Cultural associations, theatres and socio-cultural centres are central to lively coexistence and shared experiences, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas. Over the next four years, the funding programme “LOKAL – Programme for Culture and Engagement” will support them in establishing new partnerships with local craft businesses or sports clubs, for example. This is particularly important for committed players in smaller towns, as it enables them to develop diverse relationships with local partners. By realising artistic projects with local people, cultural initiatives can develop and experiment with new ways of building community. This is the objective of the programme, which is run by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the European Cultural Foundation.
A jury of experts has now selected thirteen institutions from the first round of applications. Each institution will receive 240,000 euros over four years to build new networks with players from other fields, and to participate in a comprehensive qualifying academy programme – an opportunity to exchange ideas with each other. The German Federal Cultural Foundation is providing a total of 7.5 million euros for twenty-six grants for the open application fund. From autumn 2025, interested cultural players in towns and municipalities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants will be able to apply in the second application round.
Katarzyna Wielga-Skolimowska, Artistic Director of the German Federal Cultural Foundation: “The ‘LOKAL’ programme is particularly timely because cultural associations, theatres and socio-cultural centres are under severe pressure. The great response is particularly encouraging. People in smaller towns and rural areas across Germany are willing to think outside the box and develop new cultural offerings. They are dedicated – often on a voluntary basis – to ensuring that there are places where people can still come together as a community.”
Thirteen cultural players in towns with populations ranging from 2,300 to 96,000 have now been selected. These include both volunteer-run institutions and those with full-time staff, focusing on areas ranging from contemporary circus to socio-cultural work. They all face challenges such as the exodus of young people, inadequate infrastructure and financial cuts. Many are also confronted with increasing polarisation in social interactions and anti-democratic tendencies. Most of the recipients have been actively involved in cultural programmes in their local communities for many years and are willing to collaborate with new partners in unusual ways to find creative solutions that will help to counteract this situation in a positive way.
The individual recipients:
- Bürgerstiftung Barnim Uckermark, Eberswalde (Brandenburg)
- Dachverein Reichenstrasse e. V., Quedlinburg (Saxony-Anhalt)
- Deutsch-Sorbisches Volkstheater Bautzen/Nemsko-Serbske ludowe dziwadlo Budyšin, Bautzen (Saxony)
- Falsche Farm e. V., Ebermannsdorf (Bavaria)
- Kulturbündnis Heidenheim e. V., Heidenheim (Baden-Württemberg)
- Kulturhaus Häselburg e. V., Gera (Thuringia)
- Kuno Kunst- und Kulturnetzwerk Nord e. V., Wismar (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)
- KunstRaum Kelbra e. V., Kelbra (Saxony-Anhalt)
- Schweizerhaus Püchau e. V., Wurzen (Saxony)
- Second Attempt e. V., Görlitz (Saxony)
- Theater Plauen-Zwickau gGmbH, Zwickau (Saxony)
- TRANSIENT Kulturprojekte e. V., Euskirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia)
- Quartier Vier e. V., Küsten (Lower Saxony)
Further details on all recipients can be found on our website (external link, opens in a new window).
Jury
The jury for “Lokal – Programme for Culture and Engagement” comprises eight international cultural players from various disciplines: Mustafa Akça (Director of the “Selam Opera” project at the Komische Oper Berlin), Inez Boogaarts (freelance cultural consultant), Marina Chernivsky (Director of the Competence Centre for Education and Research Critical of Antisemitism), Maxie Götze (Participation and Engagement Officer at the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg and cultural mediator at the yaw! kollektiv), Anica Happich (Artistic Director of the Phoenix Theaterfestival/Plattenstufenfestival Erfurt), Adem Köstereli (Managing Director of the Theater an der Ruhr), Matthias Quent (Professor of Sociology at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences) and Katharina Warda (writer, sociologist and literary scholar).
Outlook
The programme brings together local and European perspectives, as anti-democratic forces are exerting pressure on cultural institutions in many European countries. Through European networking with players facing similar challenges, participants can exchange ideas on appropriate strategies. To this end, European exchange meetings will take place from autumn 2025 onwards. The first of these will be hosted by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the European Cultural Foundation in cooperation with the Polish National Centre for Culture (Narodowe Centrum Kultury / NCK) in Świdnica, Poland, in November 2025.