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5. Events and Discourse

An image with a color gradient from purple to turquoise. Five performers on stage, two on screens. They are pointing at each other. © Dorothea Tuch

THE ART OF STAYING MANYTabori PrizeBUNDESTREFFEN25

Accompanying its funding activities, the Fonds repeatedly creates spaces for critical exchange and dialog - within the independent performing arts across Germany, but also between art, politics and society. Specialist events provide new impetus for funding activities and ensure an exchange between artists across federal states. Award ceremonies draw attention to outstanding artistic positions. Thematic events open up current discourses to the public.

THE ART OF STAYING MANY

Film Premiere & Fonds-Anniversary

In the summer of 2024, forums on art, freedom, and democracy toured Germany for three months under the title “The Art of Staying Many”. They were accompanied by a film crew led by director Felix Meyer-Christian, as well as actors Tina Pfurr and Hauke Heumann. In conversations with politicians, international directors, artists, and social workers, they posed central questions: How do we learn to argue properly again? What role do the arts play in a polarized socio-political climate? 
The film premiered on March 12, 2025, at Berlin’s Sophiensaele—as part of the Fonds' 40th anniversary. Claudia Roth, Member of the German Bundestag and Minister of State for Culture (20th legislative period), and Milo Rau, Artistic Director of the Vienna Festival, provided a retrospective and outlook on politics, society, and current events. At the reception that followed, board members Wolfgang Schneider and Amelie Deuflhard honored the long-standing commitment of the member associations and their practitioners to the independent performing arts.

  • Trailer „THE ART OF STAYING MANY"

    What is “THE ART OF STAYING MANY” in times of social division? Actors Tina Pfurr and Hauke Heumann embark on a cinematic journey through eight cities, gathering powerful voices from the worlds of art, politics, and science in Dresden, Erfurt, and Berlin. Between market stalls and box seats, new housing developments and Weimar Classicism, they seek out the common threads that connect the arts in history, the present, and the future.

  • Holger Bergmann is giving a speech at the lectern. Behind him, on the screen, is a picture of Holger Bergmann, the Fonds’ managing director. © Dorothea Tuch

    40 Years of Fonds Darstellende Künste

    In his opening remarks on the evening of the film premiere of “The Art of Staying Many” and the 40th anniversary of the Fonds Darstellende Künste, managing director Holger Bergmann reflects on the unifying power of art and the current challenges facing “the art of remaining many.”

  • Milo Rau is standing at the lectern. Behind him is a projection that reads: Milo Rau, Artistic Director of the Vienna Festival © Dorothea Tuch

    „The Art of Staying Many"

    Milo Rau, artistic director of the Wiener Festspiele, spoke at the premiere of the film “The Art of Staying Many” about the current threats to democracy and civil society, as well as the power of empathy and diversity.

    You can read the full speech here.

Forum for Art, Freedom, and Democracy: Germany & Europe

The Fonds Darstellende Künste continued its national event series “Die Kunst, Viele zu bleiben – Bundesweite Foren für Kunst, Freiheit und Demokratie“ and was a guest at the European Capital of Culture in 2025, Chemnitz – with controversial positions from the spheres of art and media and a cinematic journey between Weimar classicism, market and box seats.

Speakers and panel guests were Philipp Ruch (Zentrum für politische Schönheit), Sasha Marianna Salzmann (playwright), Simon Strauß (author, journalist). Moderated by Natascha Freundel from rbb, the discussion is also available as a podcast.

The following day, the fund presented the film “Die Kunst, Viele zu bleiben” at the Metropol Kino, followed by an audience discussion with director Felix Meyer-Christian.

  • Natascha Freundel, Simon Strauß, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, and Philipp Ruch are seated in a row on stage, engrossed in the panel discussion. © Dorothea Tuch

    Lectures

    How does history repeat itself? What does racism mean today? And what role does art play in political times? Three incisive keynote speeches provide food for thought: Philipp Ruch calls for civil society vigilance, Sasha Marianna Salzmann recounts personal and collective experiences with racism, and Simon Strauß questions the freedom of art.

