LAB & KONFERENZ
"VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN"
KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN - Art in the field of tension between political realities
As a concluding event, a conference will be held on June 3, 2025, at Theater Variabel in Olbernhau (Saxony, Capital of Culture Region), where the results of the preceding exchange will be presented and enriched by expert knowledge from the fields of culture, law, administration, andcivil society. The conference will offer networking opportunities with committed regional and international actors, hands-on workshops, in-depth panel discussions, and keynotes by and with experts on the following topics:
- Transnational perspectives on strengthening democracy through the independent performing arts
- Challenges posed by cultural battles from the right and counter-strategies
- Legal frameworks between neutrality requirements, political engagement, and non-profit status
- Recommendations for dealing with threats and attacks
The conference is primarily aimed at actors from the independent performing arts but also warmly welcomes cultural workers and interested individuals from other fields.
Registration is possible until 22 May 2025, places are limited.
3 June 2025
CONFERENCE
10.00 - 10.30 am
Welcome & opening
Moderation: Caroline Galvis (actress / puppeteer / moderator)
English
10.30 - 11.00 am | Keynote
Cultural struggle from the right - politics and civil society in transition
Prof. Dr. Stefan Garsztecki (Professor of Cultural and Area Studies of East Central Europe, TU Chemnitz)
Englisch
11.00 am - 12.30 pm | Lecture
Neutrality and party equality as barriers to art, freedom of expression and political engagement
Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Hufen (Professor emeritus of Public Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz / former member of the Constitutional Court of Rhineland-Palatinate)
German
11.00 am - 12.30 pm | Table talk
Transnational exchange: art as a political tool
Moderation: Caroline Galvis (actress / puppeteer / moderator)
English
12.30 - 1.30 pm
Lunch with NETZWERKTREFFEN TANZ
Indra Genning (project team member of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland e.V.)
German / English
1.30 - 3.00 pm | Workshops
Workshop 1
Possible courses of action - a joint approach
VERBUND MITTE:OST with Maria Gebhardt (managing director of the Landeszentrum Freies Theater Sachsen-Anhalt e.V.) and Tanja Matjas (project manager of FREIE SZENE THÜRINGEN STÄRKEN, Thüringer Theaterverband e.V.)
English
Workshop 2
Countering the threats posed by the culture war from the right: building networks, creating safe spaces, strengthening marginalised perspectives
Moderation: Lars Hecker (project manager of Verbindungen fördern, Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V.)
English
Workshop 3
Embodied experiences of power(lessness)
Constanze Schulte (cultural practitioner specialising in dance, movement and the body)
English, mostly non-verbal
Workshop 4
Activist engagement: what to do? Empathy-based artistic strategies for interventions in public space
AGENTUR FÜR with Anna Barth (visual artist / MOTHEK initiator), Juliane Meckert (actress / director / theater maker / theater educator) and Anna Stiede (player / performer / political communication artist)
English
3.00 - 3.30 pm
Coffee break with artistic intervention by the MECKERCHOR
3.30 - 4.30 pm | Panel talk
Art in the field of tension between political realities
Anica Happich (actress / curator / cultural-political actor), Lars Hecker (project manager of Verbindungen fördern, Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V.), Lina Mitschke (Dachverband der Migrant*innenorganisationen in Ostdeutschland – DaMOst e.V.) and Filip Pawlak (performer / activist / curator / producer)
Moderation: Caroline Galvis (actress / puppeteer / moderator)
4.30 - 4.45 pm
Break
4.45 - 5.45 pm | Networking & table talks
Table talk 1
Discrepancies between working realities in urban and rural areas
Justyna David (Sächsische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung), Anja Herbener (puppeteer) and Christian Rühl (MOBIT – mobile Beratung in Thüringen)
German / translation into English spoken language if required
Table talk 2
Transnational perspective: strengthening democracy through the independent performing arts
Moderation: Caroline Galvis (actress / puppeteer / moderator)
English
Table talk 3
External positioning: setting boundaries vs. maintaining dialogue
VERBUND MITTE:OST with Maria Gebhardt (managing director of the Landeszentrum Freies Theater Sachsen-Anhalt e.V.)
