Protest by independent production houses and performing arts venues in Saxony

Protest by independent production houses and performing arts venues in Saxony against cuts of up to 50 % to the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony

Chemnitz/Dresden/Leipzig, 16 September 2026

The Free State of Saxony’s draft bill for the 2027/28 biennial budget provides for severe cuts of up to 50 percent to the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony. We protest in the strongest possible terms against these planned cuts, which affect the entire spectrum of all genres within the independent arts.

We oppose these cuts from the perspective of the production companies and performance venues in the Free State of Saxony. For the production houses and venues, for independent artists and companies, and for their audiences, this plan will significantly weaken the most important funding instrument in the Free State of Saxony.

This measure would amount to a drastic cutback in the independent arts sector. A large proportion of independent artists, groups and many other stakeholders involved in the production process rely on the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony as a pillar of co-funding alongside the relevant local and federal funds or other sources of financing for their projects. They would no longer be able to pursue their professional artistic activities and would no longer be able to present their diverse artistic projects. This would significantly curtail cultural diversity in the Free State of Saxony. For audiences in both urban and rural areas, venues for artistic encounters and social exchange would be lost. The Free State’s frequently expressed commitment to the idea that Saxon culture forms the very identity of Saxony is being undermined by these plans.

We, the production houses and venues, are the creative hubs for independent artists and companies, and we shape our programmes with their projects as well as with themed seasons and festival formats, which can likewise only take place through coordinated co-funding from various sources. Here, too, the funding instruments of the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony play an indispensable role. They are frequently used to attract funding from the federal government and private foundations to Saxony. This leverage would be lost.

The sum saved by this measure would be disproportionate to the social damage it would cause, whilst at the same time making only a marginal contribution to consolidating the difficult budgetary situation.

The establishment of the independent arts and forms of production is an important legacy of the political transition following 1989 – given that precisely these forms were banned in the GDR. It is therefore also a matter of protecting and further developing a form of theatre that became established in East Germany after 1989 and which, alongside repertory theatres, now forms the second pillar of our nationwide theatre system throughout Germany.

Independent artists and production houses in Saxony, as well as various initiatives, have received numerous awards at federal level in recent years; they ensure the cultural visibility of the Free State of Saxony beyond its borders and act as ambassadors for Saxon culture to the wider world. The same applies to international connections, particularly with our neighbours in Eastern Europe, but also far beyond.

Please support and strengthen these stakeholders for the future of the Free State!

We urge you to reverse the announced cuts to the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony in the 2027/28 biennial budget during the forthcoming parliamentary process.

The independent production houses and venues for the performing arts in Saxony:

• HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts Dresden (Carena Schlewitt)
• LOFFT – DAS THEATER Leipzig (Anne-Cathrin Lessel)
• villa\wigman Dresden (Katja Erfurth, Josefine Wosahlo, Julia Amme)
• Societaetstheater Dresden (Stephan Hoffmann)
• Zentralwerk Dresden (Bernhard Kaiser, Daniela Lehmann, Nikolaus Woernle, Konrad Behr, Heiki Ikkola, Barbara Lubich)
• projekttheater Dresden (Dirk Strobel)
• Schaubühne Lindenfels (René Reinhardt)
• Westflügel, Leipzig (Dana Ersing, Muriel Zibulla)
• Cammerspiele Leipzig (Sophie Renz)
• Ostpassage Theatre Leipzig (Matthias Schluttig, Hannah Reimer)
• TANZ I MODERNE I TANZ Choreographisches Zentrum Chemnitz (Sabrina Sadowska)
• OFF-Bühne KOMPLEX (Heda Bayer)