a new form of community. And also those that study how the campus can be transformed back to its literal meaning, a “field,” and how this transformation can help us reopen questions about the endangered ecologies we are part of today.
The theme of the “Verbindunngen fördern” conference “democracy and digitality” is the interfaces between democracy and digitality.
Experts from various disciplines will share their knowledge, experiences and strategies in the form of keynotes, impulses, workshops and exchange rounds and actively invite participants to test and reflect.
During a political soirée on the first day of the conference, politicians and experts from the independent scene are invited to publicly discuss the role of structural funding for democracy.
The event is also explicitly aimed at people who are not active in the performing arts but would like to exchange ideas and gain qualifications on these topics. The full program will follow shortly.
Registration via eventbrite
The registration deadline is November 4.
As part of the ATOLL Festival in Karlsruhe, the Kreationsbündnis für Zirkuskunst – Zirkus ON is presenting the 6th edition projects selected by a jury to a public audience for the first time.
The following work-in-progress pieces will be on show, each with a short
audience feedback format afterwards:
Hybrid by IceDanceTheater-Fusion
Lasterhaft by La Tanik
still.dependent by Hanschitz & Beierer
On the following day (19.9.), the alliance partners and mentors will meet with the artists. Based on the DasArts feedback methodology, the three projects will be discussed individually. Constructive feedback will be collected for further creation.
For the third time, the Netzwerk Freie Szene Saar is organizing the festival of independent performing arts in Saarland. From drama, music, dance, performance, sound art and live radio plays to children’s theater, everything the Saarland independent scene has to offer will be on display in and around the Erzhalle of the Völkinger Hütte World Cultural Heritage Site.
In the run-up to the festival, City Management Völklingen will host the STADTLABOR, which invites you to workshops, discussions and exchange formats to bring artists and city residents as well as art and everyday life together.
#Becoming active together
In this workshop as part of the training programme “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society”, central fighting terms, rhetorical patterns and organized approaches of the right-wing culture war will be explained. In addition, possible courses of action for dealing with intimidation, hostility and threats are presented and discussed. Participants are given the space to present their experiences and reflect on situations in interactive exercises.
Art and culture represent an important field of action for right-wing extremism and populism to implement their political ideas. This is because this is where current social issues and conflicts are discussed and where there is room for controversial debates. What strategies does this cultural struggle from the right pursue? How can and should we react to it?
The aim of the event is to raise participants’ awareness of the strategies and facets of this cultural struggle on the one hand and to strengthen their confidence to act on the other.
Speakers: Kerstin Kuballa and Matthias Müller from the Mobile Counseling Service against Right-Wing Extremism Berlin (MBR).
The SPURENSUCHE 2024, the working meeting of the independent children’s and youth theaters, will take place on October 10th (from 2 p.m.) and October 11th (until 4 p.m.) in the Junges Theater Augsburg together with the PERSPEKTIV:WECHSEL alliance. After 2 years, the alliance, which is supported by “Verbindungen fördern”, has brought the following questions to the SPURENSUCHE:
What is the starting point of the German children’s and youth theatre festival scene in relation to diversification processes?
How can processes of critical debate about power find their way into artistic practice?
How do we create safer spaces that live up to their name?
What have we learned and what do we want to discuss with you?
#Act and Hold
In this workshop as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – using knowledge to qualify for action for a diverse society”, the participants work together with speakers from the Anne Frank Education Center to recognize the different forms and mechanisms of racism, to develop a self-reflective attitude and to take the perspectives of those affected seriously. Building on this, there is space for reflection and exchange on action strategies in the context of art and culture.
Racism is part of our everyday lives and our society. Whether visible or invisible – racism influences our relationships and coexistence and has a violent effect. However, the experiences of those affected are often not recognized. When dealing with racism, it is often the debates about language and images that unsettle many people. Many everyday terms and images have their origins in colonial racist ideas or are based on ideologies of inequality.
The seminar at the Anne Frank Education Centre offers the opportunity for discussion and exchange. It raises awareness of the different forms and mechanisms of racism, develops a self-reflective attitude and takes the perspectives of those affected seriously. Building on this, space is provided for reflection and exchange on action strategies in the context of art and culture.
Speakers: Anne Frank Education Centre
#Take action together
This experience exchange as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” takes place as a hybrid format at the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL in the Harz Mountains. Together with the Landeszentrum Freies Theater Sachsen-Anhalt e. V., Frauke Wetzel (“Der Rahmen ist Programm”) and Jan Hendrik Hermann (THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL) will open a discussion framework and exchange moment for colleagues with curatorial responsibility for festivals, festivals or other public cultural events.
Diverse, empowering, open and safe cultural events are essential pillars of a democratic society – and cannot be taken for granted. How can festival organizers open up and maintain these democratic spaces through curation and event design? Which regional practices can be adapted in supra-regional exchange? What hurdles do the actors encounter in their respective working practices? Local and international festival organizers are invited to discuss these and other questions together in a moderated discussion.
The aim of the Experience Exchange is to provide a platform for networking and exchange between national and international festival organizers in order to discuss practical experiences, consider (joint) options for action and learn from each other. The promotion of democratic cooperation in the festival or event context forms the connecting element.
#Take action together
In this experience exchange as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society”, Diana Wesser and Sandra Bringer from the Artist Lab “Celebrating festivals” share research results and strategies on festivals as performative acts with a focus on rural areas. Do right-wing groups use existing festivals to cultivate and expand their following? Can performing arts compete with right-wing groups and gain a new audience at village festivals? What overlaps are there with festivals? What strategies can be adapted for festival work in rural areas?
In the subsequent exchange, festival organizers are invited to share regional experiences and discuss supra-regional approaches.
background
Theatricality, fictionalization, assembly, play, stories and regional themes – these are festival components that can have a socio-political impact, strengthen communities and experience diversity in a positive way.
As part of the Artist Lab “Celebrating Festivals”, 2023 investigated how festivals work in rural areas. Village festivals and festivals in small towns in Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were visited.
The Artist Lab “Feste Feiern” sees itself as a network of associates, interested people in rural areas, creators and co-creators that goes beyond the participating artists. “Feste Feiern” encourages people in rural areas to forge stronger relationships and open up spaces for encounters using the performing arts.
Zur Veranstaltung
The second experience exchange in the #Gemeinsam aktiv werden module will take place as a hybrid format at the Phoenix Theater Festival. Participation is possible in presence and digitally.
We also recommend participating in the face-to-face workshop at the Phoenix Theater Festival entitled “HACKATON Toolbox performing arts & activism – think, develop, act” and in the qualification and networking format at the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL entitled “Creating democratic spaces and keeping them open in festival curation”. The formats can be combined in terms of content. There will be moments of exchange at all events, which are intended to promote supra-regional networking among festival organizers.
#Take action together
In this workshop, Sandra Bringer and Diana Wesser invite you to a practical think tank as part of the qualification program “Promoting Democracy – Qualifying with Knowledge for Action for a Diverse Society”. The aim is to explore the relationship between art and political activism and the extent to which the performing arts are useful as a tool, a channel and a place for socio-political democratic negotiation processes. The aim is to create a “performing arts & activism toolbox” oriented towards the common good.
Festivals act as central anchor points for a decentralized independent scene and offer low-threshold opportunities for exchange, contact and the activation of audiences in the independent performing arts. This is where the workshop comes in. It will take place at the Phoenix Theater Festival in Erfurt.
In a short input, Sandra Bringer and Diana Wesser will map the topic using examples of their own performative attitude and exemplary formats of other activists and artists. In the subsequent hackathon, smaller groups will develop their own performative and/or discursive formats in a theory-practice transfer. The ideas will be implemented on site in a practical self-experiment. The tools developed for events and festivals will then be made available online for everyone in line with the open source concept.
Following the presence workshop, a hybrid experience exchange entitled “Festivals and festival culture – countering the decline of democracy in rural areas through performance” will take place at the Phoenix Theater Festival. In addition to this, we also recommend taking part in the qualification and networking format as part of the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL entitled “Creating democratic spaces and keeping them open in festival curation”.The formats can be combined in terms of content.
There will be moments of exchange at all events, which are intended to promote supra-regional networking among festival organizers.
Munich moves @ rodeo 2024. Here, radical cheerleading meets soft masculinity. Here, dancing in anatomy classes and singing about nursing are just part of the experience. Here, people come together to watch, talk, sleep, and celebrate diversity through shows, workshops, and parties, both in the Kreativquartier and across various venues throughout the city.
At rodeo 2024, the body is in the spotlight: whether seen as male or female, young or old, healthy or ill; conforming to norms or defying them; As a queer, virtual, or collective body. Bodies are more than just bones and skin—they are seismographs of our society, bearing the imprints of values, ideologies, and desires. How we perceive and treat bodies is an eminently political question. Recently, the growing right-wing movement has also targeted the body as a battleground, agitating against “gender ideology” and sexual self-determination.
This year’s Rodeo selection stands for diversity against these repressive policies. In their works, the artists celebrate resistance, rebellion, and defiance. They envision utopias for a better tomorrow while also exploring themes of weakness, exhaustion, and vulnerability.
How do we remain tender in times of brutalization? How can we make our echo chambers and bubbles permeable again? The 12 selected pieces are a plea for empathy and attentiveness—toward people and the world around us.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes – that’s what they say when something that was thought to be dead rises again, when there is a new beginning for something that was already finished or when you get something back that you thought was lost. All of this applies to what PHOENIX e.V. wants to do with cultural sites that have been abandoned.
Lack of money, rationalization and mergers were the main reasons why deep wounds were torn by the abandonment or closure of entire buildings, especially in the new federal states. Cultural sites such as the Schauspielhaus in Erfurt were abandoned overnight and left to their own devices. Sites of collective memory and personal history rotted away in the middle of the city.
PHOENIX wants to revive such places – through sustainable and long-term artistic initiatives. By organizing and staging cultural events such as festivals, conferences, theater productions, performances, concerts, urban projects, exhibitions and symposia, PHOENIX aims to set an example, provide encouragement, support local actors and thus reposition culture in the city. This is not about commercial use, but exclusively about specifically expanding the cultural offer in the respective city.
When working together, there are hierarchies, whether we like it or not. Sometimes it has to do with individual ways of working, sometimes it is due to the responsibilities of tasks, or both. Hierarchies are not bad in themselves, unless they are denied, or they are not comprehensible. In any case, they require common, transparent agreements. In this workshop we would like to find out with the participants how hierarchies and unresolved power relations can be detected and addressed in the context of cooperation and which tools are needed for this.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The prerequisite for participation is therefore to bring your own issue or problem in working with Excel in the context of production work in the independent performing arts and to present it in an open exchange format.
In the digital companionship programme, one companion with transnational expertise supports one participant in the development and expansion of their own transnational working practice as a producer in the independent performing arts. The ten companionship duos will each spend six individual companionship sessions independently and self-organised in the digital space with a focus on personal exchange of experience and knowledge on transnational contexts and relationships. We will accompany the six individual sessions in the respective duo constellations with digital supporting events: a common kick-off and closing meeting, informal meetings between the companions and participants, a moderated reflection session and three public inputs on selected topics of the programme.
Time, money, and the involvement of experts are decisive factors in producing accessibility. To work as an anti-ableist producer, one constantly explores their scope for action and deals with different conditions.
The speakers will distinguish the two concepts and share criteria, using various examples from their own anti-ableist practice. In the workshop, we will work together to develop an understanding of how to plan accessibility measures for your own project with different time and budget constraints and implement them with experts.
In the workshop, the participants deal with power structures and (their own) privileges and develop strategies for mutual support in the hierarchical theater structures. They will also look at their own resources and how they can make use of them. How can I become sensitive to implicit exclusion and discrimination? How can I support colleagues who are subjected to racist attacks? How can I express criticism without jeopardizing my career?
The aim of the workshop is to unite theater makers through sensitization and to enable new forms of community in the field of theater.
– Let’s talk about Wallpaper –
We, “The Lemon” collective, will explore the Poetic, Political, and Narrative Potential of wallpapers – a seemingly mundane silent witness that is around us.
Coming from different backgrounds in classical music, software engineering, theatrical performance, and multimedia art, we peel back the layers, discovering a tapestry of stories.
Sitting in a bar staring at the wall while having nothing serious to say, made us discover personal and cultural connections to the topic.
We seek to unravel the storytelling potential, finding parallels to political issues such as gentrification of cities and socio-economic differences.
Who is able to shape their personal surroundings to their wishes? How much do our surroundings influence our way of thinking/feeling?
THE LEMON : Alicia Reyes, Lucas Xerxes, Robin Plenio, Joern Griepenburg
In the heart of the post-Soviet era, we as a group of young Russians, the first free generation, confronts the complexities of our homeland’s socio-political landscape. Faced with challenges, including widespread arrests and a stifling atmosphere, we embark on a profound research project focusing on the omnipresent tool wielded by the Putin regime: propaganda.
