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THE ART OF STAYING MANY

The Fonds Darstellende Künste organized forums at nine locations across Germany - with art, action and debate. The journey started in Berlin and continued to Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Potsdam, Erfurt, Weimar and Dresden. The mobile theater truck stopped everywhere and became a platform, discourse space, cinema and venue. It connected theaters, festivals and independent production venues in these and numerous other cities in Germany and abroad. Panels, impulses, workshops, international performances and diverse gatherings invited people to debate about art, freedom and democracy, to sound out current challenges, to endure contradictions and to face what is probably the most pressing task of the present in a polyphonic exchange: The art of remaining many. Each for themselves - and together in heterogeneity, pluralism and acceptance of our diverse society.

Picture Book: „THE ART OF STAYING MANY“

Photographs by Sebastian Bolesch from the city life of the individual stations meet voices from politics and art and trace the search movement of an art to stay many.

Rear view of a person in overalls. A fabric with the inscription "DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN" is sewn onto the overalls. © Christian Knieps

„Die Kunst, Viele zu bleiben“ | March 12, 2025

A film by Felix Meyer-Christian commissioned by the Fonds Darstellende Künste
In the 40th year of its existence, the fund invites you to the premiere of a film that tells of the field of tension that the independent arts have been dealing with for a long time. Between aesthetic innovations and political art forms, between encounter formats and spectacle: THE ART OF REMAINING MANY is the motto when art, freedom and democracy are called into question by right-wing extremists.

Premiere: March 12, 2025 in Berlin

Poetische Positionen

  • © Sebastian Bolesch

    Nazi Hits of the 1930s, 1990s and the Ugliest Chants of Today

    A text by Anne Rabe

  • © Sebastian Bolesch

    Casting an anchor into the future

    A text by Manja Präkels

  • © Sebastian Bolesch

    How to Stay

    A text by Sivan Ben Yishai.

  • © Sebastian Bolesch

    Du und Ich

    A text by Deniz Utlu.

On open and enclosed spaces

This series of articles accompanied the program of DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN. Elisabeth Wellershaus is in charge of the series, in which she looks at open and closed spaces in a fragile society with authors such as Esther Boldt, Nora Burgard-Arp, Zonya Dengi and Mirrianne Mahn.

  • The performer Tina Pfurr stands with her back to the camera, leaning against the balcony balustrade of the Nationaltheater Weimar and looking down onto the theater square where people are milling about. Her jacket is emblazoned with the inscription “(You goota) sing for your right to live in a democracy” © Candy Welz

    Wind of Change

    04. Sept. 2024

    Shortly before the elections in Thuringia, authors and philosophers meet in Weimar as part of the event series DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN and reflect on the helplessness of the present. Our author Elisabeth Wellershaus accompanied them.

  • Sticker on a lamp post. In rainbow colors, it says in black letters: “Live in such a way that the AfD would object!” © Sebastian Bolesch

    „Nachbarschaft ist der kleinste gemeinsame Nenner der Demokratie“

    23. Juli 2024

    The Phoenix Festival plays open air and brings five guest performances to the Platz der Völkerfreundschaft in Erfurt, which are the counterpart to the Domstufen-Festspiele with regard to the involvement of different audiences. Elisabeth Wellershaus in conversation with Annica Happich.

  • Bathed in subdued, reddish light, a group of people stand tightly packed in the room with their arms stretched upwards. © Jörg Baumann

    Keine Angst vor neuen Männlichkeitsbildern

    26. Juni 2024

    In Potsdam, THE ART OF STAYING MANY explores new narrative forms in volatile times. Journalist and writer Nora Burgard-Arp explores feminist perspectives on right-wing extremist narratives. For our magazine, she talks about her work as an author.

  • A woman with sunglasses holds a cardboard sign in front of her chest with the words "Your Silence will be studied by your Grankids". © Sebastian Bolesch

    Geteilte Geschichte(n)

    18. Juni 2024

    Remembering the past is often a stressful act. In Germany, too, it is clear how difficult it is to take a multi-perspective view of the experiences of a diverse environment. Journalist Zonya Dengi remembers from a very personal perspective - and uses the emancipatory power that lies in telling one's own story.

