Quo vadis ars?
The situation in the cultural sector has been
described and discussed in numerous interviews, corona diaries,
comments and reports in the past few weeks. Our annotated
collection
of currently 193 sources
gathers voices from different sectors and media.
This creates a picture of the cultural landscape in crisis,
whose temporal transformation can be explored interactively
via a dedicated
tag cloud.
Theater in Sachsen-Anhalt bleiben dicht: »Das ist eine Katastrophe« . Corona-Beschränkungen werden verlängert
Theatres in Saxony-Anhalt remain closed: »This is a catastrophe« . Corona restrictions are extended
by Luca Deutschländer (26 Nov 2020)
Original source: MDR
Cultural workers across the country are frustrated: Lockdown light will be extended into December as well. Janek Liebetruth, independent director and artistic director as well as chairman of the State Centre for Independent Theatre in Saxony-Anhalt sums up the significance of the further closure: »This is a catastrophe«. For theatres in particular, December is the month with the highest turnover. The houses can hardly compensate for the loss of income. Actress Kerstin Dathe, who works in puppet theatre, would have had about 30 performances until Christmas. Wo rries about the future and, above all, the question of whether the state-promised aid will actually take effect are on the minds of the cultural workers. It is uncertain when they will be allowed to perform again. Optimism is increasingly difficult in this situation.
Liebetruth demands that the economic losses suffered by cultural workers be compensated. Programmes like »Neustart Kultur« have the task of preventing a cultural death by offering a perspective for the coming year. What the cultural sector also needs is planning security, because only this can alleviate the frustration somewhat. Read More Read Less
Liebetruth demands that the economic losses suffered by cultural workers be compensated. Programmes like »Neustart Kultur« have the task of preventing a cultural death by offering a perspective for the coming year. What the cultural sector also needs is planning security, because only this can alleviate the frustration somewhat. Read More Read Less
tag November-Lockdown Theater Planungssicherheit Advent Kultursterben Neustart Kultur Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht
Wie gerecht ist der Orchesterbetrieb? . Die Corona-Krise macht ein Zwei-Klassen-System sichtbar
How fair is the orchestra business? . Corona crisis reveals a two-tier system
by Frederik Hanssen (16 Nov 2020)
Original source: Tagesspiegel
What is the music scene's lobby? This question has been discussed again and again in the last weeks. The permanently employed musicians are represented by the German Orchestra Association. In recent years, this association has negotiated good collective agreements for orchestra members. This means that they are well-positioned - also in comparison to freelance vocal soloists - and can safely get through the crisis, especially since they have relatively secure jobs due to their job at a state-financed institution.
The situation is currently different in the ind ependent scene. Two years ago the organization ›Freo‹, the Association of Free Ensembles and Orchestras in Germany, was founded, but it was intended as a forum for the exchange of experience. During the crisis, it is now lobbying for the independent ensembles and orchestras. This is all but easy, as Frederik Hanssen points out using the example of the German Chamber Orchestra (DKO). The orchestra works with a permanent staff of 20 freelance musicians who are booked for individual projects. Performances and tours are planned and organized by three employees. Although the orchestra has regular customers, most of whom have not returned their tickets in spring, and have extended their subscriptions to a large extent, the orchestra does not benefit from the State Minister of Culture's special fund for independent orchestras. While other orchestras and ensembles can use this fund to pay the salaries of the musicians until the end of the year, the freelance musicians and their orchestras are running out of road. Therefore, 'Freo' is now demanding to compensate this inequality by providing a basic financial security for the members of the free orchestras. This is not only about short-term survival, but also about the question of how state funding can be fairly distributed in the coming years when communal revenues collapse and cultural budgets are cut. The Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt is setting an example of solidarity. Next spring, it will make its halls available to independent formations on 12 evenings for free. Read More Read Less