This interdisciplinary team, consisting of actors, musicians, and a puppet theater artist, aims to dissect the evolution of Russian propaganda from the Soviet Union’s collapse to the present day. Rejecting traditional hierarchical structures, the team operates horizontally, exploring the effectiveness of a leaderless collaborative approach in artistic endeavors.
Ilya Khodyrev, Mikhail Poliakov, Vsevolod Kovalenko, Tatyana Ochsenohr
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
[Whole]Contacts create a state of suspension full of ambiguity. When and how does contact arise, what are the limits and what happens if it flickers, exists for a while and then doesn’t again? We want to research establishing contact, maintaining contact and breaking off contact and investigate how these processes work or fail. As a young theater collective, it is important to us to break down elitist barriers to access to theater as well as those between audience and performers. In our research we deal with physical and linguistic [shaky] contact in analog and digital space, as well as their entanglement.
FUTUR.X: Fiona Grün, Anastiya Shtemenko , Alexandra Paal, Sophie Gigou, Stefan Ammer
We, Pia Katharina Jendreizik, Declan Hurley and Brice Stapelfeldt from people like die, are exploring, together with Fia Neises, the chances and possibilities of a form of stage expression that includes deaf, blind and visually impaired, hearing and sighted artists and their audiences and their individual Perceptual styles taken into account.
Our goal is to develop a barrier-free aesthetic practice. The starting point will (as always) be communication. How do we organize ourselves? How do we find an equal basis? How do we ask each other questions and what questions do we ask?
What is important for the development of barrier-free aesthetics? What is possible? What do we want? How do we build on experiences we have? What do we share? What could we share?
PEOPLE LIKE THIS : Declan Hurley, Pia Katharina Jendreizik, Brice Stapelfeldt, Fia Neises
The funding grant notification has arrived! But what happens now? What actually does necessary, economical and sparingly mean, what is unsexy called regulation on sub-threshold procurement (in German even unsexier: Unterschwellenvergabeordnung) or an early commencement of the project? What in the Federal Travel Expenses Act is important for us who work in cultural funding, which documents do I have to collect and how do I document/explain correctly?
The workshop excel is not a landscape has laid the foundations for budget monitoring within an individual production in the independent performing arts. By linking a continuous document entry with the cost centres within the cost and financing plan, a system is created that allows producers to see at any time which funds from the overall and individual budgets are still available for use in a production and which have already been spent.
The session with Agnieszka is intended to provide a safer space for exchange, centering disabled and/or chronically ill producers and their perspectives.
The following topics will be discussed: What does it mean to work as a disabled and/or chronically ill person as a producer in the independent performing arts? How do other colleagues experience this? How do accessible working practices look like for disabled and/or chronically ill producers?
cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from their own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
As part of our onboarding, we provide an insight into our offering and show ways to become an active part of produktionsbande. Onboarding takes place online via Zoom and can be conducted in German or English, depending on requirements.
The UN Roundtable format includes regular online meetings where UN partners, other BIPoC networks and individual arts and cultural practitioners from across Germany come together to share their knowledge and tools to strengthen intersectional BIPoC movements. Shared tools will then be developed in the form of an infographic and/or video for other members of the community to use.
UN Labs are residencies for BIPoC artists to promote creative exchange, experimentation and collaboration in rural areas or a project workshop program for BIPoC artists to work with young people who are socio-economically disadvantaged due to their refugee context.
UNacademy are discussion rounds between artists and cultural professionals, politicians and administrators, for the exchange of knowledge and experience as well as for exploring needs-oriented options for action.
UN Roundtables are residencies for BIPoC artists to promote creative exchange, experimentation and collaboration in rural areas or a project workshop program for BIPoC artists to work with young people who are socio-economically disadvantaged due to their refugee context.
Choreographer Hannah Ma (Wawern, Rhineland-Palatinate) talks about the idea of how dance can be radically solidary and asks: How can we use dance in rural areas to work together in the long term, form friendships, networks and communities, cultivate and promote discourse, (privilege) reflection, solidarity and empathy?
Dramaturge Charlotte Mathiessen (Zurich, Switzerland) presents the unique funding platform TanzPlan Ost, which enables contemporary dance in the region of Eastern Switzerland/Principality of Liechtenstein as part of a three-stage model.
https://www.tanzplan-ost.ch/editorial
The new series will start on June 13 at the original time with an opening in English, in which Pascal Sangl and Elisabeth Nehring will give a thematic outlook and the “tanz weit draußen” network will introduce itself and its work. Representatives of the regional teams from Brandenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Aktion Tanz and the project management team will be present to answer questions and exchange ideas.
/// The event will be held in English ///
The 4 Puppet Theater Collections (4PS) of the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance are awarding the 4PS Fellowship for the first time in 2025, an endowed research grant that offers space for concentrated work over six months to develop new ideas and approaches for the collections through research, research and conception.
The aim of the 4PS Fellowship is to initiate the research process for Citizen Science in the collections and to connect the four collections.
Das Kollektiv b/w*itch fragt nach queerfeministischen Perspektiven auf solidarisches Zusammensein. Für die Flausen+ Zeit forschen wir an kollaborativen Spielstrategien und dem queeren und feministischen Potential von Pilzen. In Moving Guts entwickeln wir ein Spielformat, das die unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten der Pilze als Ausgangspunkt für kollaborative Spielstrategien nimmt. Das Spiel als Format dient uns dazu utopische Momente zu ermöglichen und gemeinschaftliche Gefüge zu erleben. Ziel des Spieles ist das Patriarchat zu zersetzen, zu kompostieren und Nährstoffe für anderes freizusetzen. Wir forschen am Bühnenraum und wie dieser sich in ein begehbares Spielfeld verwandeln kann.
B/W*ITCH: Anngret Schultze , Esther Adam, Katharina Greeven, Kattalin Mitxelena Newiger
SHOW
The flausen+festival brings together follow-up productions by former flausen+ scholarship holders in one place and offers an insight into artistic debates about innovative topics, formats and aesthetics.
NETWORK
The flausen+festival thus creates a versatile space for encounters, networking and discourse with other artists, a specialist audience, but also the interested public.
DEVELOP
In addition, the festival provides impulses for flausen+ as an internal platform: in working discussions with flausen+ participants, with space and time to evaluate the program and discussions on current problems that affect artists and small and medium-sized theaters.
FAVORITEN – the theater, dance and performance festival of the independent scene in North Rhine-Westphalia – has been held every two years in Dortmund since 1985. It is one of the oldest festivals of the independent performing arts in Germany and is aimed equally at the people of the city and region as well as at a nationwide and international (professional) audience. For the 2022 and 2024 editions of the festival, Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller will be the artistic directors of FAVORITEN for the first time.
Under the motto (Un)Learning for possible futures, Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller will address the challenges of the present and the future on an artistic and discursive level for the FAVORITEN Festival. They place the joint, continuous process of learning and growing together between genders, generations, classes and borders at the center of the festival. They want to grow together with Dortmund and the city society and at the same time put out feelers on a global level via the digital space and in doing so also learn with and from international partners.
Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller pursue a collective way of working. What they have in common is an excellent knowledge of the independent scene in North Rhine-Westphalia, a reflection on the perspectives of this very scene, and a great interest in shaping cultural policy and in regional, national, and international cooperation. The previous festival work of all three is characterized by a broad perspective on a wide variety of artistic genres.
This year, the artistic direction of FAVORITEN has been advertised directly for two editions. The longer-term perspective should enable a more sustainable collaboration with artists, partners and networks and support an even stronger anchoring of the festival in the city.
The next festival edition will take place from September 5-15, 2024 in Dortmund and digitally.
Hauptsache Frei was founded as a festival for the independent performing arts in Hamburg. Now in its 10th year, it has a new look to celebrate artistic diversity in Hamburg and beyond.
We are happy to invite you to experience contemporary trends, aesthetic innovations and socio-political discourse in a diverse interdisciplinary program at Fringify and to join in the conversation.
Düsseldorf and Mülheim an der Ruhr
The Impulse Theater Festival, together with artists and the Ringlokschuppen Ruhr, is opening a summer pool in MüGa Park for eleven days. The Conte Potuto group is designing a bathroom of dreams: almost without water, but full of the visitors’ wishes and ideas. TachoTinta play on dry land with the underwater rugby team, and in the TIGERS’ KITCHEN they don’t just fry, they also produce tasty hits.
OSTEN is a festival for art and mutual interest. It explores and celebrates “the East” as a landscape of change for people, nature and coexistence. From June 1st to 16th, 2024, the festival invites you for the second time to (re)discover the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen and “the East” with a diverse cultural program.
While the first festival focused on the Bitterfeld Cultural Palace, the 2024 festival will turn several places of industrial culture into a stage and explore unusual spaces in the city in the area between the former cinema, the municipal cultural center, the former factory fire department of the film and fiber factory, the industrial and film museum and the town hall.
The festival The Framework is the Program (DRiP) will take place in 2024 in collaboration with the Fritz Theater.
DRiP 2024 addresses the view from East to West and vice versa. In a city that experienced a revolutionary transformation after 1990 and whose consequences are still felt and visible, DRiP wants to offer an artistic platform for employment.
We don’t want to talk about each other, we want to enter into dialogue with each other and stay in conversation. We want to invite artists and visitors to change perspectives and look from East to West and vice versa. We show performances from Chemnitz, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia/Brazil and Manchester.
What does ‘working in cultural policy’ actually mean – and what does it look like in practice? What strategies are there for helping to shape political decisions as an interest group, positioning projects effectively or establishing collaborative structures? What are the particularities of involving partners and stakeholders?
Helge-Björn Meyer provides an insight into the committee work of the BFDK and shows how political decision-making processes work and where representatives of the independent scene can exert influence.
Anna Steinkamp shares her expertise in strategic advocacy work using the example of ‘Promoting Connections’ and reports on how advocacy, especially in cooperation with networks, can be effective.
Eckhard Mittelstädt shares his many years of project experience from ‘tanz und theater machen stark’ (dance and theatre make you strong) – an exemplary project for a collaborative, partnership-based approach as a programme partner of ‘Kultur macht stark’ (culture makes you strong).
The exchange offers space for inspiration, discussion and networking – practical, open and with a view to common strategies.
Speakers: Helge-Björn Meyer, Eckhard Mittelstädt and Anna Steinkamp (BFDK)
How can the cultural policy concerns of the independent scene be effectively positioned in the political arena? Which narratives and arguments lead to success – even with MPs or administrators who are not familiar with the subject? And what is needed to keep cultural policy issues on the agenda in the long term?
We would like to discuss these and other questions with Anikó Glogowski-Merten (FDP), former member of the Bundestag Committee for Culture and Media, as part of our experience exchange.
The focus will be on concrete experiences from political practice: Which argumentation strategies actually work? How can the right means be used to make oneself heard – whether through networks, associations or the commitment of individual actors? And what paths lead to long-term visibility for cultural policy issues beyond project-related events?
Speaker: Anikó Glogowski-Merten (FDP)
In this experience exchange, the alliance partners of United Networks (UN) – Hannah Ma (hannahmadance), Ming Poon (Asian Performing Artists Lab) and Bassam Dawood and Chang Nai Wen (Sisyphos, der Flugelefant) – present the UN Hospitality Rider. This practical tool understands hospitality as a discrimination-sensitive practice of access, participation and care and was developed in collaboration with RuM artists, cultural initiatives, social partners and cultural institutions.
We invite you to join us for an open exchange: What does discrimination-sensitive cultural work mean? What conditions does discrimination-sensitive cultural work need in these contexts? What are the stumbling blocks in the collaboration between RuM artists, institutions and social organisations? And how can we work together to build sustainable, equitable structures – beyond short-term projects and well-meaning but one-sided ‘hospitality’?
The focus is on honest insights, shared learning and concrete impulses for cultural practice that emphasises access, participation and care.
Speakers: Hannah Ma (hannahmadance), Ming Poon (Asian Performing Artists Lab), Bassam Dawood and Chang Nai Wen (Sisyphos, der Flugelefant)
– Perspectives based on the example of the Kulturkessel project
What opportunities does private sector involvement open up, and what conditions are associated with it?
These questions are the focus of the experience exchange with Ilona Schaal (Theater Rampe) and Maximilian May (Kulturkessel project manager). The discussion will be based on the specific example of the Kulturkessel project, an initiative of the Cultural Committee of German Business, which was realised with the support of Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart. Theater Rampe is currently being supported by the project.
Together, we will take a look behind the scenes of the project: How did the collaboration come about? What freedoms and limitations does sponsorship by a commercial enterprise entail? And how can such a partnership between culture and business be made sustainable?
Speakers: Ilona Schaal (Theater Rampe) and Maximilian May (Kulturkessel project manager)
How can feedback be designed in such a way that it promotes creative processes rather than inhibiting them? What role do language, structure and attitude play in a constructive feedback dialogue? And how can a sustainable feedback culture be established in the loose, diverse structures of the independent performing arts?
