Symposium: Professional Producing in Crisis Situations – (In)Security, Leeway, Solidarity and Quick Solutions

The conditions for producing and for production managers have gotten more difficult – and they have done so to a degree that has posed enormous challenges to many of us: fluctuating funding resources, slow communication and last-minute decisions require a large amount of flexibility, strategic thinking and new approaches. This symposium brings together representatives from the fields of art and culture production and additional relevant areas to reflect together upon how professional producing can be successful under uncertain conditions as well.

How are the current (cultural policy) framework conditions for producing art in Berlin being shaped at the current time? What ways and methods have colleagues developed to be able to deal with unforeseeable developments in a secure manner? Where can leeway and room to maneuver be identified and used? And how can alliances and networks stabilize the working and producing conditions?

This event for professionals will provide space for discussion about experiences while working and the solidary transfer of knowledge. Over the course of practical workshops, production managers and producers will be qualified in the fields of alternative financing options, liquidity planning, contract law, and conflict management.

This symposium is a cooperation between the Berlin Performing Arts Program, HAU Hebbel am Ufer and produktionsbande.

 

Schedule of Events

12:30 pm                             

Welcoming Event and Introduction

With Sarah Stührenberg (Berlin Performing Arts Program) and the colleagues from produktionsbande

 

Presentation: On the State of the Cultural Economy and the Creative Economy

With Melanie Seifart (Kreativ Kultur Berlin)

The creative economy and cultural economy are also both standing under increasing pressure: in this presentation, the central challenges and current developments in this diverse sector will be explained. How are things going for the sub-markets at the moment, has the recovery after the pandemic been maintained and what influence do the current cultural policy developments have in this important, high-revenue economic sector?

 

Presentation: Let’s Talk – The Current State of the Conversation Between Cultural Politicians, the Administration and the Community

With Philipp Harpain (#BerlinIstKultur, Grips Theater)

The production of culture requires basic framework conditions: these are in a constant state of negotiation between cultural policy makers, the administration and lobbying organizations as well as additional initiatives and structures. At the moment, the discussions are running at full speed in a critical phase and it is not always easy to maintain an overview of everything. Dialogue and participatory formats, committee work, demonstrations… how is speaking where with whom and what is the state of things? This presentation will provide an overview of the current state of the conversations as well as coming dates.

 

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm    

Exchange: Business Lunch – Vegan Allocation Schnitzel with Boiled Potatoes on a Small Grant Approval Salad, Budget Sauce and a Dash of Solidarity

Who hasn't been in this situation before? Your everyday work life is stressing you out, your to do list is getting longer instead of shorter, your cell phone is ringing, your inbox is overflowing, your group chat has 100 unread messages and your stomach is growling. Don’t worry, your colleagues are dealing with the same thing – so put on your jacket, go to your favorite restaurant, the closest food truck or the nearest park bench and eat together, blow off some steam but also receive some advice. After all, while your stomach gets filled during a business lunch, it also serves the purpose of a collegial exchange.

We are going to work with this idea and invite you to fortify yourself: for the four thematic focal points, colleagues from the fields of art, cultural education, administration, law and production will explore the respective most urgent questions over the course of a nourishing meal. Over the course of short statements, they will provide insight into the current state of their respective work and task and provide an invitation for a joint reflection. How can these challenges be met? In doing so, there is also space for the suggestions and questions of the guests, additional perspectives and concerns as well as for a general open exchange. Be sure to bring along your appointment books so that you are prepared at the end to put some more shared dates into the calendar!

 

Table #1: Between the Funding Instruments – Art, Culture and Cultural Education
With Kerstin Wiehe (Initiative Kulturelle Bildung Stärken!), Franziska Münz (kultur_formen), colleagues from Theater X, Inka Löwendorf & Julia von Schacky (Heimathafen Neukölln) and Moritz von Rappard (Section II A Policy and Law, Berlin’s Senate Department for Culture and Community, invited) as well as Dr. Kai Schöpe (Berlin’s Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family, invited)

Cultural education and the (performing) arts are closely interwoven with each other. Artistic projects that have a focus on participation, create creative spaces for communities or that work with children and young people are, however, frequently more strongly associated with cultural education than they are with art in the funding logic. Projects are financed from the different funding instruments with their own guidelines, priorities and goals, they have different contact partners and, not infrequently, they fall through all of the cracks in the discussions about better working and production conditions and the lobbying work for the securing of long-term financing.

This business lunch invites the participants to talk about interfaces and shared perspectives. How can projects working at the interface of art and cultural education be strengthened? What funding logic supports or impedes the effectiveness of participation-oriented cultural projects? And how can the boundaries between the funding instruments be overcome?