  • Festival visitors lean against a metal railing with the word “Questions” written in large red letters. © Falk Wenzel

    Herzlich Willkommen!

    10. Juni 2024

    Our author Elisabeth Wellershaus traveled to Bitterfeld-Wolfen to observe the OSTEN theater festival in the making, where the DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN theater truck was also making a stop. She was surprised by many things on site - a report.

  • A person with short blond hair in an orange costume and pink gloves on a stage licks a wall of transparent foil erected to the audience. © Kathinka Schröder

    Von Kunstfreiheit und Intersektionalität

    05. Juni 2024

    The writer, political activist and theater maker Mirrianne Mahn questions the current discussions on the subject of artistic freedom and finds that they are directly related to intersectional perspectives - which also influence work in the theater sector, among other things.

  • © Dorothea Tuch

    Durchlässige und fragile Theater

    28. Mai 2024

    Traditional, hegemonic and discriminatory structures are currently being questioned in many cultural spaces, including the theater. Journalist Esther Boldt writes about how complicated the corresponding negotiation processes are and how fragile places of diversity can be these days.

  • Journalist Elisabeth Wellershaus and Holger Bergmann, Managing Director of the Fonds Darstellende Künste, sit across from each other at a conference table, engrossed in conversation. © Björn Frers

    „Es kann keine einfachen Positionen geben“

    13. Mai 2024

    On 24 May, the Fonds Darstellende Künste launched a series of programs that invites people to take part in performances, workshops and exchanges at nine locations in and around theaters in eight German cities. In an interview with Elisabeth Wellershaus, Holger Bergmann, Managing Director of the fund, talks about the background to THE ART OF STAYING MANY.

Stops on the tour

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. The HAU Hebbel am Ufer building, in front of it colorful silhouettes of people and in dark letters "Berlin 24.+25.05." and the HAU logo. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Berlin

    24. and 25. May 2024

    HAU Hebbel am Ufer

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. Façade of the Leipzig cotton mill and LOFFT - DAS THEATER. In front of it a green lawn, a blue silhouette of a person with a megaphone and in dark letters "Leipzig 01.+02.06." as well as logos of LOFFT - DAS THEATER and Schauspiel Leipzig Residenz. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Leipzig

    01. and 02. June 2024

    LOFFT -DAS THEATER, Residenz (Schauspiel Leipzig)

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. Façade of the FFT Düsseldorf with yellow windows, colorful windmill on the roof, colorful rays rising into the sky, dark silhouettes of people in front of it. In dark letters "Düsseldorf 07.+08.06." and logos of Impulse Theater Festival and FFT Düsseldorf. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Düsseldorf

    07. and 08. June 2024

    FFT, Impulse Theaterfestival

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. Detail of green park with two colorful billboards. In dark lettering "Bitterfeld-Wolfen 14.06." and the OSTEN Festival logo. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Bitterfeld-Wolfen

    14. Juni 2024

    OSTEN Festival

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. The Chameleon Theater and Sophiensaele buildings stand side by side. A golden flag flies on the roof and golden hearts fly through the scene. In dark letters "Berlin 21.+22.06." and the logos of Chamäleon Theater and Sophiensaele. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Berlin

    21. und 22. Juni 2024

    Sophiensæle, Chamäleon Theater

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. Facade of the Hans Otto Theater with red roof, in front of it the fabrik Potsdam and many colorful chairs. In dark letters "Potsdam 29.+30.06." and logos of Hans Otto Theater and fabrik Potsdam. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Potsdam

    29. und 30. Juni 2024

    Hans Otto Theater, fabrik Potsdam

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. Facade of a prefabricated housing estate, in front of it colorful silhouettes of people and two flying globes. In dark lettering "Erfurt 16.+17.06." and the logo of the Phoenix Theater Festival. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Erfurt

    16. und 17. August 2024

    Plattenstufen-Festspiele präsentiert vom PHOENIX Theaterfestival

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. Facade of the German National Theater Weimar. The statues of Goethe and Schiller in front of it hold a red heart in their hands. Next to them are colorful silhouettes of people. In dark lettering "Weimar 24.+25.08." and the logo of the Kunstfest Weimar. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Weimar

    24. und 25. August 2024

    Kunstfest Weimar

  • Video still on the animated event trailer. Detail of the Altmarktpassage in Dresden. In front of it, colorful silhouettes of people riding bicycles. In dark letters "Dresden 28.08." and logos of HELLERAU, Sociataetstheater, Zentralwerk and Zirkus Theater Festival. © Roman Hagenbrock

    Dresden

    28. August 2024

    HELLERAU, Societaetstheater, Zentralwerk e.V.