In this exchange of experiences, we will join Andree Wenzel from Zirkus ON in exploring how feedback can be understood and used as a co-dramaturgical tool.
Using examples such as DASARTS, questionnaires, Mentimeter and feedback talks, we will present various formats that Zirkus ON is experimenting with. The aim is to create spaces for resonance in which feedback works on an equal footing, responsibility is shared and sustainable collaboration emerges.
Speaker: Andree Wenzel (Zirkus ON)
It’s that time again…
Withholding tax, value added tax: Various tax returns for the past months must be submitted by the 10th of the month following the end of the quarter. This joint session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a special focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic again until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange ideas.
Cultural policy round table with artistic contributions from Thuringian puppeteers
In Thuringia in particular, there is an urgent need for cultural policy dialogue if the right to participate in cultural life is to apply in rural areas as well. The cultural policy round table brings together a variety of cultural and cultural policy actors as well as freelance artists to stimulate this dialogue.
Findings from the model project ‘More Puppet Theatre on Site’ carried out in spring 2025 will be presented and examined. Input from representatives of cultural policy and culture will contribute to the discussion of concrete recommendations for action with the guests present and to further reflection.
An event organised by LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen in cooperation with the Thüringer Theaterverband and the Bündnis KompleXX Figurentheater.
The cartography of the puppet, figure and object theatre scene ‘KompleXXplorer’ is waiting for your entry! Whether you are a performer, puppet theatre educator, puppet maker, guest theatre or amateur performer – you are all invited to register here. If you have any questions or problems with the registration process, you can take part in an open question and answer session via Zoom on Wednesday, 1 October 2025, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. or 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. at this link.
In this workshop, Ingo Sawilla will use numerous practical examples, tips and tricks to talk about strategies for the efficient and creative use of communication measures for festivals, cultural institutions and event organisers, and provide inspiration for concrete implementation in daily work with the press, on social media and in sales. He has 20 years of practical experience in PR with a focus on social media for cultural institutions and provides insights into the confident use of contemporary forms of communication.
In this two-part workshop, Harriet Lesch provides insights into how festivals can deal with this complexity in terms of budget planning:
In the first part, she uses a sample budget to show how budgets for independent performing arts festivals are planned and which funding regulations can be consulted in order to draw up suitable application budgets. In the second part, participants can ask specific questions tailored to the realities of their festival work in order to come up with solutions together in discussion with the participating festival organisers and FESTIVALFRIENDS representatives.
– Shared knowledge from ‘Fostering Connections’
With NETZANSCHLUSS, the model project ‘Fostering Connections’, currently with nine funded alliances with a total of more than 130 partners from the independent performing arts, is concluding its final funding phase. To mark this occasion, we cordially invite you to TOLLHAUS Karlsruhe to gain insights into the knowledge gathered by the alliances.
NETZANSCHLUSS brings together all the expertise of the alliances supported by ‘Fostering Connections’. Participants in the alliances share their collective knowledge and experience in workshops and exchange formats. We also talk to cultural policy spokespersons about our pioneering funding model and emphasise the need for structural funding such as this beyond 2025.
With NETZANSCHLUSS, we are concluding ‘Fostering Connections’ and at the same time connecting all interested actors in the independent performing arts to our nationwide network.
What to expect:
• The best of the alliances
• Artistic contributions
• Launch of the final documentation #netzwert
• Free catering on both days
• Networking party
• 130+ participants
Creating networks, strengthening connections, keeping culture alive – especially in rural areas, networking is a key element in building sustainable structures and enabling artistic work.
We want to discuss together: What does successful networking in rural areas require? How can stakeholders strengthen each other? And how can sustainable relationships between art, local authorities and civil society be established?
Speaker: Pamela Goroncy and Jessica Buchholz (tanz weit draußen), Dr Elisabeth Nehring (Fachstelle Tanz MV), Kora Tscherning (puppeteer)
Whether it’s a regional alliance, an interdisciplinary collective or a loose action network, networks need communication – both internally and externally. But how does social media work in such structures? Who speaks for whom – and with whom? What coordination is needed in advance? Which formats are suitable for collective projects? Can a network really speak with one voice? Or is it more about creating spaces for resonance in which different voices can work together?
The first part focuses on fundamental considerations regarding communication in networks: What roles are needed? How can content be coordinated without reinforcing hierarchies? What pitfalls should be avoided?
The second part deals with the experiences and questions of the participants: What works – and what doesn’t? Which tools and working methods have proven themselves? The aim is a practical exchange that provides inspiration and encourages participants to think further about social media as a collaborative tool.
Speaker: Sebastian Göschel
Shrinking cultural budgets are also putting pressure on those involved in the independent performing arts in particular. In this situation, resilient networks are all the more important in order to be able to tackle shared problems together.
What characterises resilient networks and how can they be established?
Resilience should be understood as an empowering approach and not as a cost-effective substitute for solid cultural budgets. After a brief introduction to the topic of resilience and the role of social capital as the product of resilient networks, participants will be actively involved in the exchange of experiences. Together, they will discuss networking ideas and reflect on proposals for structuring.
Speaker: Dr. Marco Krüger (University of Tübingen)
Raising and proving own funds is a structural challenge for many actors in the independent performing arts – especially when it comes to network or alliance projects. In this exchange of experiences, we want to discuss experiences, questions and possible solidarity models together.
What ways have you found so far to generate own funds – and what difficulties have you encountered in doing so? Why is the requirement to contribute own funds often particularly problematic in the independent performing arts? And: What strategies or solidarity-based approaches already exist in the context of networks to overcome this hurdle together?
Speakers: Anne-Cathrin Lessel (LOFFT Leipzig) and Olaf Nachtwey (NFT)
Our collegial case consultation format cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
Following a common check-in and an introduction to a method of collegial case counselling, we will engage with the individual cases in small groups.
The break-out sessions then follow a structure in which several cases are discussed by one moderator, one case-giver and several counsellors. The allocation of roles can be agreed on individually in each round.
Accordingly, all participants are invited to share their own concerns, give feedback, listen, think together and thus support each other.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The prerequisite for participation is therefore to bring your own issue or problem in working with Excel in the context of production work in the independent performing arts and to present it in an open exchange format. We are looking for more complex issues that can be solved primarily in dialogue with colleagues from your own field of work.
Our collegial case consultation format cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
Folllowing a common check-in we will this time tackle a common topic and would like to exchange experiences and perspectives on the cooperation between the independent scene and state theatres.
Accordingly, all participants are invited to share their own concerns, give feedback, listen, think together and thus support each other.
EU citizens are free to move within the EU – of course. But what do I do if I want to invite artists and cultural workers from a third country to Germany for a guest performance or festival? Who needs a Schengen visa? How do artists and cultural workers get one, and how can I support them in the application process? How long are they allowed to stay in Germany? And are they even allowed to work with a Schengen visa? In our first workshop on visa issues, we will examine all the legal bases for short stays and focus on the implementation practices of the authorities involved. We will look at a few worst-practice examples and also discuss the (cultural) political dimensions of these issues.
Once the funding for a project is acquired, it is often a challenge to adjust the project budget in line with your own values and working methods. Especially when not every collaborator enters the process at the same time.
In this workshop, we will therefore present and discuss a budget template that not only contains concrete figures and sources (e. g. minimum fee recommendation, hourly rates for sign language interpreters, etc.), but also provides key questions for reflection on budget-justice and the implications for ethics and working methods. The aim is to clearly anchor the strategic and ethical positioning of the project and the people involved right from the initial budgeting process.
With the next edition of our core format, the big network meeting, for the fourth time we are inviting protagonists in artistic production in the independent performing arts to network together. It is important to us that the big network meeting is a shared space that consists less of self-promotion and more of colleagues interested in each other. The fourth big network meeting 2025 will take place from 30.05. – 01.06.2025 at Kampnagel in Hamburg.
Our offer of an online groove-in is aimed at all those for whom the upcoming network meeting is the first networking event or a first time in a long time. In the groove-in, we provide insights into the structure and vibe of the upcoming edition of the big network meeting and clarify any questions that arise about participation together.
With the next edition of our centrepiece format, the big network meeting, we are inviting those involved in artistic production in the independent performing arts to network together. For the fourth time already!
It is important to us that the big network meeting is a shared space that consists less of self-promotion and more of colleagues interested in each other. The fourth big network meeting 2025 will take place from 30 May to 1 June 2025 at Kampnagel in Hamburg.
In the four-hour, practice-orientated workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e. g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and develop it further according to individual needs.
For the development of one’s individual administration system, Martin will show in the workshop, for example, how a simple document assignment can be turned into cost centre accounting and budget monitoring in just a few steps within Excel. The functions used in Excel in this workshop are: SUMIF/S, IF/S, VLOOKUP and their combination.
We are facing a multidimensional global crisis, and I I must admit I do not have a ready-made-fit-all strategy for sustainable international career development for arts professionals. I am myself challenged by the following issues:
sustaining of a global network, building an international career while living in the peripheries, overproduction in the performing arts sector, widespread professional burnout, the isolation of the industry (the need for cross-sectoral projects), building financial independence and diversification of funding.
Short-term stays in Germany (or the Schengen Area) are subject to time restrictions. Longer stays generally require national visas or residence permits. This may be the case, for example, if artists or cultural workers are completing a residency, if they are hired at a theater for an entire season, or if the rehearsal period for a production lasts longer than three months—or if they want to relocate to Germany. We want to explore various residence options for third-country nationals who will be staying in Germany for the longer term, taking local administrative practices into account.
This first part of the series is dedicated to a juxtaposition or comparison of forms of employment in order to gain an overview of the spectrum of employment models. Sepide Freitag and Béla Bisom will combine their respective expertise and experience for this purpose. Together with the participants, they will work out the differences between various models, from employment to self-employment, and focus on some aspects that producers often encounter in the field of performing arts. In doing so, they always change perspectives and look at both ‘sides’, that of the employer/client and that of the employee/contractor. We explore various questions together: How do I figure out whether employment, hybrid employment or self-employment is the right model for me right now? When does it make sense to hire employees or when is a permanent position mandatory? Which ‘hard facts’ and which aspects of individual (and private) life situations are decisive? What should I bear in mind when transitioning between different models? What are the criteria, advantages and disadvantages for the contractor/employee and the client/employer? How can these be dealt with in each case?
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Brigitta & Gergely will dive into EU funding opportunities and share their experience in developing international projects, building partnerships, grant writing and what it takes to manage an EU project successfully. They will focus on the Creative Europe scheme, having extensive experience in that.
During the workshop you will have the chance to assess motivations, resources for and expectations from international collaborations.
Based on a fictitious artists’ collective and several sample productions within a calendar year, the participants will develop a budget monitoring template consisting of several cost and financing plans, but only one central document entry. The workshop will result in a budget monitoring system that can be helpful for producers to support collectives and individual artists with several projects.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
The impulse of Vânia Rodrigues has the following interests: While theatre and dance “companies”, mostly in the form of cultural associations, remain the paradigmatic organizational model in the performing arts, a limited yet growing number of artistic organizations are experimenting with different, more horizontal and collaborative forms of collective work. These are often production or creative structures managed jointly by artists and producers that, unlike conventional artistic collectives, are not vertically organized; do not rely on charismatic leadership; share administrative, management, production and even financial resources; distribute functions according to each project specific needs; and reclaim a distinct kind of comradeship-collaboration which entails authorial redistribution, and a new ecological sensitivity.
In this session, we will discuss experiences and implications of W.A.T. Working Apart Together and D.I.T. – Do It Together practices in performing arts production, and try to connect them with ecofeminist approaches to performance-making and collective organising in the context of the current ecocrisis.
gefährliche banden is an exchange format between the two networks gefährliche arbeit and produktionsbande – network performing arts producers where we talk about the practices, needs and visions for the collaboration of producers and technical directors as well as departments within independent scene productions. The format invites everyone related to the technical and/or production fields to share thoughts on how to make the collaboration between the fields more productive, smooth and cute.
This second exchange is facilitated by Anahí Pérez and Rosa Wernecke of Gefährliche Arbeit and Joelle Burrichter of produktionsbande.
Are your workdays getting longer while your body grows stiffer?
Did you even notice today that you were tired, hungry—or did you just push through and forget your body altogether?
No worries! Here comes your sweet physical reset:
A moment for your body to breathe, rebalance, and gently wake up again.
Producers Stretching invites you to bring mindful movement into your busy day.
In three simple phases, we build bridges between big responsibilities and aching backs, screen time and stiff necks—bringing a gentle flow into that constant “on-call” mode.
No prior movement experience needed!
You can do all exercises either seated or standing.
Expect easy routines focused on mobility, stability, and producer-friendly breath and body awareness—right when your afternoon slump hits.
