Ohne Räume keine Szene?

Without Spaces, No Scene? On the Cultural and Political Responsibility for the Independent Performing Arts

When the public purse tightens, space and resources for the independent performing arts become increasingly scarce. The issue of space has long been more than just a logistical problem: it directly influences artistic decisions, modes of production and topic choice.

What possibilities are currently available to independent artists in terms of performance and rehearsal spaces? Can projects in public spaces help to compensate for a lack of infrastructure whilst simultaneously strengthening participation and inclusion? Or is the constant opening up of new locations an obstacle to the sustainable use of limited resources? Whilst the expectation is for artists to become increasingly flexible, it remains unclear how cultural policy can fulfil its own responsibility to secure reliable, long-term sites for the independent performing arts. For cultural policy always includes spatial policy – and thus urban development policy. It raises the fundamental question of what kind of city we want to live in, as artists as well as citizens, for whom access to the arts must be guaranteed.

A conversation with Hilke Berger (urban researcher, Hamburg), Flori Gugger (dramaturge, Vienna), Sabine Kroner (Berlin Mondiale), and Stawrula Panagiotaki (studiobühneköln)