 

Table #2: Yes, No, Maybe – Planning  (Un)Certainty in the (Performing) Arts

With Aurora Kellermann (Tatwerk), Aminata Oelßner (She She Pop), Kysy Fischer (performer), Jan Rohlf (CTM Festival) and colleagues from produktionsbande

The (performing) arts are continuing to work on their endurance: between last-minute funding decisions, unforeseeable budget cuts and the necessity for long-term planning, culture makers must constantly navigate new situations and change their plans. How do institutions, artists and, most of all, producers and production managers deal with this uncertainty?

This business lunch invites the participants to share challenges, strategies and possible solutions with each other. What approaches could help to work creatively and sustainably despite uncertain framework conditions?

 

Table #3: Creating Together – Networks, Strategies and Perspectives for the Independent Arts Community

With Philipp Harpain (#BerlinIstKultur!), Franziska Stoff (Landesmusikrat Berlin), Dr. Alexander Graeff (Berliner Literaturkonferenz), Anke Politz (executive board of LAFT Berlin) and Stefanie Seidl/Lisa Schorm (Netzwerk freier Berliner Projekträume und -initiativen, invited) as well as Wibke Behrens (Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft e. V.)

Democracy lives from participation – this is true in the cultural sector as well. The shaping of our working and production conditions is not only a question of resources, but also a question of mutual decision making and collaboration. In the last months, the dedication and solidarity within the independent arts community has been able to be felt even more strongly. And, even though a great deal has been achieved through this: there is no time to rest. After the budget is before the budget: structures and individuals must be supported and strengthened and solidary solutions for difficult decisions must be found.

This business lunch offers practical insights and approaches for how cultural workers can actively help to shape their working and production conditions. The central focus is placed on the question of how members of the independent performing arts community can use spaces for dialogue for themselves and how they can effectively bring them into existing networks and alliances. What relevant networks and advocacy groups are working on what tasks and where is additional support needed?

 

Table #4: Changing Structures – Leadership Teams Between Social Responsibility and Mandatory Savings

With Lars Zühlke (HAU Hebbel am Ufer), Andrea Niederbuchner (Sophiensaele), Florian Stiehler (Stiftung Kulturelle Weiterbildung und Kulturberatung), Matthias Mohr (Radialsystem), France-Elena Damian & Lydia Ziemke (tak – Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg) und Natalie Bayer (FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum)

Cultural institutions and their leadership are currently under double the pressure: on the one hand, mandatory savings efforts and difficult budget cuts are forcing a reduction in expenditures and, on the other hand, they would like to be able to fulfill their social responsibilities to their employees. In doing so, not all structures allow restructuring or even reduction processes: many contracts are permanent. How can leadership teams negotiate the balancing act between social responsibility, transformation and the preservation of artistic programming that is effective for audiences?

This business lunch will provide some space for the exchanging of experiences and joint strategic advisement. What can a responsible planning of personnel and resources look like and how can transformation processes be dealt with in a trusting and transparent manner? What paths and solutions have already been found here?

 

2:00 pm to 2:30 pm

Break

 

2:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Workshops and Individual Advisement Sessions

 

Workshop A: The Show Must Go On: Resource-Oriented Financing Options
In German spoken language, it is possible to ask questions and make comments using English spoken language.
With Panni Néder (director)

In the current funding landscape, good projects, convincing applications and years of experience are not always enough to secure a financing. What do you do when public funding is not provided? What resources do we already have and how can we use them strategically?

This workshop places the focus on joint approaches and the exchange between the participants. In doing so, specific strategies will be developed and reflect upon as to how crowd funding, sponsoring and other alternative financing models can be adapted to individual projects. At the forefront will be the individual resources, networks and experiences of the participants, who are expressly invited to bring their own project ideas with them into the workshop. Over the course of a moderated, interactive exchange, possible financing options will be analyzed and new perspectives will be opened up. This workshop is especially intended for those who can come with a specific idea for a project and who are ready to share this idea actively with the group.

The maximum number of participants is 12 people. In order to attend, we as you to please register by sending an email to produktion [at] pap-berlin.de by March 10, 2025 at the latest; please note that this registration is binding.

 

Workshop B: Contract Law: Rights, Leeway, Solidary Solutions

In German spoken language, it is possible to ask questions and make comments using English spoken language.

Mit Fabian Rosonsky (Project Manager)

What types of contracts can be taken into consideration for independent artistic activities? Is a written contract always needed or are there alternatives? What has to be kept in mind when drafting a contract and what details should you be absolutely certain to lay out? Which clauses should always be checked rigorously and which are ineffective? And how can you deal with contracts that cannot be honored due to the last-minute and drastic budget cuts? In this workshop, basic information about contract law will be shared and individual questions will be answered.