How do I approach being or becoming employed? How do I employ others? Are you an employee or employer for the first time and wondering what you need to consider to create a good employee-employer relationship? What do I need as a minimum in terms of basic infrastructure to be able to employ someone? How do I communicate the framework conditions as an employer? What about issues such as pseudo-self-employment (Scheinselbstständigkeit) and the prohibition of better employment (Besserstellungsverbot)? What responsibilities do I actually have as an employer? And what does that mean for employees? How do I create a functional, just and preferably anti-discriminatory working environment and what can I do beyond my basic and legal obligations as an employer?
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Producers often enable and hold spaces for others and their processes. They frequently act as sole connectors between all artistic, creatively-organizational, creative-technical, and administrative stakeholders. But what about their own needs and experiences?
Together, we ask: What does it mean to work as a disabled, chronically ill and/or neurodivergent producer in the independent performing arts? What does an accessible working practice look like where we can take our own access needs seriously and center them? How can mutual support take shape?
In this orientation session, we will share our work and experiences with you on the question of how the KSK can become more accessible for producers/production managers. The offer is intended to give you an insight into the discussion and help you decide whether an application for admission to the KSK is an option for you. We will clarify together what the advantages and disadvantages of membership might be and where caution might be required.
In this open workshop, choreographer Sonya Lindfors (ONE DROP) invites you to talk about fictions and frictions – about speculative practices and about why intersectionality is so f***ing hard. About the ghosts haunting theatre stages and the power of the stage as a miracle making machine! In this 4 hour workshop-session participants will be invited to approach the topic at hand, fictions and frictions, by discussing, listening, writing and lightly moving. Participants are invited to engage in a way that is suitable for them. This session is open to all interested in the topic.
This special jour fixe invites all produktionsbande active members, accomplices, friends, associates and supporters from the broad spectrum of production practice to come together with many voices and from all the heterogeneous perspectives on production and networking.
Active members of the what’s next working group have developed various drafts, plans and variants to keep the network alive from 2026 without funding.
The aim of this special future (jour) fixe is to decide with as many people as possible which of these drafts should shape and enable our future work!
How can I be and remain a freelancer? This is the starting question for this edition of the series on employment models and forms of employment from the perspective of contractors and clients. Our working world in the cultural sector is characterised by individual projects and teams that come together at short notice and on a temporary basis. Self-employment is usually the form of employment desired and utilised by both sides. However, it still often does not fit in with the requirements of public funding and has to be defended time and again.
With this mutual support session, produktionsbande offers a safer space for production managers who identify as Black, Afro-German, or People of Color. The focus is on centering their voices, lived realities, and shared exchange.
The session will be moderated by Nara Virgens, a Black German-Brazilian production manager active in the independent dance and performance scene since 2015.
After the orientation, Part II of the event series ksk for producers as well! is aimed at all those who would now like to submit their membership application to the KSK. The questionnaire on compulsory insurance under the artists’ social insurance act (only available in German language) is the document we will be looking at and completing together with you in this session. The basis for this is your own data.
After a joint look at the application process, you will work on your applications in small groups and enter into a joint exchange for the completion process. If you already have all the necessary documents together, the application can be sent off at the end of the evening! If your application is not yet complete, we will help each other to find out which documents are still missing.
Producers Stretching invites you to bring mindful movement into your busy day.
In three simple phases, we build bridges between big responsibilities and aching backs, screen time and stiff necks—bringing a gentle flow into that constant “on-call” mode.
No prior movement experience needed!
You can do all exercises either seated or standing.
Expect easy routines focused on mobility, stability, and producer-friendly breath and body awareness—right when your afternoon slump hits.
Zwischen 18. Juni und 6. Juli 2025 wird in jeder der drei Impulse-Städte Mülheim an der Ruhr, Köln und Düsseldorf im wöchentlichen Wechsel ein dichtes Programm aus den durch eine Jury ausgewählten Produktionen des Showcase und dem Programmschwerpunkt Post-West zu sehen sein. Post-West fokussiert auf den Austausch zwischen Ost und West und schafft Begegnungsräume zwischen den Freien Szenen und Künstler*innen der Gastgeber-Region NRW und Ostdeutschland. Ein dritter Programmbereich Impulse meets… beinhaltet diskursive Formate, Workshops und Partys in Zusammenarbeit mit lokalen Partner*innen und Freund*innen des Festivals.
What are the opportunities and limitations of private funding for networks in the independent performing arts? Marietta Schoenberg and Dr Dimitra Will (actori – leading strategy consultancy for culture) will explore this question in this experience exchange. After an introduction to the basic possibilities of private funding in the performing arts, they will look at the necessary framework conditions and discuss the opportunities and limitations of networks.
They will present various options – from fundraising and sponsoring to approaches such as crowdfunding.
The experience exchange offers participants the opportunity to raise their own questions, exchange experiences and jointly develop strategies for the sustainable financing of networks in the cultural sector.
Speakers: Marietta Schoenberg und Dr. Dimitra Will (actori – leading strategy consultancy for culture)
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 2 #finanzielle Strategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’. The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
Artistic networks are increasingly faced with the challenge of positioning themselves in a dynamic social and political environment in a visible, effective and identity-forming way. Strategic narratives help with this. They are not mere narratives, but structured offers of meaning that provide orientation, create a sense of belonging and make joint action understandable both internally and externally.
In our experience exchange, we want to work out what strategic narratives actually are, what they can do for artistic networks and what the critical success factors are. We want to find out together how we can increase the visibility and impact of networks, what the building blocks and pitfalls are, and how such a process can be initiated, structured and moderated.Strategic narratives for networks
The event is aimed at actors in artistic networks who want to strengthen their strategic communication, bring their members together or make their social relevance more visible.
Speakers: Antek Krönung und Peter Hüben (Communications agency Benning, Gluth & Partner)
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 4 #Kommunikationsstrategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
Cultural Entrepreneurship: Opportunities for entrepreneurial networks in the independent performing arts
How can independent performing arts organisations finance themselves and remain competitive in the face of reduced cultural budgets?
Together with Friederike Kislinger (Kreatives Sachsen) and Dr Anne Heinze (4transfer) from the Landesverband der Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft Sachsen e.V., we will explore this question. After an introduction to the topic of cultural entrepreneurship and an overview of the players and their working environments, we will take a brief look at the value of creative work and the importance of entrepreneurial thinking.
The experience exchange provides participants with concrete tools, tips and examples and gives them a clearer idea of how entrepreneurial thinking can work in their own network and what challenges need to be overcome.
gefährliche banden is an exchange format between the two networks gefährliche arbeit and produktionsbande – network performing arts producers where we talk about the practices, needs and visions for the collaboration of producers and technical directors as well as departments within independent scene productions. The format invites everyone related to the technical and/or production fields to share thoughts on how to make the collaboration between the fields more productive, smooth and cute.
This second exchange is facilitated by Anahí Pérez and Rosa Wernecke of Gefährliche Arbeit and Joelle Burrichter of produktionsbande.
Let’s change and share perspectives! What perspectives on the practice of producers and their roles in the independent performing arts ecosystem exist among colleagues? These and many related questions will be addressed in this session together with Vânia Rodrigues (Portugal) and Karolina Dziełak-Żakowska & colleagues (Poland).
While theatre and dance “companies”, mostly in the form of cultural associations, remain the paradigmatic organizational model in the performing arts, a limited yet growing number of artistic organizations are experimenting with different, more horizontal and collaborative forms of collective work. These are often production or creative structures managed jointly by artists and producers that, unlike conventional artistic collectives, are not vertically organized; do not rely on charismatic leadership; share administrative, management, production and even financial resources; distribute functions according to each project specific needs; and reclaim a distinct kind of comradeship-collaboration which entails authorial redistribution, and a new ecological sensitivity.
In this session, we will discuss experiences and implications of W.A.T. Working Apart Together and D.I.T. – Do It Together practices in performing arts production, and try to connect them with ecofeminist approaches to performance-making and collective organising in the context of the current ecocrisis.
It’s that time again… withholding tax, VAT: Various tax returns for the previous months are always due for submission on the 10th of the month after the end of the quarter of the year. This common session is both a reminder to us all and an invitation: With a focus on withholding tax, we meet and prepare the returns for the last quarter so that we can hopefully forget about the topic until next time. In the shared digital space, we support each other as needed and exchange.
After the Excel workshop for beginners (excel is not a landscape) and the issue for advanced users (excel is not a solution), in the last issue of the new workshop series excells the producer martin bien invites all nerds to join in Excel brainstorming and problem solving.
What problems with Excel are you still facing? Which challenges are you still unable to solve and would like to get advice from Excel-loving colleagues?
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The workshop excel is not a landscape has laid the foundations for budget monitoring within an individual production in the independent performing arts. By linking a continuous document entry with the cost centres within the cost and financing plan, a system is created that allows producers to see at any time which funds from the overall and individual budgets are still available for use in a production and which have already been spent.
With the workshop excel is not a solution (but a tool), martin bien builds on basic Excel functions (SUMIF, IF/S, VLOOKUP) and invites participants to combine them with each other. The aim of the workshop is to develop a monitoring template that is further developed from a single production to a cross-production Excel logic.
Brigitta & Gergely will dive into EU funding opportunities and share their experience in developing international projects, building partnerships, grant writing and what it takes to manage an EU project successfully. They will focus on the Creative Europe scheme, having extensive experience in that.
During the workshop you will have the chance to assess motivations, resources for and expectations from international collaborations.
In 2025, we commit to our resourcing approach as the produktionsbande network: As it is uncertain at the moment whether there are realistic prospects of funding from 2026, 2025 is our last year in which we can maintain the produktionsbande network with our existing structure.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions: What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e. g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
The question of which resources you would like to share is deliberately an open one: any knowledge, any template, any (detailed) information, no matter how small it may seem, can potentially become a resource.
In the joint session, we invite you to take stock of your individual and shared resources: What materials do we use that we want to share and make accessible to our colleagues?
This first part of the series is dedicated to a juxtaposition or comparison of forms of employment in order to gain an overview of the spectrum of employment models. Sepide Freitag and Béla Bisom will combine their respective expertise and experience for this purpose.
The workshop series work it out is dedicated to topics relating to working constellations (freelance, permanent, hybrid) and aims to structure the complex issues in our cultural sector and answer them from a practical perspective.
part #1: fixed – freelance: either/or/and | 18.06.2025, 10 – 14
part #2: focus: permanent employment | 11.09.2025, 10 – 14
part #3: focus: self-employment | date will be announced as soon as possible
Short-term stays in Germany (or the Schengen Area) are subject to time restrictions. Longer stays generally require national visas or residence permits. This may be the case, for example, if artists or cultural workers are completing a residency, if they are hired at a theater for an entire season, or if the rehearsal period for a production lasts longer than three months—or if they want to relocate to Germany. We want to explore various residence options for third-country nationals who will be staying in Germany for the longer term, taking local administrative practices into account.
speaker: felix sodemann
The workshop will be divided into three parts.
part one: introduction
part two: hands-on workshop
part three: wrap-up & reflection
On the one hand, Excel is a simple spreadsheet programme, but on the other hand, it can also be quite intimidating for beginners. For everyday production, however, a look at the budget is unavoidable and is usually directly linked to opening Excel.
In the four-hour, practice-orientated workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e. g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and develop it further according to individual needs.
3rd Bavarian Theatre Meeting for Young Audiences
A breath of fresh air is blowing through Nuremberg in June:
The six most exciting, innovative, melodious and relevant productions of Bavarian children’s and youth theatre can be seen on the stages of Nuremberg.
PERSPEKTIV:WECHSEL invites you to watch the film ‘Was wäre das für eine Geschichte’ followed by a discussion on the topics of criticism of racism and empowerment.
Towards an understanding of professional working standards in the independent performing arts
Together with laprofth Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.
At this symposium, we would like to examine criteria for ‘professionalism’ and ‘quality’ in a regional context. Between impulse, workshop and table discussions, we will open up a space for exchange between representatives of traditional and contemporary working models who are working together on a new artistic language. The aim is a practical and solidary redefinition of the terms by the scene itself.
Guests and speakers:
Mareike Buchmann (SYMSOMA)
Dennis Depta (GLANZ&KRAWALL)
Helge-Björn Meyer (Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste)
Karl Josef Pieper (former consultant for theatre affairs and international cultural relations)
Jana Sonnenberg (Landesverband Freie Darstellende Künste Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
Felix Worpenberg (flausen+)
We cordially invite you to the second edition of KONFRIENDS, which deals with the audience question.
KONFRIENDS will take place as part of the Impulse Festival and in cooperation with the NRW Landesbüro Freie Darstellende Künste e. V. from 19.06. to 20.06.2025 in Mülheiman der Ruhr.
Registration for free participation in KONFRIENDS is now open: Registration for KONFRIENDS here
Festival, symposium, lectures and intensive workshops
What can puppet theatre contribute to democratic processes? The festival with hand and foot
Foot Festival and the 9th German Puppet Theatre Conference explore these questions. Those who want to creatively
to contribute creatively to democratic coexistence is invited to attend theatre performances,
lectures, symposium and intensive workshops from 15-24.08.2025 at the Theatre of the Night in
Northeim.