  • A view of the event hall at the Hartmann Factory: the panelists are seated on a podium in front of a large screen displaying the evening’s title—with a full audience in the foreground. © Dorothea Tuch

    Podcast

    Following the three keynote speeches, Philipp Ruch, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, and Simon Strauß will discuss the role of art, memory, and social engagement. Moderated by Natascha Freundel, a multifaceted conversation about the challenges of our time will unfold. The conversation has been released as a podcast entitled “Der zweite Gedanke” (The Second Thought) by rbb – listen now!

  • On a gravel lot, the words “Chemnitz2025,” the name of the Capital of Culture, are displayed in large letters. © Silvan Hagenbrock

    Highlights

    A look back at the two-day event in pictures, along with more information about the program.

Tabori Prize 2025

On September 25, 2025, at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, the Fonds Darstellende Künste awarded the Tabori Prize, worth 100,000 euros, to the children’s and youth theater group pulk fiktion. The jury recognized the group’s longstanding, innovative work for young audiences, which shapes social and artistic discourse and “gives young people a stage: as audiences, co-creators, and bearers of the future.” The award ceremony took place as part of the BUNDESTREFFEN25 of the Independent Performing Arts in Berlin.

  • #introducing: pulk fiktion

    What did you think when you found out you had won the Tabori Prize? What defines your artistic profile? We asked pulk fiktion – and they answered. They share their thoughts in short statements.

  • In the spotlight on an otherwise darkened stage, three people sit in a sea of large, inflated black life rings. © Christian Knieps

    The big swimming pool feeling

    The theater group pulk fiktion receives the fund's Tabori Prize 2025. Hannah Biedermann and Lisa Zehetner, the artistic directors, talk to Christine Wahl about the Tabori Prize 2025.

  • Hannah Biedermann and Lisa Zehetner are holding flowers and a certificate. © Dorothea Tuch

    Tabori Award Ceremony 2025

    Highlights of this year’s Tabori Awards Ceremony: Meet the jury, read the full jury statement, and discover the best moments in photos and videos. Immerse yourself in a special evening of the independent performing arts!

The Show Must Go On – BUNDESTREFFEN25 of the Independent Performing Arts

Social and political upheavals present new challenges for the independent performing arts. At BUNDESTREFFEN25 on September 25 and 26, 2025, several hundred stakeholders from the arts, cultural policy, and civil society gathered at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin to strengthen the creative power of this art form and develop perspectives for its future. Through panels, workshops, and dialogue formats, participants discussed gaps, potential, and the question: How relevant are the independent arts today?
Focused working groups explored key themes in depth. Panel discussions with experts such as Nino Haratischwili, Cesy Leonhardt, Julia Reuschenbach, Carena Schlewitt, and Julian Warner shed light on the interplay between art and politics. Cultural policy insights from Nancy Faeser (SPD), Ottilie Klein (CDU), Sven Lehmann (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), and Martin Rabanus (SPD) opened up space for new perspectives and broader dialogues—for an art that remains close to its audience and expands the horizons of thought.

  • Art requires freedom and courage

    The Fonds managing director, Holger Bergmann, looks back on two intensive days of events, the results of the individual workshops, important insights from the panel discussions and statements: Art needs freedom and courage to face current social challenges, art needs stable funding beyond the logic of individual projects – and it needs “alliances that are bigger than ourselves.”

  • Workshop participants are discussing current issues at a long table. © Dorothea Tuch

    „Under Pressure"

    The BUNDESTREFFEN25 of the Independent Performing Arts at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin, with its motto “The Show Must Go On,” provided an opportunity for coming together, exchanging views, taking stock, discussions and looking to the future. Impressions of the two-day event by cultural journalist Thomas Kaestle.

  • Damian Rebgetz stands in front of four seated panelists and sings into a microphone with his arm outstretched. In the background is a large screen displaying the event’s title, “Bundestreffen25.” © Dorothea Tuch

    Highlights

    At BUNDESTREFFEN25, it was clear to see how cultural spaces are changing and what questions are being posed to the arts. Encounters, debates, and aesthetic inspiration shaped these two intense days. More impressions, voices, and images can be found on the following page.

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