Kulturforum

With a transnational cultural forum from November 27 to 29, HELLERAU brings together cultural actors from 15 Central and Eastern European countries and the Federal Republic of Germany to look back, analyze the status quo, and develop perspectives: Based on four main themes, the forum will focus on the specific forms of culture and the arts of the 1990s and examine the current situation of freelance cultural actors in the regions.

(Please note: The forum is fully booked)

Main topics

Once Upon a Time 

What open spaces existed in the 1990s? What were the important artistic impulses and themes? What structures, institutions, partners, and funding were available? And how was “the West” perceived at that time? 

Europe mon Amour 

What did and does the idea of a united Europe mean for art and culture? What unexpected funding opportunities and mobility offers supported transnational production contexts? What impact did and do these have on art and culture? 

Turn Around 

What consequences do right-wing extremist, populist, and authoritarian tendencies in Central and Eastern Europe and Germany have on the cultural sector? What cultural policy and institutional case studies of budget cuts, censorship, and the abolition of free spaces have there been and continue to be during periods of political upheaval? 

How (do) we do? 

What new forms of collaboration can emerge under these conditions? How can cooperation take place within and with the existing realities and resources? Under what conditions will a new generation of cultural creators grow up, and how can the generational change in institutions be shaped?

Residency Program “Dreaming 90s”

In collaboration with BUNKER (Ljubljana), Jam Factory Art Center (Lviv), Komuna Warszawa (Warsaw), Studio ALTA (Prague) and Workshop Foundation (Budapest), HELLERAU has selected five research projects that deal with the 1990s in their respective contexts. The seven artists are each invited to a two-week residency in their local context and a three-week residency at HELLERAU, where they will be supervised by the theater makers and performers Ira Brand & Gosia Wdowik. As part of the HELLERAU festival “Transformation Forever”, the artists will give brief insights into their research during the Kulturforum.

Find out more here