With productions from Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy and guest speakers such as Simon Franzmann from the Institute for Democracy Research at the University of Göttingen, Sandra Bringer from the artist group ‘agree to disagree’ with artistic projects for democracy, Frank Karbstein – puppeteer and media educator from Gera, Luzia Oppermann from online-theater.live and the moderation of the secret dramaturgical society.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
Das flausen+stipendium bietet einer Gruppe Freiraum für szenische Erforschung neuer Ideen. Zum Abschluss geben die Künstler:innen beim „makingOFF“ Einblick in die Forschung.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The flausen+stipendium offers a group the freedom to explore new ideas scenically. At the end of the programme, the artists give an insight into their research at the ‘makingOFF’.
The Netzwerk Freier Theater (NFT) invites you to the 2nd digital symposium of the ‘Klima ändern’ programme. At the second meeting of the three-part series, the topic of socio-ecological transformation and sustainability will be addressed under the title THE FUTURE OF THEATRE THE WAY WE WANT IT.
After a guest contribution by Jonas Lage from the Norbert Elias Centre at the University of Flensburg, the exchange will continue in break-out sessions on concrete good and best practice measures in the field of ecological transformation and sustainability.
The event is aimed in particular at production houses / independent theatres from the field of independent performing arts as well as all people who deal with the cross-cutting issue of sustainability in networks.
Registration by 30.04.2025 by e-mail to: gerstemann@netzwerkfreiertheater.de
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series ‘A cup of coffee with …’.
Ralph Lister has been running Take Art, a British rural development organisation with a focus on touring in rural areas, for 30 years. Without its own building, it is based on a farm in the south-west of England, is funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and has an annual turnover of around €650,000.
In his talk, Ralph will talk about how Take Art was set up, its activities and its importance to the Somerset region in the South West of England, as well as its role in the EU SPARSE Plus project and its valuable insights into dance in rural areas.
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series ‘A cup of coffee with …’.
Barbara Bess is a choreographer, dancer and curator whose work explores the intersection of urban and rural spatial cultures. Since 2021, she has been developing the ‘SOMATIC’ artist-in-residence programme for movement research in a former village school in Middle Franconia, Bavaria.
The ‘Alte Schule’ serves as a dynamic research platform that offers artists from various disciplines the opportunity to realise projects, collaborate and exchange ideas. It promotes sustainable forms of artistic production and supports the generation of knowledge through collective engagement. The programme welcomes performers, visual artists, dancers, multimedia artists, sculptors and others.
Come to the coffee talk with Barbara Bess to find out more about ‘SOMATIC’ and the potential of artistic practice in the rural region of Central Franconia.
Challenges of Cultural Work in Rural Areas
We invite you to join our first digital UN Roundtable of the 2025 series! Together with Hannah Ma (hannahmadance) & Ming Poon (APAL – Asia Performing Artists Lab) – alliance partners of United Networks – we will dive deep into the challenges faced by racialized and marginalized artists and cultural workers in rural areas.
This roundtable is the first of three in our 2025 series, centering on the theme of hospitality—a framework that we’ve been developing since 2023. We will share experiences, identify challenges, and develop concrete recommendations for the Hospitality Rider that will be further developed at the upcoming UN Lab Bräsen 2025.
Invitation for:
– racialized and marginalized artists and curators who have already worked in rural areas – or who are interested in doing so
– cultural organizations in rural regions that currently collaborate with racialized and marginalized artists and cultural workers or intend to in the future
With this workshop as part of the flausen+bundekongress, the BFDK would like to support those involved in the independent performing arts in developing and implementing cultural policy strategies as collaborative practice for their own organisation, collective or network. Good practice examples from the various BFDK projects and measures will first be presented as brief input. Participants will share their experiences across federal states and identify possible synergies for joint cultural policy action.
Open configuration settings
In small groups, participants present their previous approaches, experiences and ideas and receive feedback. The aim of the format is to enable participants to reflect on and evaluate their previous cultural policy work. By highlighting interfaces in their respective cultural policy work and receiving input from the BFDK, the participants should be able to jointly develop strategies and concrete projects to collaboratively achieve their shared cultural policy goals. The focus will be on the political power of alliances and the opportunities that arise through alliances and networks.
Registration by e-mail to: art.revolution@icloud.com
How do networks develop a strategy together – not just at the top, but for all members? How can they grow and maintain their commitment while remaining open and inclusive?
In this experience exchange with Kerstin Tebbe from collective mind, we will explore how common goals can be defined and strategies developed through participatory processes.
Open configuration settings
We will also look at concrete strategies for fostering meaningful member engagement – including how to generate commitment, create value and engage new members. We will highlight how equity, power and participation come into play in these processes – and how a thoughtful approach can ensure that all voices shape the direction and culture of the network. You will leave with tools, tips and shared experiences to build stronger, better aligned and more equitable networks.
Speaker: Kerstin Tebbe / collective mind
The event is offered by ‘Verbindungen fördern’ and is part of Module 1 #Organisationsstrategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Strategien fördern – Qualifizierungsprogramm für starke überregionale Bündnisse’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
The event will be held in English and is free of charge.
Registration deadline: Until 07 May 2025.
Once the funding for a project is acquired, it is often a challenge to adjust the project budget in line with your own values and working methods. Especially when not every collaborator enters the process at the same time.
In this workshop, we will therefore present and discuss a budget template that not only contains concrete figures and sources (e. g. minimum fee recommendation, hourly rates for sign language interpreters, etc.), but also provides key questions for reflection on budget-justice and the implications for ethics and working methods. The aim is to clearly anchor the strategic and ethical positioning of the project and the people involved right from the initial budgeting process.
Open Model project for fair pay in professional theatre for young audiences Configuration settings
The workshop is aimed at all actors in the independent performing arts. Experience with productions and cost and financing plans is helpful, but not a prerequisite.
The workshop is designed and moderated by Kaja Jakstat and Katja Sonnemann. It is based, among other things, on almost four years of experience and findings from the collaboration between produktionsbande.
Experience exchange ‘Opportunities and challenges of a contribution scheme for networks ’The funding of the independent performing arts is currently facing major challenges. Against this backdrop, in this experience exchange we will look at questions of alternative ways of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts. Using the example of the Netzwerk Freier Theater e.V., we will talk about the process of introducing a contribution system in the Netzwerk Freier Theater and about the opportunities, possibilities and limits of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts.
Open Model project for fair payment in professional theatre for young audiences Configuration settings
Ann-Cathrin Lessel and Olaf Nachtwey would like to stimulate a productive process of reflection on the topic of financing theatre work in the independent performing arts and enter into an open, productive exchange with the participants.
Speakers: Ann-Cathrin Lessel (LOFFT Theatre) and Olaf Nachtwey (NFT)
The event is an offer from ‘Fostering connections’ and part of Module 3 #finanzielle Strategien in this year’s qualification programme ‘Fostering strategies – Qualification programme for strong supra-regional alliances’.
The qualification programme is aimed at actors in the independent performing arts who are already active in networking or are planning to initiate a network.
The event will be held in German and is free of charge.
Registration deadline: Until 01 May 2025.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to the topic of ‘generational change’ with Miriam Paul, director of Theater Fadenschein, Braunschweig and others.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to three of KompleXX Figurentheater’s activities: the intergenerational pilot project ‘Catch the Puppet!’, the mapping of the puppet theater scene in Germany and the interdisciplinary Figurentheater summer school. Under the keywords Insights and Outlooks, we want to describe an interim status, present initial evaluations, share challenges and encourage exchange.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to two KompleXX Puppet Theatre campaigns: the Thuringia pilot project ‘More local puppet theater’ and the fellowship program 4PS (4PuppetTheaterCollections). Under the keywords Insights and Outlooks, we want to describe an interim status, present initial evaluations, share challenges and encourage exchange.
This Tellerrand event is dedicated to two KompleXX Puppet Theater activities: the Hackathon ‘Sensors & Storytelling’ and the Symposium for Puppet Theater Pedagogy. Anyone who wants to know exactly who is behind the individual KompleXX projects and what is currently being created is cordially invited!
At the finalchoice, artists present their projects for the 2er scholarship in Rhineland-Palatinate 2025. A jury of experts then decides on the award of the scholarship.
Researchers from various disciplines, students, artists, experts and the public are invited to engage with puppet theater research. The aim is to stimulate the willingness to conduct research in puppet theater and to convey methods for its interdisciplinary research.
In a multi-day symposium with keynote speeches and best-practice examples, national and international actors will be invited to exchange ideas in order to record a structural analysis and documentation of the diversity of puppet theater pedagogy. The event will take place at the Figurentheater-Kolleg in Bochum in September 2025 and is aimed at the research audience as well as artists and educators.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
The Thuringian puppeteers meet at the premises of the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen in Erfurt to discuss in a moderated process what guest performance funding in Thuringia could look like. The resulting practical expertise will be made available to the Theaterverband Thüringen.
The creation alliance Zirkus ON invites you to the stage presentations of the 7th edition on September 24th in Karlsruhe.
As part of the ATOLL Festival in Karlsruhe, the Kreationsbündnis für Zirkuskunst – Zirkus ON will be presenting the current projects of the 7th edition to a public audience for the first time. Three work-in-progress shows will be on display. For the stage presentations, the focus is on feedback. The presentations are each followed by a short audience feedback format to actively support the projects for further creation.
Zirkus ON opens up the digital space to playfully discuss the topic of care, gather experiences and formulate the needs of the circus scene.
We discuss and present our performances, our artistic dialog with the audience, our artistic work. But we hardly talk about the work involved and the work of being able to show the performance. With Zirkus ONcare, we want to give space for this side of the work: to talk about it, to listen, to collect, to process and to present in order to create, as always, conditions in which we can work well. In particular, we want to look at so-called care work.
Save the date!
The creation alliance Zirkus ON cordially invites all alliance partners together with the Pfefferberg Theater to the kick-off presentations of the 7th Zirkus ON Edition on June 5 in Berlin.
The three artist groups, which were selected by the expert jury of the Zirkus ON creation alliance at the end of March, will present their project and then exchange ideas with the expert audience.
Following our big network meetings in hamburg (2021), munich (2022) and dresden (2023), we are returning to hamburg for the fourth edition, this time at kampnagel. From 30.05. to 01.06.2025, our fourth major network meeting will once again offer much-needed opportunities for exchange and networking for those involved in artistic production. We invite you to hold spaces together that combine multiple perspectives and draw their strength from dialog.
The new UN handout summarizes the findings of the UN Roundtables 2024, at which marginalized and racialized experts from the arts and culture discussed key challenges and solutions. The recommendations developed are aimed at cultural policy, administration and institutions – with the aim of improving access and creating more justice.
Live: Insta Live Talks with the experts – discuss with us!
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series “Auf einen Kaffee mit …”.
“SPARSE” has established rural touring networks in four European countries from 2018 to 2021. “SPARSE Plus”, which runs from 2023 to 2027, includes 11 partners from 9 European countries and conducts international tours.
Bebê de Soares is the artistic director of “Teatro 4Garoupas” near Cologne. She is a board member of “ASSITEJ” International. Since 2019, after 8 years in Chile, she is back in Germany, where she works as a producer and organizer of tours, residencies and collaborations at European level, such as “PERFORM EUROPE” and SPARSE Plus.
In this coffee talk, Bebê de Soares will give an insight into her work within the international rural touring network.
Our offer of an online groove-in is aimed at all those for whom the upcoming network meeting is the first networking event or a first time in a long time. In the groove-in, we provide insights into the structure and vibe of the upcoming edition of the big network meeting and clarify any questions that arise about participation together.
The joint working session excel is a life (not a good one, but one* does it) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a scheduled workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still bother us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
With the workshop excel is not a solution (but a tool), martin bien builds on basic Excel functions (SUMWENN, WENN/S, SVERWEIS) and invites participants to combine them with each other. The aim of the workshop is to develop a monitoring template that is further developed from a single production to a cross-production Excel logic.
In the four-hour, practice-oriented workshop, martin bien invites all participants to work together on the following question: How can my administration system (e.g. document entry, budget monitoring, usage) respond to as many needs and mapping requirements as possible? All participants work together in and with a template and expand it according to their individual needs.
For the development of your own administration system, Martin will show in the workshop, for example, how a cost center accounting and budget monitoring can be created from a simple document assignment in just a few steps within Excel. This workshop will focus on working with Excel using the functions: SUMWENN/S, WENN/S, SVERWEIS and their nesting.
In 2025, we would like to commit to our resourcing approach as the produktionsbande network: As it is uncertain at the moment whether there are realistic prospects of funding from 2026, 2025 is our last year in which we can maintain the produktionsbande network with our existing structure.
Together with all interested colleagues, we would like to ask ourselves the following questions What resources that we already use can we share with each other and make available to all colleagues, e.g. via our website? What other resources that do not yet exist would we like to have?
