Organizational Development at Performance Venues During Times of Sustainability

Many structures are finding themselves in times of change due to numerous (cultural) policy and societal developments. While there is still a great deal to do when it comes to improving the working and producing conditions and providing social security for independent performing artists, some organizations are already making progress with good examples: new leadership models are being tried out, producing and touring processes are being designed with a greater conservation of resources, care-friendly and family-friendly working structures are being developed and the relationship to our audiences is being analyzed and expanded. Some things have already been able to be learned and, in part, successfully implemented.

Over the course of a networking meeting, we would like to discuss these successes and take a look at the good practice approaches of the independent arts: the Swiss Embassy is inviting representatives of Berlin’s independent performing arts community to enter into conversation with colleagues from Switzerland over the course of an afternoon about fair and sustainable working and producing conditions, paths to increase accessibility and remove barriers, how to achieve more diversity in teams, programming and audiences, appropriate crisis communication and much more.

Always with the goal of a sustainable, fair organizational structure in sight, representatives of performance venues will present their internal developments and approaches to the work in brief keynote presentations, will share the open questions that still remain and invite us all to mutually reflect upon current and coming challenges and additional possible solutions.

Alongside representatives of performance venues, all interested members of the independent performing arts community are invited to take part in this exchange and bring their own perspectives and needs into the conversation. Following this, there will be an opportunity to continue to get to know each other and form alliances for shared projects over the course of an aperitivo. The networking meeting will be moderated by Sandra Künzi (writer, musician, spoken word performer).

Schedule of the Event

4:30 pm   Admission and accreditation

5:00 pm   Welcome
Livia Leu (ambassador-designate) and Janina Benduski (Program Direction, Performing Arts Programm Berlin)

5:10 pm  Program introduction
Sandra Künzi (moderation)

5:15 pm   Impulse lectures from Berlin, Leipzig and Swiss venues

Théâtre de Poche: The importance of responsibility and ethics for the sustainability complex
Mathieu Bertholet (Artistic Director, Théâtre de Poche, Geneva)

Ballhaus Ost: Creating fair working conditions
Daniel Schrader (Artistic Director, Ballhaus Ost, Berlin)

Gessnerallee: Experiences with a transparent salery system
Juliane Hahn (Overall Coordination, Gessnerallee, Zurich)

Fairstage: Model project for non-discriminatory and good working conditions at Berlin theaters
Frederika Tsai (Co-direction Fairstage Berlin)

TD Berlin: Location problems of the TD Berlin and perspectives of cooperation with NFT etc.
Georg Scharegg (Artistic Director, Direction, Management, TD Berlin)
 

Haus der Statistik: Development of a new interdisciplinary venue with a comprehensive sustainability concept
Harry Sachs (Board of ZUsammenKUNFT Berlin eG) & Jutta Wangemann (freelance dramaturg, process coordination of venue development at HdS)

10 minutes break
 

L'Abri: Emerging Artist & Institution - a new paradigm: sustainable companionship
Rares Donca (Artistic Director, L'Abri, Geneva)

Centre Français Berlin: What does it take for good community and neighborhood projects?
Julia Cozic (Artistic Director, Centre Français Berlin)

Institute Practices and Theories in the Arts of the HBK Bern: Im/mobilität ver-lernen. Responsibility and Accessibility of Festivals in the Performing Arts
Prof. Dr. Yvonne Schmidt (Institute Practices and Theories in the Arts of the HBK Bern & Co-President of the Swiss Society for Theatre Culture)

Save the World e.V.: Results of the conference "m2act x burning issues - Performing Arts & Action" 2023, Bern
Nicola Bramkamp (Artistic Director, Burning Issues Conference, Save the World e.V.)

7:30 pm  Apéro

8:30 pm  End of the event

The event will be held in English spoken language.

The event is a cooperation with the Swiss Embassy in Germany and the PAP Berlin.