 

Exchange & Workshop C: (Un)certain Thinking and Speaking

With Sandra Klöss & Elena Polzer (ehrliche arbeit – freies Kulturbüro, produktionsbande)

The current conflict situation surrounding the budget cuts and political events also affects productions and their practice in different ways. In doing so, some known problems have been intensified: due to the precarious situation, many are not remaining in the field permanently – and this especially pertains to freelancers. Many workers are moving to work in institutions and other fields, production and distribution offices are closing. With them, a great deal of valuable knowledge, experiences from different eras of the independent performing arts as well as support are lost. How are things going for those who are still there? What are they concerned with and what are the needs? How can we face these developments and what is needed for this? What methods have some of the practitioners found for their own position and for the future? The participants are invited to discuss these questions, methods and opportunities for action.

In cooperation with produktionsbande.

 

Workshop D: Shaping Team Communication Together

With Eva Hartmann (production manager, coach)

The current uncertainties, the increasing pressure and differing expectations can lead to tensions. In doing so, producers and production managers are often caught in the middle of the resulting conflicts. Together with the decision makers and the team members, they navigate the different needs, help to find compromises that can lead to satisfying solutions and, in doing so, not infrequently find themselves pushed to their limits. This workshop will introduce the tools needed to constructively manage conflicts together to the participants and explore how confidential and open team communication can be created by and with everyone. This workshop is intended for members of the independent performing arts community who have an interest in the design of team communication methods.

In cooperation with produktionsbande.

 

Individual Advisement Sessions: Individual Challenges

In German and English spoken language.

Experts from the Information Center will provide three one-hour advisement sessions for questions pertaining to producing within the independent performing arts community as well as about working independently as an artistic freelancer. 

The advisement sessions are intended for newcomers, transnational artists or established members of the community alike and can be offered in either German or in English.

Those who are interested are asked to sign up for an advisement session by sending an email to beratung [at] pap-berlin.de and briefly outlining their questions and please note that the registration is binding. 

 

4:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Break

 

5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Panel Discussion: Cultural Production – Between New Elections, Budget Negotiations and Solidarity

With Janina Benduski (LAFT Berlin), Steffen Klewar (Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V.), Marcel Weber (Clubcommission), Simone Dede Ayivi (Regisseurin) and Helge-Björn Meyer (Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V., the German Federal Association for the Independent Performing Arts), moderated by: Anne Schneider (concept developer, director)

The performing arts and the cultural landscape of Berlin in general have been shaken to their core: they have been weakened by the enormous budget cuts on both the state as well as federal levels, even if they have grown closer together in solidarity. Many strategies have been developed in order to deal with unforeseeable or at least drastic cultural policy developments and to ensure the preservation of a diverse, participation-oriented cultural sector.

This panel discussion brings together cultural players on both the state as well as the federal level in order to reflect upon the current situation and to come closer to good framework conditions for the future. How can cultural production and its working and production conditions be stabilized in times in which the political decision making processes and the public budgets do not offer any stability?

 

7:30 bis 9:00 pm

Filmscreening
Janina Möbius: „BLICKWECHSEL – Publika und Politiken der Darstellenden Künste“

In German &  English spoken language with German & English subtitles, approx. 60 mins.

Whether as an assembly, community, collaborator, participant, subscriber or chance guest - the audience of the performing arts is a diverse plural in its various forms of existence and participation. The relationship between audiences and artists is becoming more important than ever against the backdrop of the current social challenges and increasing polarisation caused by the pandemic. Janina Möbius' new film commissioned by the Fonds Darstellende Künste takes a look at this connection and explores the transformative potential of the performing arts in interviews with CHICKS*, Katharina Warda, Rimini Protokoll, Sibylle Peters, Julia Wissert, Peter Laudenbach and numerous other personalities from the worlds of art, culture and science.

A movie by Janina Möbius. Production: Soilfilms commissioned by the Fonds Darstellende Künste. Funded by: The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR.

In order to attend the film screening, we ask you to please register separately by sending an email to: tickets [at] hebbel-am-ufer.de

 

From 7:00 pm: Networking in the bar Küche

 

Registration

++ Thank you for the great interest! The event is fully booked. Unfortunately, registration is no longer possible. We appreciate your understanding! ++

Registration for the film screening is still possible at tickets [at] hebbel-am-ufer.de.

Accessibility

Language

The event will be held in German spoken language. A whispered English translation can be requested if needed until March 5, 2025, at produktions [at] pap-berlin.de. The individual consultations will take place in either spoken English or German.

Physical Accessibility

The event will take place at HAU Hebbel am Ufer - HAU3, Tempelhofer Ufer 10, 10963 Berlin. All information on the accessibility of the building can be found here: https://www.hebbel-am-ufer.de/en/service/accessibility