English
Table talk 4
Between attitude and action - ways of deradicalisation
Katharina Kraft (director / photographer)
English
5.45 - 6.15 pm
Wrap-Up & closing
Moderation: Caroline Galvis (actress / puppeteer / moderator)
English
from 6.15 pm
Open end: closing & get together
parallel daytime exercise | Film screening
BLICKWECHSEL - Publika und Politiken der Darstellenden Künste. A film by Janina Möbius on behalf of the Fonds Darstellende Künste
German with English subtitles
2 June 2025
GET-TOGETHER
3.30 - 5.00 pm | Guided tour
Discover Olbernhau - culture in rural areas on the Saxon-Czech border
Verena Russell (staff member of the Theater Variabel Olbernhau)
German / English
5.00 - 6.30 pm | Table talk
Living democracy! Art, civil society and democracy - insights and challenges
Angela Klier (head of Partnership for Democracy Olbernhau and Surroundings / spokesperson LAG Diversity Saxony)
German / translation into English spoken language if required
Dinner together
7.30 - 9.00 pm | Film screening followed by a talk
BLICKWECHSEL - Publika und Politiken der Darstellenden Künste. A film by Janina Möbius on behalf of the Fonds Darstellende Künste
German with English subtitles
4 June 2025
CLOSING
from 8.30 am
Breakfast together
10.30 - 12.00 am | Guided tour
Discover Olbernhau - culture in rural areas on the Saxon-Czech border
Verena Russell (staff member of the Theater Variabel Olbernhau)
German / English
Individual perception of the cultural offer on site
Notes:
The event will primarily be held in spoken English. The venue is largely wheelchair accessible; however, due to monument protection regulations, there are specific aspects to consider. We are happy to provide more details upon request.
Contact KONFERENZ:
Anna Schinzel
anna.schinzel@freie-theater-sachsen.de
It has been clear not only since the results of the 2024 state elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg, as well as this year’s federal elections: anti-democratic forces are increasingly gaining strength. That is why we want to use the coming months to train local actors in dealing with these tendences. The two-part qualification programme ‘LAB & KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN’; by the network Verbund Mitte:Ost is aimed at actors from the independent performing arts who actively engage with socio-political issues, take a clear stance for diversity and democracy, and are interested in exchanging experiences on political and artistic challenges. At the heart of the programme are questions related to the resilience of art and culture: How can cultural workers respond to anti-democratic tendencies? What strategies can help protect artistic freedom and pluralistic values?
LAB VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN
During the LAB VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN, artists, venue managers, and festival curators from Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt can collaborate in a digital space with dialogue partners from neighboring countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. In a moderated exchange, shared experiences will be reflected upon, and strategies will be developed to address societal and political challenges. Topics will include the changing working conditions for the independent performing arts, the role of artistic work as a form of activism, and dealing with increasing attacks and restrictions through political influence and the risk of self-censorship.
The further thematic focus will be determined based on the participants’ individual concerns and the expertise of the international dialogue partners from the independent performing arts. The approximately 30 participants of LAB VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN were selected through an open call.
As part of the exchange programme, a communication toolkit will be developed, which will serve as a resource for other cultural actors to reflect on their own position and strategy in dealing with political forces.
Contact LAB:
Sarah Biering
projektkoordination@freie-theater-sachsen.de
‘LAB & KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN’ is a cross-border cooperation project of the Landesverband der Freien Theater in Sachsen e.V. with the Landeszentrum Freies Theater Sachsen-Anhalt e.V. and the Thüringer Theaterverband e.V.
Funding information
The two-part qualification programme ‘LAB & KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN’ is supported by the Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. The ‘KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN’ is also supported by the alliance ‘Zusammen für Demokratie’ and by the Partnership for Democracy (PfD) Olbernhau and the surrounding area as part of the federal ‘Live Democracy!’ programme of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, co-financed by tax revenue on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.
Linked to the ‘KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN’, the workshop ‘Embodied experiences of power(lessness)’ and a network meeting will take place as part of the cultural-political dialogue of TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Dachverband Tanz Deutschland e.V. and Bureau Ritter.
Linked to the ‘KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN’, the workshop ‘Activist engagement: what to do? Empathy-based artistic strategies for interventions in public space’ will take place as part of the &FRIENDS DAY. FESTIVALFRIENDS is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media via the programme Verbindungen fördern of the Bundesverbands Freie Darstellende Künste e.V.
The ‘KONFERENZ VIELFÄLTIGER OSTEN’ is also supported by TOPAS GmbH and Halloren Vertriebs GmbH.
Der Verbund Mitte:Ost ist ein grenzübergreifender Zusammenschluss der Landesverbände für die Freien Darstellenden Künste in Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt und Thüringen.
mitteost@lanze-lsa.de