Every second Thursday of the month from 9-10 a.m., choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series “Auf einen Kaffee mit …”.
Nadja Raszewski (choreographer and dance mediator) and Daniela Grosset (cultural manager and theater educator) have realized many dance productions and socio-cultural projects in a wide variety of contexts in Berlin, Germany and internationally in recent years. Their work is always about participation and co-design by the participants. In 2019, they founded the “Kollektiv Kulturland Ogrosen” out of a biographically motivated desire to expand their field of action into rural areas and to be active there both culturally and educationally. They now live on the site of a former pig farm in Ogrosen (Lower Lusatia) and organize art events in the form of residencies, workshops and performances, grow flowers and are members of the slowflower movement. Various dance productions have already been developed and shown in the expanded dance studio. Through the combination of art, movement, horticulture and education, culture in rural areas should not remain inaccessible as an elitist dimension, but should be experienced by everyone.
get to know “tanz weit draußen”
Under this motto, we open the doors to our Info.Zoom every two months on the third Friday from 10 to 11 am. Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
Dates: 21.02.10 a.m. / 18.04. 10 a.m. / 20.06. 10 a.m. / 17.10. 10 a.m. / 19.12. 10 a.m.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is organizing a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
Together with the LAG Puppenspiel e.V. Thüringen and regional and national actors, the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance is staging a series of guest performances in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts in February/March 2025.
A cultural policy dialog is particularly necessary in Thuringia if the right to cultural participation is also to apply in rural areas. To stimulate this dialog, KompleXX and its partners are working to connect a large number of partners.
15 puppet theater productions by Thuringian artists or artist groups will be shown at 15 venues in the Saale-Orla and Saale-Holzland districts.
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research
A project of the puppet theater collections in Bochum, Dresden, Munich and Lübeck, which aims to activate the four collections as places of knowledge – through citizen science: the approach of involving citizens in research. In 2025, as part of a six-month fellowship, the fellow will explore how citizen science can be used to increase the visibility of the collections and open up previously unexplored fields of research.
This session is the third out of three public input sessions within the frame of the digital companionship programme: transnational contexts & relations, that is organised and hosted by Kreativ-Transfer, a project of Dachverband Tanz Deutschland and produktionsbande. In the companionship programme, one companion with transnational expertise supports one participant in the development and expansion of their own transnational working practice as a producer in the independent performing arts.
speaker: godlive lawani
the idea
bring actors together
strengthening the performing arts
actively shaping the future
The flausen+kongresses usually take place every two years on a biennial basis.
AUGENBLICK MAL! is the only nationwide festival of theatre for young audiences in Germany. The event has been held in Berlin every two years since 1991. At the festival, ten productions selected from the theatres’ proposals are shown and reflected upon and discussed in a supporting programme. The events are aimed at theatre professionals from Germany and around the world, young audiences and all other interested parties. You are very welcome!
Advance ticket sales are open!
On this website you can find the entire programme, an introduction to the team and information on ticketing.
The presale is open!
The next ASSITEJ Award Ceremony will take place on May 10, 2025 as part of AUGENBLICK MAL! The Festival of Theater for Young Audiences.
ASSITEJ awards several prizes every two years. The prizes honor people or institutions
who make a special contribution to the performing arts for young audiences and their diversity,
who are particularly committed to raising the profile of work for young audiences and with children and young people,
who seek dialog with the audience and promote reflection on it,
who are a source of inspiration for others – be it locally, regionally, nationally or globally.
International Cultural Exchange Freiburg (IKF)
Zirkus ON invites you to the 2nd edition of Zirkus ONstage together with the Internationale Kulturbörse Freiburg!
With Zirkus ONstage, the creative alliance for circus arts – Zirkus ON will be presenting three circus creations from the last Zirkus ON editions to a German and international audience of experts at the International Cultural Exchange in Freiburg (IKF) from January 20 to 22.
Groups of artists selected by an expert jury and supported for two years by the Zirkus ON creation alliance with mentoring, residencies, presentations, knowledge transfer formats and networking will perform. Zirkus ONstage is the final format of the creation program and creates a bridge between creation and distribution.
Rui Silveira on Something Great, a non-profit organization and live arts center in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
In this conversation, Rui will tell the story of Something Great, its history and its transformation from an internationally renowned performing arts touring agency based in Berlin to a cultural charity and live arts center rooted in an 18.6 hectare estate in the southwest of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Dedicated to the support, promotion and presentation of live art, the center focuses primarily on contemporary dance and performance art, but is also open to other art forms, such as the visual arts.
With another edition of the workshop “Radically polite in dealing with right-wing populism”, we are continuing the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” of our project “Promoting connections”.
#Communicate
The workshop looks at right-wing populist argumentation patterns and signal words and the intention behind them. How can we take a clear stance against right-wing populist statements in everyday life? Is a conversation useful and if so, how can it succeed?
Participants can expect a mixture of input, practical exercises and moderated discussion. They will gain applicable basic knowledge about right-wing populism and learn to recognize different situations and differentiate how to deal with them.
The workshop will be led by Tadel verpflichtet! e.V., which is committed to democratic coexistence.
Speakers: Matthias Jung, Katharina Klasen
With the experience exchange “Dealing with Nazi history in rural areas – between art project and educational work” with Felix Forsbach, we are continuing the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” of our project “Promoting connections”.
#Becoming active together
National Socialism remains a challenging topic that continues to have an impact today. This complexity contributes to the fact that right-wing extremist parties are gaining popularity again, threatening the existence of artists, cultural associations and initiatives for cosmopolitanism and diversity. This workshop will discuss the space of possibility that can be created through an artistic examination of National Socialism in the lives of people in rural areas.
In the social sculpture “augustusburger-protokolle”, Felix Forsbach has been artistically and transdisciplinary dedicated to the Nazi history of Augustusburg, a small town in Central Saxony, since 2021. His artistic work has led to a public discourse on how to deal with the history of the place and has reached many people of different ages through the explicitly artistic examination of the Nazi era. As part of the workshop, he will talk about the possibility of bonds between artists and residents and about the opportunities of long and processual residencies to encourage artists to tackle political issues explicitly and directly.
The event will be held in German and is free of charge. Places are limited.
After orientation and action, in the third part of the event series ksk for producers as well! we would like to conclude by inviting you to a joint exchange, which at the same time offers a space for open questions or issues that you have encountered in your membership application for the KSK.
The offer provides you with time together with us and all participants in which you can discuss and advance your concerns for the further processing and finalization of your application or your documents to be submitted.
To participate, it is therefore important that you bring a specific issue or question with you, which you briefly present and which can then be worked on together with you in breakout groups to support you in your KSK application process.
Sarah Soethoudt is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, cultural coach and founding member of the artist collective FLUJAS in Venlo, Noord-Limburg.
This region consists mainly of villages and small towns, which is both an enrichment and a challenge for professional artists. As a dancer and choreographer, Sarah develops site-specific works that are inspired by the surrounding forests and use them as a backdrop. She also devises specific performances in collaboration with partners such as museums and conservation organizations.
In her role as a cultural coach, she supports local artistic initiatives and encourages both professional artists and the residents of Venlo. FLUJAS is an artist-led collective that campaigns for better working conditions in Noord-Limburg. Most artists in this region face challenges such as visibility, funding, collaboration and know-how. FLUJAS brings artists together and offers them space to work and create with confidence and without pressure.
In this Kaffetalk, Sarah talks about her mediation work as a cultural coach, her artistic practice and collective work with a special focus on rural areas in the Netherlands.
Christina Elliot, Head of Programming & Producing at “The Place”, London’s center for dance development. Christina leads on the theater program, artist development initiatives, new productions and touring projects.
In this coffee talk, Christina will introduce the Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI) – a nationwide project that supports dance artists and rural promoters to create high quality dance performances in rural areas. Since 2015, RTDI has brought some of the UK’s best dance companies, such as Lost Dog, Protein and Scottish Dance Theatre, to rural areas.
Christina will share her experiences and explain how RTDI has transformed the dance scene in rural areas of the UK and continues to positively impact the touring landscape.
cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from our own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
In this session we deal with the complex topic of hospitality and discuss questions such as: How does it work? What makes a valuable hospitality practice, what are the ingredients? What field are we in? What are practices of hosting & guesting | invitation practices | opportunities & challenges of hospitality? How do I develop a multidirectional perspective and how does dealing with hospitality also influence questions of team development?
For producers, working at the interfaces with all those involved in an artistic production means maintaining open communication in all directions and, at the same time, bundling information and making it accessible to everyone. Friction can arise in this complex communication work, which can lead to potential conflicts.
In this two-part workshop for producers, Dana Caspersen will provide insights into methods for constructively framing, handling and, ideally, jointly resolving conflicts.
In this session we invite a critical eye on our existing networks, our informal champions and how to utilise these tools to identify new opportunities, disseminate work and push producing practices. We will look at the structure of networks and the importance of reciprocity in building lasting relationships. We will use this time to form a temporal network of information exchange where participants will be invited to offer their experiences and talk about their desires.
Tech riders or technical riders are technical documentations that are sent to theaters and event spaces in advance in order to plan the setup together. In the workshop, we talk about what should be included for stage, lighting, video, sound and special effects. And what other different forms of technical documentation can be used to make our lives easier when setting up.
This edition of skills & discourse is dedicated to income tax in an international context. Besides a theoretical focus with an application outlook by Felix Sodemann (touring artists), we will also take a closer look at the implementation in production practice together with Felix and Harriet Lesch with your example cases. Please send us your examples and questions with your registration by 6 October at the latest so that we can prepare them, include them in the workshop and discuss them together. Registration without submission of cases is open longer.
With Hikmat El-Hammouri from ver.di
The Verband freier Kinder- und Jugendtheater Bayern e.V. represents the concerns and needs of independent and professional theaters for young audiences. The association works to improve the working conditions and perception of independent children’s and youth theater throughout Bavaria. It also ensures that the needs of the sector continue to be taken into account in the design of new and existing state cultural funding.
With Michael Dietrich from Verband freier Kinder- und Jugendtheater Bayern e.V.
ASSITEJ e.V., the network of children’s and young people’s theaters, has conducted the first study to present the performing arts for young audiences in Germany in all their heterogeneity. Staff, programs and audiences of around 1,000 municipal and independent children’s and youth theaters, sections of municipal and state theaters as well as guest performance organizers throughout Germany were examined.
With Valerie Eichmann from ASSITEJ Germany
The Netzwerk Regie, which was founded in 2017 under the umbrella of ensemble-netzwerk, has represented the professional group of theater directors since 2022 and offers all professional colleagues a forum for networking and exchange. Among other things, the Netzwerk Regie has developed new model work contracts for directors with the German Stage Association, defined lower fee limits, organized congresses and training events, represented the interests of directors on a wide variety of panels and in discussion groups and is in close dialogue with cultural policy makers, trade unions and other networks.
With Jacob Weiß from Netzwerk Regie e.V.
The German Forum for Puppet Theater and Puppetry Art is planning a European Production House for Puppet Theater together with the Figurentheater-Kolleg Bochum. The aim of the project is to create a platform that promotes international exchange and the production of puppet theater plays. The aim is to create an infrastructure that offers puppet theater artists the spaces and conditions they need for their extraordinary work – unique in Europe and with the “Made in Bochum” seal of quality.
With Annette Dabs, Director of the German Forum for Puppet Theater and Puppetry, Bochum
With Seta Guetsoyan, Director of the Figurentheater-Kollegs, Bochum
What can you expect?
United Networks and House of Brownies invite you to a special BIPoC community gathering where you will have the opportunity to network with other BIPoC artists, creatives, associations, organizations and collectives from Hamburg and beyond. Let’s exchange ideas and find new ways to share resources within our BIPoC communities and collaborate more effectively.
Look forward to an interactive afternoon of speed working where you can find out how collaborative working can be strengthened. You will also have the opportunity to showcase your skills and resources in our Marketplace and see what other participants have to offer. Afterwards, you can continue networking over a delicious dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. At the end of the evening, there will be a live performance that you shouldn’t miss!
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom on December 13 from 10 to 11 am. This will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom again on November 15 from 10 to 11 am. This will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
Bianca Kruppa (Diebis, Bavaria) on community work on the “wrong farm” and the joy of making mistakes
What can a modern, sustainable and culturally diverse life look like in which a large number of people can participate and help shape it? With this central question in mind, the “False Farm” can be seen as a place that is constantly evolving. It offers space for content that is shaped by the creativity and expertise of local people. As co-founder of the “False Farm”, Bianca sees this place as a kind of collective resistance to the pursuit of the supposedly “right answer” – and instead creates space for something new. In doing so, Bianca’s community often finds itself in a field of tension between aspiration and reality – without losing the joy of experimentation.
