Sign the petition and support Germany’s independent cultural landscape
Link: chng.it/2CXdyf8bSc
The German federal government has put forward a budget for 2025, halving the Federal Cultural Fund (Bundekulturfonds), which is crucial for the German “Freie Szene” – independent artists. It would also completely eliminate the funding for the Alliance of International Production Houses (BIPH).
The “Freie Szene” or independent artistic scene funded by the Bundekulturfonds, in particular, is under threat. The BIPH consortium of performing arts institutions designed to internationalize the independent theatre world, a network which includes the likes of the famed Kampnagel in Hamburg, the HAU in Berlin, as well as Forum Freies Theater (FFT) and Tanzhaus NRW would be cut altogether. Although these theatres would still run with regional-state and city money, without the national contributions, both national and international programmes face cancellation which have already been planned for 2025. The decision also threatens jobs and planned collaborations, putting artists at risk internationally.
Artists unions, artists and supporters are urgently petitioning the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), Claudia Roth, to reverse the proposed cuts. For example:
- https://www.kunstfonds.de/aktuelles/details/kunstszene-strukturell-gefaehrdet-bundesregierung-plant-halbierung-des-kunstfonds-etats-in-2025
- https://www.fonds-daku.de/haushaltskuerzungen-2025/
Paradoxically, the budget cuts for the independent scene are being proposed while the overall budget for culture of the BKM has increased. Ms. Roth also previously emphasised her support for this very sector.
The proposed cuts in funding could have devastating effects, especially since the independent scene has only recently recovered from Covid, and artists with families might suffer disproportionately. Budget cuts for vital cultural activities pose a risk to democracy, especially at a time when the rise of the far right threatens to undermine the diverse and inclusive communities that these institutions foster through their international and independent artistic collaborations.
Join Artists at Risk (AR) and other cultural organizations in demanding that Minister Claudia Roth of the BKM revise the 2025 budget to ensure the continued support for the independent scene.
Picture: Mahdi Hafizi. Hafizi was an Artists at Risk (AR) Resident at Artrmx e.V. in Cologne, Germany in 2023.