The situation is currently different in the ind ependent scene. Two years ago the organization ›Freo‹, the Association of Free Ensembles and Orchestras in Germany, was founded, but it was intended as a forum for the exchange of experience. During the crisis, it is now lobbying for the independent ensembles and orchestras. This is all but easy, as Frederik Hanssen points out using the example of the German Chamber Orchestra (DKO). The orchestra works with a permanent staff of 20 freelance musicians who are booked for individual projects. Performances and tours are planned and organized by three employees. Although the orchestra has regular customers, most of whom have not returned their tickets in spring, and have extended their subscriptions to a large extent, the orchestra does not benefit from the State Minister of Culture's special fund for independent orchestras. While other orchestras and ensembles can use this fund to pay the salaries of the musicians until the end of the year, the freelance musicians and their orchestras are running out of road. Therefore, 'Freo' is now demanding to compensate this inequality by providing a basic financial security for the members of the free orchestras. This is not only about short-term survival, but also about the question of how state funding can be fairly distributed in the coming years when communal revenues collapse and cultural budgets are cut. The Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt is setting an example of solidarity. Next spring, it will make its halls available to independent formations on 12 evenings for free. Read More Read Less
tag Orchester Orchestervereinigung Freie Orchester Lobby Krise nach der Krise Etatkürzungen Music Bericht
Herbert Grönemeyer will die Reichen schröpfen
Herbert Grönemeyer wants to fleece the rich
by Rainer Hank (15 Nov 2020)
Original source: FAZ
In the business section of the FAZ, Herbert Grönemeyer's suggestion to millionaires in Germany for a solidarity contribution in the Corona crisis is critically examined. Already the reasoning does not convince the journalist Rainer Hank. To pay a contribution for the victims of the crisis solely because of family resemblance is not a conclusive argument. In addition, one has to consider, the musician is quoted as saying, that 75 percent of the previous year's turnover for the month of November is not enough to support the artists. Only a permanent monthly ba sic income can get them through the crisis.
Is an artist like Grönemeyer, who is certainly one of the Corona profiteers because of the royalties for streamed songs, allowed to rise to the position of »lawyer for the disenfranchised«? Especially since the profits are likely to continue even after the crisis. Aren't artists suffering in the pandemic rather from the fact that they cannot perform their art in front of an audience? Shouldn't we therefore stop stylizing art and artists as victims of the pandemic and ask the rich to pay for it? Doesn't this turn cultural workers into a "special-purpose and employment society of the nation", a subdivision of the public service for which the state has to provide?
Looking at the political decisions of the last few months, cultural workers are not only protected by compensation payments from Corona Aid, but also have a lobbyist in the government in the person of Monika Grütters. Tax money for culture is permanently secured. And, according to Hank's argumentation, more than 50 percent of it is borne by the rich. It is therefore not possible to ask them to pay once again.
If the creative artists claim more and more state for themselves, then they regard it as "artist's pension fund". This contradicts the idea of the artistic avant-garde, which propagated an entrepreneurial existence of the artist. For this reason, artists should do without lawyers like Herbert Grönemeyer, who, instead of emphasizing creativity, ingenuity and curiosity, degrades the creative industry to a "public fun industry".
Even though Hank is quite agreeable when he emphasizes that there are winners of the pandemic in the cultural industry as well, it should be remembered that Grönemeyer is not concerned with himself when he calls for the support of the rich. He speaks for the many cultural service providers, e.g. light, sound and event technicians, concert organizers, caterers,....., who have lost their income for months and whose reserves have been used up after 8 months of pandemic. A flourishing industry, which normally does not need any support from the state, but was robbed of its income by the prohibition to work and now needs bridging assistance. Read More Read Less
Is an artist like Grönemeyer, who is certainly one of the Corona profiteers because of the royalties for streamed songs, allowed to rise to the position of »lawyer for the disenfranchised«? Especially since the profits are likely to continue even after the crisis. Aren't artists suffering in the pandemic rather from the fact that they cannot perform their art in front of an audience? Shouldn't we therefore stop stylizing art and artists as victims of the pandemic and ask the rich to pay for it? Doesn't this turn cultural workers into a "special-purpose and employment society of the nation", a subdivision of the public service for which the state has to provide?