In this coffee talk, Bianca shares her experiences as a community dance artist and dance facilitator in the context of her work on the “False Farm”. The focus is on community building and her personal research questions about dance in rural spaces. Bianca lives and works in rural southern Germany and is currently studying a Masters in Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism at London Contemporary Dance School.
info.zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know “tanz weit draußen”. Under this motto, we will be opening the doors to our monthly Info.zoom for the first time on October 18 from 10 to 11 am. From then on, this will take place every 3rd Friday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to come and find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
The Info.Zoom is held alternately by the two project managers Jessica Buchholz and Pam Goroncy. Network partners from Aktion Tanz, Tanzregion Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg, tanz.nord, fabrik Potsdam, Ponderosa, Szene 2wei and Tanz- und Theaterwerkstatt Ludwigsburg also regularly take part.
Roberto Casarotto (Bassano del Grappa, Venuto, Italy) on curating dance projects in north-eastern Italy
Roberto Casarotto is the co-director of »Aerowaves«, the European Platform for Dance promoting cross-border mobility of the work of emerging dance artists. He is also the initiator of »Dance Well« – Movement Research for Parkinson’s and other processes aimed at fostering participation in cultural activities both on a community and on an individual level. From 2006 to 2022, he was responsible for the dance projects and programs at »Centro per la Scena Contemporanea di Bassano del Grappa« (CSC) and »Operaestate Festival Veneto« in small cities and rural areas in the North East of Italy. He still develops international projects there now, supported by the EU Creative Europe and Erasmus + Programs, aimed at supporting artistic research, engaging local citizens and promoting artistic mobility and development in the field of dance. Prior to working for dance organizations, Roberto was a professional contemporary dancer.
In this Coffee Talk, Roberto will give insights into his wide range of experience in program creation and producing contemporary international dance in rural areas of northern Italy.
From participating in learning processes to attending performances during the weekend gatherings, “Implantieren ‘24” offers a variety of ways to get involved and, in collaboration with numerous partners, weaves a rich ecosystem of relationships.
“Implantieren ‘24” is a performing arts festival called “On the Ruins of the University.” Taking place on the former university campus in Bockenheim, Frankfurt, it explores what new things can grow from the ideological heritage and physical remains of the university. The festival questions how we can reinvent societal learning without exclusions and how can we learn from brokenness now, rather than just preparing for the future?
With its 13 projects, across venues in Neu-Isenburg, Offenbach and Frankfurt, the festival lays out an imaginary topography of a university in ruins. There are projects that delve into the dungeons of the university, where the Enlightenment persecuted heretics, objectors, and deviant bodies, questioning which forms of knowledge and which bodies have been excluded. And others that settle in the in-between and unused spaces, asking if it’s possible to gather without purpose and practice a new form of community. And also those that study how the campus can be transformed back to its literal meaning, a “field,” and how this transformation can help us reopen questions about the endangered ecologies we are part of today.
The theme of the “Verbindunngen fördern” conference “democracy and digitality” is the interfaces between democracy and digitality.
Experts from various disciplines will share their knowledge, experiences and strategies in the form of keynotes, impulses, workshops and exchange rounds and actively invite participants to test and reflect.
During a political soirée on the first day of the conference, politicians and experts from the independent scene are invited to publicly discuss the role of structural funding for democracy.
The event is also explicitly aimed at people who are not active in the performing arts but would like to exchange ideas and gain qualifications on these topics. The full program will follow shortly.
Registration via eventbrite
The registration deadline is November 4.
As part of the ATOLL Festival in Karlsruhe, the Kreationsbündnis für Zirkuskunst – Zirkus ON is presenting the 6th edition projects selected by a jury to a public audience for the first time.
The following work-in-progress pieces will be on show, each with a short
audience feedback format afterwards:
Hybrid by IceDanceTheater-Fusion
Lasterhaft by La Tanik
still.dependent by Hanschitz & Beierer
On the following day (19.9.), the alliance partners and mentors will meet with the artists. Based on the DasArts feedback methodology, the three projects will be discussed individually. Constructive feedback will be collected for further creation.
For the third time, the Netzwerk Freie Szene Saar is organizing the festival of independent performing arts in Saarland. From drama, music, dance, performance, sound art and live radio plays to children’s theater, everything the Saarland independent scene has to offer will be on display in and around the Erzhalle of the Völkinger Hütte World Cultural Heritage Site.
In the run-up to the festival, City Management Völklingen will host the STADTLABOR, which invites you to workshops, discussions and exchange formats to bring artists and city residents as well as art and everyday life together.
#Becoming active together
In this workshop as part of the training programme “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society”, central fighting terms, rhetorical patterns and organized approaches of the right-wing culture war will be explained. In addition, possible courses of action for dealing with intimidation, hostility and threats are presented and discussed. Participants are given the space to present their experiences and reflect on situations in interactive exercises.
Art and culture represent an important field of action for right-wing extremism and populism to implement their political ideas. This is because this is where current social issues and conflicts are discussed and where there is room for controversial debates. What strategies does this cultural struggle from the right pursue? How can and should we react to it?
The aim of the event is to raise participants’ awareness of the strategies and facets of this cultural struggle on the one hand and to strengthen their confidence to act on the other.
Speakers: Kerstin Kuballa and Matthias Müller from the Mobile Counseling Service against Right-Wing Extremism Berlin (MBR).
The SPURENSUCHE 2024, the working meeting of the independent children’s and youth theaters, will take place on October 10th (from 2 p.m.) and October 11th (until 4 p.m.) in the Junges Theater Augsburg together with the PERSPEKTIV:WECHSEL alliance. After 2 years, the alliance, which is supported by “Verbindungen fördern”, has brought the following questions to the SPURENSUCHE:
What is the starting point of the German children’s and youth theatre festival scene in relation to diversification processes?
How can processes of critical debate about power find their way into artistic practice?
How do we create safer spaces that live up to their name?
What have we learned and what do we want to discuss with you?
#Act and Hold
In this workshop as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – using knowledge to qualify for action for a diverse society”, the participants work together with speakers from the Anne Frank Education Center to recognize the different forms and mechanisms of racism, to develop a self-reflective attitude and to take the perspectives of those affected seriously. Building on this, there is space for reflection and exchange on action strategies in the context of art and culture.
Racism is part of our everyday lives and our society. Whether visible or invisible – racism influences our relationships and coexistence and has a violent effect. However, the experiences of those affected are often not recognized. When dealing with racism, it is often the debates about language and images that unsettle many people. Many everyday terms and images have their origins in colonial racist ideas or are based on ideologies of inequality.
The seminar at the Anne Frank Education Centre offers the opportunity for discussion and exchange. It raises awareness of the different forms and mechanisms of racism, develops a self-reflective attitude and takes the perspectives of those affected seriously. Building on this, space is provided for reflection and exchange on action strategies in the context of art and culture.
Speakers: Anne Frank Education Centre
#Take action together
This experience exchange as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society” takes place as a hybrid format at the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL in the Harz Mountains. Together with the Landeszentrum Freies Theater Sachsen-Anhalt e. V., Frauke Wetzel (“Der Rahmen ist Programm”) and Jan Hendrik Hermann (THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL) will open a discussion framework and exchange moment for colleagues with curatorial responsibility for festivals, festivals or other public cultural events.
Diverse, empowering, open and safe cultural events are essential pillars of a democratic society – and cannot be taken for granted. How can festival organizers open up and maintain these democratic spaces through curation and event design? Which regional practices can be adapted in supra-regional exchange? What hurdles do the actors encounter in their respective working practices? Local and international festival organizers are invited to discuss these and other questions together in a moderated discussion.
The aim of the Experience Exchange is to provide a platform for networking and exchange between national and international festival organizers in order to discuss practical experiences, consider (joint) options for action and learn from each other. The promotion of democratic cooperation in the festival or event context forms the connecting element.
#Take action together
In this experience exchange as part of the qualification program “Promoting democracy – qualifying with knowledge to act for a diverse society”, Diana Wesser and Sandra Bringer from the Artist Lab “Celebrating festivals” share research results and strategies on festivals as performative acts with a focus on rural areas. Do right-wing groups use existing festivals to cultivate and expand their following? Can performing arts compete with right-wing groups and gain a new audience at village festivals? What overlaps are there with festivals? What strategies can be adapted for festival work in rural areas?
In the subsequent exchange, festival organizers are invited to share regional experiences and discuss supra-regional approaches.
background
Theatricality, fictionalization, assembly, play, stories and regional themes – these are festival components that can have a socio-political impact, strengthen communities and experience diversity in a positive way.
As part of the Artist Lab “Celebrating Festivals”, 2023 investigated how festivals work in rural areas. Village festivals and festivals in small towns in Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were visited.
The Artist Lab “Feste Feiern” sees itself as a network of associates, interested people in rural areas, creators and co-creators that goes beyond the participating artists. “Feste Feiern” encourages people in rural areas to forge stronger relationships and open up spaces for encounters using the performing arts.
Zur Veranstaltung
The second experience exchange in the #Gemeinsam aktiv werden module will take place as a hybrid format at the Phoenix Theater Festival. Participation is possible in presence and digitally.
We also recommend participating in the face-to-face workshop at the Phoenix Theater Festival entitled “HACKATON Toolbox performing arts & activism – think, develop, act” and in the qualification and networking format at the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL entitled “Creating democratic spaces and keeping them open in festival curation”. The formats can be combined in terms of content. There will be moments of exchange at all events, which are intended to promote supra-regional networking among festival organizers.
#Take action together
In this workshop, Sandra Bringer and Diana Wesser invite you to a practical think tank as part of the qualification program “Promoting Democracy – Qualifying with Knowledge for Action for a Diverse Society”. The aim is to explore the relationship between art and political activism and the extent to which the performing arts are useful as a tool, a channel and a place for socio-political democratic negotiation processes. The aim is to create a “performing arts & activism toolbox” oriented towards the common good.
Festivals act as central anchor points for a decentralized independent scene and offer low-threshold opportunities for exchange, contact and the activation of audiences in the independent performing arts. This is where the workshop comes in. It will take place at the Phoenix Theater Festival in Erfurt.
In a short input, Sandra Bringer and Diana Wesser will map the topic using examples of their own performative attitude and exemplary formats of other activists and artists. In the subsequent hackathon, smaller groups will develop their own performative and/or discursive formats in a theory-practice transfer. The ideas will be implemented on site in a practical self-experiment. The tools developed for events and festivals will then be made available online for everyone in line with the open source concept.
Following the presence workshop, a hybrid experience exchange entitled “Festivals and festival culture – countering the decline of democracy in rural areas through performance” will take place at the Phoenix Theater Festival. In addition to this, we also recommend taking part in the qualification and networking format as part of the THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL entitled “Creating democratic spaces and keeping them open in festival curation”.The formats can be combined in terms of content.
There will be moments of exchange at all events, which are intended to promote supra-regional networking among festival organizers.
Munich moves @ rodeo 2024. Here, radical cheerleading meets soft masculinity. Here, dancing in anatomy classes and singing about nursing are just part of the experience. Here, people come together to watch, talk, sleep, and celebrate diversity through shows, workshops, and parties, both in the Kreativquartier and across various venues throughout the city.
At rodeo 2024, the body is in the spotlight: whether seen as male or female, young or old, healthy or ill; conforming to norms or defying them; As a queer, virtual, or collective body. Bodies are more than just bones and skin—they are seismographs of our society, bearing the imprints of values, ideologies, and desires. How we perceive and treat bodies is an eminently political question. Recently, the growing right-wing movement has also targeted the body as a battleground, agitating against “gender ideology” and sexual self-determination.
This year’s Rodeo selection stands for diversity against these repressive policies. In their works, the artists celebrate resistance, rebellion, and defiance. They envision utopias for a better tomorrow while also exploring themes of weakness, exhaustion, and vulnerability.
How do we remain tender in times of brutalization? How can we make our echo chambers and bubbles permeable again? The 12 selected pieces are a plea for empathy and attentiveness—toward people and the world around us.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes – that’s what they say when something that was thought to be dead rises again, when there is a new beginning for something that was already finished or when you get something back that you thought was lost. All of this applies to what PHOENIX e.V. wants to do with cultural sites that have been abandoned.
Lack of money, rationalization and mergers were the main reasons why deep wounds were torn by the abandonment or closure of entire buildings, especially in the new federal states. Cultural sites such as the Schauspielhaus in Erfurt were abandoned overnight and left to their own devices. Sites of collective memory and personal history rotted away in the middle of the city.
PHOENIX wants to revive such places – through sustainable and long-term artistic initiatives. By organizing and staging cultural events such as festivals, conferences, theater productions, performances, concerts, urban projects, exhibitions and symposia, PHOENIX aims to set an example, provide encouragement, support local actors and thus reposition culture in the city. This is not about commercial use, but exclusively about specifically expanding the cultural offer in the respective city.
When working together, there are hierarchies, whether we like it or not. Sometimes it has to do with individual ways of working, sometimes it is due to the responsibilities of tasks, or both. Hierarchies are not bad in themselves, unless they are denied, or they are not comprehensible. In any case, they require common, transparent agreements. In this workshop we would like to find out with the participants how hierarchies and unresolved power relations can be detected and addressed in the context of cooperation and which tools are needed for this.