Looking at the political decisions of the last few months, cultural workers are not only protected by compensation payments from Corona Aid, but also have a lobbyist in the government in the person of Monika Grütters. Tax money for culture is permanently secured. And, according to Hank's argumentation, more than 50 percent of it is borne by the rich. It is therefore not possible to ask them to pay once again.
If the creative artists claim more and more state for themselves, then they regard it as "artist's pension fund". This contradicts the idea of the artistic avant-garde, which propagated an entrepreneurial existence of the artist. For this reason, artists should do without lawyers like Herbert Grönemeyer, who, instead of emphasizing creativity, ingenuity and curiosity, degrades the creative industry to a "public fun industry".
Even though Hank is quite agreeable when he emphasizes that there are winners of the pandemic in the cultural industry as well, it should be remembered that Grönemeyer is not concerned with himself when he calls for the support of the rich. He speaks for the many cultural service providers, e.g. light, sound and event technicians, concert organizers, caterers,....., who have lost their income for months and whose reserves have been used up after 8 months of pandemic. A flourishing industry, which normally does not need any support from the state, but was robbed of its income by the prohibition to work and now needs bridging assistance. Read More Read Less
tag Novemberhilfe Millionäre Tantieme Corona-Gewinner Herbert Grönemeyer All sections Kommentar
»Ich empfinde die Schließung der Theater als reine Willkür«
»I consider the closure of the theatres as purely arbitrary«
by Dieter Hallervorden, Susanne Lenz (09 Nov 2020)
Original source: Berliner Zeitung
Not proportionality, but arbitrariness is a characteristic feature of the current corona resolutions. Based on this view, the German actor and comedian Dieter Hallervorden has enormous doubts as to whether the closure of the theaters this fall is actually legal. Therefore, as the owner of the Schlosspark Theater in Berlin, he has filed an expedited motion with the Administrative Court against the closure of his theater. In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, he points out that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has called the theaters "safe places". Basi cally, people come closer to each other at a hairdresser than in a playhouse. He therefore does not see the proportionality that is a prerequisite for the restriction of basic rights. In his expedited motion, he refers to the freedom of the arts as laid down in the German constitution, which he sees endangered by the closure of the theaters. Although he himself has had to contribute a great deal of money in recent months to cover the running costs of the Schlosstheater, the financial loss hurts at most his son, whose inheritance is diminished by this. The successful actor does not seem to be in financial straits for a long time yet.
Hallervorden, who characterizes himself as a rebel, is particularly pleased that he has received a great deal of recognition and approval from the audience. Disappointment is read between the lines when he confirms that although many colleagues wished him success in his application, there was very little active solidarity. Read More Read Less
Hallervorden, who characterizes himself as a rebel, is particularly pleased that he has received a great deal of recognition and approval from the audience. Disappointment is read between the lines when he confirms that although many colleagues wished him success in his application, there was very little active solidarity. Read More Read Less
tag Theater November-Lockdown Verhältnismäßigkeit Eilantrag Grundgesetz Kunstfreiheit Schlosspark Theater Performing Arts/ Cinema Interview
Kunst und Care-Arbeit . Fragwürdige Juryentscheidung
Art and Care Work . Questionable jury decision
by Brigitte Werneburg (09 Nov 2020)
Original source: taz
The Neustart Kultur program also offers scholarships for artists* with children under 7 years of age. The awarding was carried out by the Stiftung Kunstfonds, which also awards annual project scholarships. The benchmark - artistic quality in a nationwide comparison - also applied to the awarding of the scholarships in this special program of the German State Minister of Culture. Now the outcry is great, because more men than women were awarded this scholarship, although more women than men applied. Brigitte Werneburg, editor of the newspaper taz, asks if the awarding of the scholarships is now an expression of the fact that gender-equitable distribution of tasks has already been introduced in the visual arts. This does not seem to be the case when you have a look at the number of applications, in which women are far ahead with 60 percent. The feedback from the Stiftung Kunstfonds was disappointing for many, as the foundation referred to its statutes and the standard of artistic quality, since the grants awarded are not economic subsidies but project funding.