The joint working session excel is a life (or at least a style) is more of an exchange platform for Excel nerds than a well-paced workshop. In this open format, we share individual problems and challenges that still concern us despite our knowledge of Excel. All participants are available to help each other in a mutual exchange.
The prerequisite for participation is therefore to bring your own issue or problem in working with Excel in the context of production work in the independent performing arts and to present it in an open exchange format.
In the digital companionship programme, one companion with transnational expertise supports one participant in the development and expansion of their own transnational working practice as a producer in the independent performing arts. The ten companionship duos will each spend six individual companionship sessions independently and self-organised in the digital space with a focus on personal exchange of experience and knowledge on transnational contexts and relationships. We will accompany the six individual sessions in the respective duo constellations with digital supporting events: a common kick-off and closing meeting, informal meetings between the companions and participants, a moderated reflection session and three public inputs on selected topics of the programme.
Time, money, and the involvement of experts are decisive factors in producing accessibility. To work as an anti-ableist producer, one constantly explores their scope for action and deals with different conditions.
The speakers will distinguish the two concepts and share criteria, using various examples from their own anti-ableist practice. In the workshop, we will work together to develop an understanding of how to plan accessibility measures for your own project with different time and budget constraints and implement them with experts.
In the workshop, the participants deal with power structures and (their own) privileges and develop strategies for mutual support in the hierarchical theater structures. They will also look at their own resources and how they can make use of them. How can I become sensitive to implicit exclusion and discrimination? How can I support colleagues who are subjected to racist attacks? How can I express criticism without jeopardizing my career?
The aim of the workshop is to unite theater makers through sensitization and to enable new forms of community in the field of theater.
– Let’s talk about Wallpaper –
We, “The Lemon” collective, will explore the Poetic, Political, and Narrative Potential of wallpapers – a seemingly mundane silent witness that is around us.
Coming from different backgrounds in classical music, software engineering, theatrical performance, and multimedia art, we peel back the layers, discovering a tapestry of stories.
Sitting in a bar staring at the wall while having nothing serious to say, made us discover personal and cultural connections to the topic.
We seek to unravel the storytelling potential, finding parallels to political issues such as gentrification of cities and socio-economic differences.
Who is able to shape their personal surroundings to their wishes? How much do our surroundings influence our way of thinking/feeling?
THE LEMON : Alicia Reyes, Lucas Xerxes, Robin Plenio, Joern Griepenburg
In the heart of the post-Soviet era, we as a group of young Russians, the first free generation, confronts the complexities of our homeland’s socio-political landscape. Faced with challenges, including widespread arrests and a stifling atmosphere, we embark on a profound research project focusing on the omnipresent tool wielded by the Putin regime: propaganda.
This interdisciplinary team, consisting of actors, musicians, and a puppet theater artist, aims to dissect the evolution of Russian propaganda from the Soviet Union’s collapse to the present day. Rejecting traditional hierarchical structures, the team operates horizontally, exploring the effectiveness of a leaderless collaborative approach in artistic endeavors.
Ilya Khodyrev, Mikhail Poliakov, Vsevolod Kovalenko, Tatyana Ochsenohr
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
The THEATERNATUR FESTIVAL takes place annually in August on and around the Waldbühne Benneckenstein in the Oberharz region and in the entire border triangle of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony.
The Festival takes place on three dates at two different places:
20./21. JULI + 27./28. JULI – FREI|LUFT|KULTUR
REGION HARZ
02. – 18. AUGUST – FESTIVAL AN DER WALDBÜHNE
BENNECKENSTEIN / OBERHARZ AM BROCKEN
[Whole]Contacts create a state of suspension full of ambiguity. When and how does contact arise, what are the limits and what happens if it flickers, exists for a while and then doesn’t again? We want to research establishing contact, maintaining contact and breaking off contact and investigate how these processes work or fail. As a young theater collective, it is important to us to break down elitist barriers to access to theater as well as those between audience and performers. In our research we deal with physical and linguistic [shaky] contact in analog and digital space, as well as their entanglement.
FUTUR.X: Fiona Grün, Anastiya Shtemenko , Alexandra Paal, Sophie Gigou, Stefan Ammer
We, Pia Katharina Jendreizik, Declan Hurley and Brice Stapelfeldt from people like die, are exploring, together with Fia Neises, the chances and possibilities of a form of stage expression that includes deaf, blind and visually impaired, hearing and sighted artists and their audiences and their individual Perceptual styles taken into account.
Our goal is to develop a barrier-free aesthetic practice. The starting point will (as always) be communication. How do we organize ourselves? How do we find an equal basis? How do we ask each other questions and what questions do we ask?
What is important for the development of barrier-free aesthetics? What is possible? What do we want? How do we build on experiences we have? What do we share? What could we share?
PEOPLE LIKE THIS : Declan Hurley, Pia Katharina Jendreizik, Brice Stapelfeldt, Fia Neises
The funding grant notification has arrived! But what happens now? What actually does necessary, economical and sparingly mean, what is unsexy called regulation on sub-threshold procurement (in German even unsexier: Unterschwellenvergabeordnung) or an early commencement of the project? What in the Federal Travel Expenses Act is important for us who work in cultural funding, which documents do I have to collect and how do I document/explain correctly?
The workshop excel is not a landscape has laid the foundations for budget monitoring within an individual production in the independent performing arts. By linking a continuous document entry with the cost centres within the cost and financing plan, a system is created that allows producers to see at any time which funds from the overall and individual budgets are still available for use in a production and which have already been spent.
The session with Agnieszka is intended to provide a safer space for exchange, centering disabled and/or chronically ill producers and their perspectives.
The following topics will be discussed: What does it mean to work as a disabled and/or chronically ill person as a producer in the independent performing arts? How do other colleagues experience this? How do accessible working practices look like for disabled and/or chronically ill producers?
cases & faces offers a space for producers from different fields to share challenges from our everyday work and to jointly deal with specific cases and situations from their own work context.
It is based on the thought that we can draw on shared knowledge and create a connecting, collegial and open space with different perspectives, which in the best case also enables new perceptions of our own situation.
As part of our onboarding, we provide an insight into our offering and show ways to become an active part of produktionsbande. Onboarding takes place online via Zoom and can be conducted in German or English, depending on requirements.
The UN Roundtable format includes regular online meetings where UN partners, other BIPoC networks and individual arts and cultural practitioners from across Germany come together to share their knowledge and tools to strengthen intersectional BIPoC movements. Shared tools will then be developed in the form of an infographic and/or video for other members of the community to use.
UN Labs are residencies for BIPoC artists to promote creative exchange, experimentation and collaboration in rural areas or a project workshop program for BIPoC artists to work with young people who are socio-economically disadvantaged due to their refugee context.
UNacademy are discussion rounds between artists and cultural professionals, politicians and administrators, for the exchange of knowledge and experience as well as for exploring needs-oriented options for action.
UN Roundtables are residencies for BIPoC artists to promote creative exchange, experimentation and collaboration in rural areas or a project workshop program for BIPoC artists to work with young people who are socio-economically disadvantaged due to their refugee context.
Choreographer Hannah Ma (Wawern, Rhineland-Palatinate) talks about the idea of how dance can be radically solidary and asks: How can we use dance in rural areas to work together in the long term, form friendships, networks and communities, cultivate and promote discourse, (privilege) reflection, solidarity and empathy?
Dramaturge Charlotte Mathiessen (Zurich, Switzerland) presents the unique funding platform TanzPlan Ost, which enables contemporary dance in the region of Eastern Switzerland/Principality of Liechtenstein as part of a three-stage model.
https://www.tanzplan-ost.ch/editorial
The new series will start on June 13 at the original time with an opening in English, in which Pascal Sangl and Elisabeth Nehring will give a thematic outlook and the “tanz weit draußen” network will introduce itself and its work. Representatives of the regional teams from Brandenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Aktion Tanz and the project management team will be present to answer questions and exchange ideas.
/// The event will be held in English ///
The 4 Puppet Theater Collections (4PS) of the KompleXX Puppet Theater Alliance are awarding the 4PS Fellowship for the first time in 2025, an endowed research grant that offers space for concentrated work over six months to develop new ideas and approaches for the collections through research, research and conception.
The aim of the 4PS Fellowship is to initiate the research process for Citizen Science in the collections and to connect the four collections.
Das Kollektiv b/w*itch fragt nach queerfeministischen Perspektiven auf solidarisches Zusammensein. Für die Flausen+ Zeit forschen wir an kollaborativen Spielstrategien und dem queeren und feministischen Potential von Pilzen. In Moving Guts entwickeln wir ein Spielformat, das die unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten der Pilze als Ausgangspunkt für kollaborative Spielstrategien nimmt. Das Spiel als Format dient uns dazu utopische Momente zu ermöglichen und gemeinschaftliche Gefüge zu erleben. Ziel des Spieles ist das Patriarchat zu zersetzen, zu kompostieren und Nährstoffe für anderes freizusetzen. Wir forschen am Bühnenraum und wie dieser sich in ein begehbares Spielfeld verwandeln kann.
B/W*ITCH: Anngret Schultze , Esther Adam, Katharina Greeven, Kattalin Mitxelena Newiger
SHOW
The flausen+festival brings together follow-up productions by former flausen+ scholarship holders in one place and offers an insight into artistic debates about innovative topics, formats and aesthetics.
NETWORK
The flausen+festival thus creates a versatile space for encounters, networking and discourse with other artists, a specialist audience, but also the interested public.
DEVELOP
In addition, the festival provides impulses for flausen+ as an internal platform: in working discussions with flausen+ participants, with space and time to evaluate the program and discussions on current problems that affect artists and small and medium-sized theaters.
FAVORITEN – the theater, dance and performance festival of the independent scene in North Rhine-Westphalia – has been held every two years in Dortmund since 1985. It is one of the oldest festivals of the independent performing arts in Germany and is aimed equally at the people of the city and region as well as at a nationwide and international (professional) audience. For the 2022 and 2024 editions of the festival, Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller will be the artistic directors of FAVORITEN for the first time.
Under the motto (Un)Learning for possible futures, Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller will address the challenges of the present and the future on an artistic and discursive level for the FAVORITEN Festival. They place the joint, continuous process of learning and growing together between genders, generations, classes and borders at the center of the festival. They want to grow together with Dortmund and the city society and at the same time put out feelers on a global level via the digital space and in doing so also learn with and from international partners.
Anne Mahlow, Margo Zālīte and Sina-Marie Schneller pursue a collective way of working. What they have in common is an excellent knowledge of the independent scene in North Rhine-Westphalia, a reflection on the perspectives of this very scene, and a great interest in shaping cultural policy and in regional, national, and international cooperation. The previous festival work of all three is characterized by a broad perspective on a wide variety of artistic genres.
This year, the artistic direction of FAVORITEN has been advertised directly for two editions. The longer-term perspective should enable a more sustainable collaboration with artists, partners and networks and support an even stronger anchoring of the festival in the city.
The next festival edition will take place from September 5-15, 2024 in Dortmund and digitally.
Hauptsache Frei was founded as a festival for the independent performing arts in Hamburg. Now in its 10th year, it has a new look to celebrate artistic diversity in Hamburg and beyond.
We are happy to invite you to experience contemporary trends, aesthetic innovations and socio-political discourse in a diverse interdisciplinary program at Fringify and to join in the conversation.
Düsseldorf and Mülheim an der Ruhr
The Impulse Theater Festival, together with artists and the Ringlokschuppen Ruhr, is opening a summer pool in MüGa Park for eleven days. The Conte Potuto group is designing a bathroom of dreams: almost without water, but full of the visitors’ wishes and ideas. TachoTinta play on dry land with the underwater rugby team, and in the TIGERS’ KITCHEN they don’t just fry, they also produce tasty hits.
OSTEN is a festival for art and mutual interest. It explores and celebrates “the East” as a landscape of change for people, nature and coexistence. From June 1st to 16th, 2024, the festival invites you for the second time to (re)discover the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen and “the East” with a diverse cultural program.
While the first festival focused on the Bitterfeld Cultural Palace, the 2024 festival will turn several places of industrial culture into a stage and explore unusual spaces in the city in the area between the former cinema, the municipal cultural center, the former factory fire department of the film and fiber factory, the industrial and film museum and the town hall.
The festival The Framework is the Program (DRiP) will take place in 2024 in collaboration with the Fritz Theater.
DRiP 2024 addresses the view from East to West and vice versa. In a city that experienced a revolutionary transformation after 1990 and whose consequences are still felt and visible, DRiP wants to offer an artistic platform for employment.
We don’t want to talk about each other, we want to enter into dialogue with each other and stay in conversation. We want to invite artists and visitors to change perspectives and look from East to West and vice versa. We show performances from Chemnitz, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia/Brazil and Manchester.