This raises the question of why women artists cannot compete with their male colleagues in terms of quality and whether the fact that one has a child under 7 years of age is an artistic criterion. According to the analysis of the taz article, the Kunstfonds Bonn Foundation does not seem suitable to award the scholarships within the framework of the rescue program Neustart Kultur, since they are now explicitly intended as economic aid.
However, the concluding considerations of the article are particularly worthy of consideration. Artists currently need economic aid. After all, they are not unemployed, but are engaged in gainful activity, which, however, is not permitted on the market at present. Hartz IV is in this situation no adequate offer - not only because the artists are getting into a bureaucratic wheelwork, in which they must attack their old age provision, participate in further training offers and must accept job offers. Much more important is that they are thus excluded from the artists' social security fund (KSK). This unique German system - in which the artists contribute like employees to health and pension insurance, while the employers' contributions are paid by art and culture companies and the state - is fundamentally endangered in the crisis, because when art and culture facilities are closed, there is no income. Read More Read Less
This raises the question of why women artists cannot compete with their male colleagues in terms of quality and whether the fact that one has a child under 7 years of age is an artistic criterion. According to the analysis of the taz article, the Kunstfonds Bonn Foundation does not seem suitable to award the scholarships within the framework of the rescue program Neustart Kultur, since they are now explicitly intended as economic aid.
However, the concluding considerations of the article are particularly worthy of consideration. Artists currently need economic aid. After all, they are not unemployed, but are engaged in gainful activity, which, however, is not permitted on the market at present. Hartz IV is in this situation no adequate offer - not only because the artists are getting into a bureaucratic wheelwork, in which they must attack their old age provision, participate in further training offers and must accept job offers. Much more important is that they are thus excluded from the artists' social security fund (KSK). This unique German system - in which the artists contribute like employees to health and pension insurance, while the employers' contributions are paid by art and culture companies and the state - is fundamentally endangered in the crisis, because when art and culture facilities are closed, there is no income. Read More Read Less
tag Neustart Kultur Stiftung Kunstfonds Stipendien Wirtschaftsbeihilfe Künstlersozialkasse Hartz IV Geschlechtergerechtigkeit Visual Arts/Design Bericht
Lockdown mit Nebenwirkungen . Kultur auf Abtand
Lockdown with side effects . Culture at bay
by Claudia Kuhland, Marion Ammicht (08 Nov 2020)
Original source: ttt - titel themen tempramente
After a week of lockdown for the arts, the ARD cultural magazine provides an overview of the reactions of cultural workers to the closure of the institutions. The opening quote by the Minister for Culture and Science in NRW, Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, is symptomatic of the way the scene is handled. Culture is accused of violating the social consensus; the existential needs of many freelance artists, but also of the many companies dependent on the industry and solo self-employed are hardly heard. It is therefore not surprising that theater directors, museum directors, and managers of concert halls are now harshly criticizing political decisions - especially since offers of discussion are not heard from their side. The fact that especially in »our attacked democracy« the voice of art and culture must not be overheard is something that theatre director Karin Beier, for example, warns against, and perhaps implicitly gives a reason why Germans currently prefer to be sent shopping rather than to the theater or museum.
Read More
Read Less
tag November-Lockdown #AlarmstufeRot #sangundklanglos Solidarität Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen All sections Bericht
»Wir sollten uns nicht hyperüberschätzen« . Amelie Deuflhard zum Theater-Lockdown
»We should not hyper-overestimate ourselves« . Amelie Deuflhard about the theatre lockdown
by Amelie Deuflhard, Vladimir Balzer (05 Nov 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur
Planning reliability is what cultural institutions need most urgently at the moment. The employees at many institutions continue to work, but the feeling of producing into a void is a great burden for many. Amelie Deuflhard, artistic director of the 'Kampnagel' theatre in Hamburg, does not want to follow the suggestion of the artistic director of the Schaubühne, Thomas Ostermeier. Just in solidarity with the free theaters, the houses must continue to be played in, even if the situation is uncertain. Nevertheless, she would also like planning reliability, bec ause if a closure beyond November was already determined now, then the houses could consider alternative concepts for their spaces and use the closure for conceptual considerations. Although Deuflhard believes that many theaters in Germany are on the right track, she nevertheless warns that the theater in the present time still appeals to the educated middle classes. Developing new concepts here, also leaving the traditional spaces, addressing target groups and working on the diversification of the theater are some of the tasks that could be tackled. She even goes to that lenghts in times of crisis as to suggest other meaningful tasks for the theater staff - reading aloud in nursing homes, helping out at the health department.
Of course, the state-subsidized institutions in the present are much more likely to allow a positive view of the future than privately run institutions and solo self-employed persons. The precarious employments of the freelancers are also on Deuflhard's imaginary to-do list for crisis closure. Here, however, politics would also have to get involved and consider how to provide rescue for this group to help them survive such a crisis. Here, an unconditional basic income or a solidarity fund are just two ways of stabilizing the sector so that it does not collapse again if a new crisis occurs. It should also be borne in mind that bureaucracy can be reduced as much as possible.
Finally, she points out that all international cooperation is currently frozen. This means that not only an important form of cultural exchange is missing, in many countries there is also no support for artists during the crisis. Read More Read Less
Of course, the state-subsidized institutions in the present are much more likely to allow a positive view of the future than privately run institutions and solo self-employed persons. The precarious employments of the freelancers are also on Deuflhard's imaginary to-do list for crisis closure. Here, however, politics would also have to get involved and consider how to provide rescue for this group to help them survive such a crisis. Here, an unconditional basic income or a solidarity fund are just two ways of stabilizing the sector so that it does not collapse again if a new crisis occurs. It should also be borne in mind that bureaucracy can be reduced as much as possible.
Finally, she points out that all international cooperation is currently frozen. This means that not only an important form of cultural exchange is missing, in many countries there is also no support for artists during the crisis. Read More Read Less
tag Theater Planungssicherheit Privilegien Kultur als Chance Grundeinkommen Demokratisierung Solo-Selbständige Performing Arts/ Cinema Gespräch
Geld ist im Übermaß vorhanden . Corona-Hilfen für Künstler
Money is available in abundance . Corona aids for artists
by Herbert Grönemeyer (04 Nov 2020)
Original source: Zeit
The musician Herbert Grönemeyer reevaluates the »Unterhaltung« as German expression for entertainment, interpreting the term as "holding from below". Here people find help and confidence when they are sad or frustrated. But they can also express their joy. Due to the absence of live performances, the audience is deprived of this valve. No more refuge or substitute world. Reality remains and with it spaces for stupidity and crude theories. The soul of the society is endangered and consequently the social cohesion as a whole. The impa ct on the existence of the many workers who make live events possible in the first place is in this understanding only a symptom of the erosion of society. How to counteract this process? How to ensure that live events are possible again after the crisis? This is where Grönemeyer now becomes very concrete: These people must not be forced to touch their old-age provision. Help must be available to them quickly and without complications.
But how could this help look like? In this case Grönemeyer is not asking the state to help, but is suggesting an alternative: Just as in a natural catastrophe the family helps a person affected, so in the current crisis a sign of solidarity is needed. According to the musician, this should come from the 1.8 million millionaires in Germany.This gesture would not only help the cultural workers whose existence is threatened, but it would also strengthen social cohesion and counteract the division that has been observed for decades.
Interestingly, Grönemeyer's statement lacks a convincing argument: He would have to set a shining example of solidarity by making a generous donation - he too is one of Germany's millionaires.... Read More Read Less
But how could this help look like? In this case Grönemeyer is not asking the state to help, but is suggesting an alternative: Just as in a natural catastrophe the family helps a person affected, so in the current crisis a sign of solidarity is needed. According to the musician, this should come from the 1.8 million millionaires in Germany.This gesture would not only help the cultural workers whose existence is threatened, but it would also strengthen social cohesion and counteract the division that has been observed for decades.
Interestingly, Grönemeyer's statement lacks a convincing argument: He would have to set a shining example of solidarity by making a generous donation - he too is one of Germany's millionaires.... Read More Read Less
tag Kulturbetrieb Solidarität Millionäre Seele der Gesellschaft Zusammenhalt Liveevent Quo vadis ars All sections Kommentar
Stellungnahme der Kunstmuseen zur geplanten coronabedingten Schließung
Statement of the art museums on the planned closure due to corona
by Kunstmuseen (01 Nov 2020)
Original source: art-in.de
German museum directors, mainly from North Rhine-Westphalia, take a clear stand on the unexpected lockdown.For them, the closure of the museums, which they see primarily as educational institutions, is merely a »symbolic gesture« and ultimately a »wrong decision«, since museums are among the safest public places because of the measures taken.
tag Museen November-Lockdown Verhältnismäßigkeit Visual Arts/Design Statement
Kultur ist nicht für alle da . Corona-Maßnahmen und Kultur
Culture is not there for everyone . Corona measures and culture
by Tobi Müller (29 Oct 2020)
Original source: Zeit
With Till Brönner and the band 'Die Ärzte', prominent representatives of the music industry issued statements talking about the existential needs of many musicians, but also of the workers important to the industry, from event technology to gastronomy. In his contribution, Tobi Müller is right to criticizes the wrong figures and thus the economic power that the players in the industry are referring to. However, his comparison with employees, who would also be in a bad way, is misleading. After all, these employees may receive short-time compe nsation and, in the worst case, unemployment benefits. The solo self-employed person may request however directly social welfare assistance Hartz IV.
But Müller also complains that the statements conceal the fact that there are areas in the cultural industry that are affected more and which less. Music is undoubtedly one of the hardest hit economic sectors. However - according to Müller's central argument - the culture Brönner is talking about is that of the upper middle class, which can loudly stand up for the rights of artists. Especially in view of the fact that the punk band 'Die Ärzte' has ventured into the 'Tagesthemen' to raise its voice, the concept of culture that Müller represents in his contribution is remarkable. It is based primarily on concert halls, stages and museums, for which the jazz trumpeter Till Brönner is a symbolic figure, and not on the areas of culture such as folk music, hits or punk.
The suggestion that Tobi Müller has for the industry looks in the current situation rather strange: Not to always only bale the state into responsibility, but to show solidarity with one another. Why not open the large theater halls for concerts or enter into cooperation with museums, which usually have large, airy rooms. And as a sign of charity, churches could also offer the doors for theater and music professionals. Read More Read Less
But Müller also complains that the statements conceal the fact that there are areas in the cultural industry that are affected more and which less. Music is undoubtedly one of the hardest hit economic sectors. However - according to Müller's central argument - the culture Brönner is talking about is that of the upper middle class, which can loudly stand up for the rights of artists. Especially in view of the fact that the punk band 'Die Ärzte' has ventured into the 'Tagesthemen' to raise its voice, the concept of culture that Müller represents in his contribution is remarkable. It is based primarily on concert halls, stages and museums, for which the jazz trumpeter Till Brönner is a symbolic figure, and not on the areas of culture such as folk music, hits or punk.
The suggestion that Tobi Müller has for the industry looks in the current situation rather strange: Not to always only bale the state into responsibility, but to show solidarity with one another. Why not open the large theater halls for concerts or enter into cooperation with museums, which usually have large, airy rooms. And as a sign of charity, churches could also offer the doors for theater and music professionals. Read More Read Less