Impressionen

With their backs to the camera, we see five performers in the stage setting of "Paul und Paula auf der Suche nach dem Glück ohne Ende" (Paul and Paula in search of happiness without end), looking at the packed rows of the audience on a grandstand in the background. The audience follows the puppeteers' goings-on with amused and spellbound gazes. © Falk Wenzel
Şeyda Kurt and Kutlu Yurtseven sit next to each other on chairs, facing each other in conversation. Behind them is a billboard with posters of DIE VIELEN. © Christian Knieps
Heinrich Horwitz, Shlomi Moto Wagner and Jonathan Shapiro stand in a semi-circle around a large timpani. With their strokes, they whirl up gold dust that seems to float above the drum surface. © Jana Kießer
© Dorothea Tuch
© Dorothea Tuch
© Dorothea Tuch
The Minister for Culture of Saxony-Anhalt stands in front of a microphone and gives a welcoming address. © Falk Wenzel
Ingo Mix, Head of Department at the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, opens the event with a welcoming address standing at the microphone on an open stage. In the background, the title of the event series can be seen on a large billboard: THE ART OF STAYING MANY. Nationwide forums for art, freedom and democracy". © Falk Wenzel
On an open meadow, surrounded by people sitting at long tables, the artist and activist Tanja Krone gives her workshop. In the background you can see an open truck, as well as a yellow brick building and trees behind it. © Falk Wenzel
Six people sit in a semicircle on the brightly lit stage with their backs to the camera. A presenter sits to their right and speaks into the microphone. In the semi-darkness of the hall in front of them, spectators sit on a stand and on the floor in front of the stage. Other people stand behind them and watch the on-stage conversation. © Falk Wenzel
Arne Vogelgesang sits in front of an audience, behind him a projection with a poster that reads: Home & identity only exist with us: AfD is the number 1 among young people." Below it is the AfD logo. © Christian Knieps
Tommy Neuwirth stands on stage in his underpants on an upturned drinks crate, speaking into a hand-held microphone and waving a Lego flag. An audience sits in front of him. © Christian Knieps
Through a curtain of blue, red and yellow plastic strips you can see a group of people sitting on metal chairs, listening attentively. © Johanna Baschke
Dr. Christiane Schenderlein, member of the Bundestag and cultural policy spokesperson for the CDU, stands in front of a billboard with the inscription "DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN" and gives a keynote speech to the audience while standing at a lectern. © Johanna Baschke
Four people sit in a slight semi-circle on the stage and discuss with each other. © Johanna Baschke
DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN", four people sit at a table on the stage. Standing next to them, director András Dömötör announces the workshop. © Jana Kießer
A group of summery dressed people follow a tour guide across the square in Erfurt's Rieht district. In the background you can see skyscrapers and prefabricated buildings. © Elena Kaufmann
Heavily made up in a blue bomber jacket and with her mouth wide open, a woman screams into a microphone. People stand in a semi-circle around her and watch her. © Jonas Walter
Member of the Bundestag Awet Tesfaiesus stands at the lectern and gives a welcoming address. © Jonas Walter
Andreas Görgen, Head of the BKM, stands at the lectern to give a welcome address. A large poster with the inscription “The art of remaining many” can be seen in the background. © Kunstfest Weimar / Candy Welz
Two people stand on the theater forecourt and sing into a microphone. The theater and a billboard with the inscription “The art of remaining many” can be seen in the background. © Kunstfest Weimar / Candy Welz
On the back of a truck, four people sit on chairs next to each other between microphones and loudspeakers for a public conversation. © Kunstfest Weimar / Candy Welz
© Marco Prill
© Marco Prill

Team

Overall curation: Felizitas Stilleke

Co-curator: Franziska Werner

Dramaturgy: Fabian Lettow

Overall curation assistant: Kate Fenderl

Scenography: Philine Rinnert

Cooperation scenography: Lotte Dohmen

Technical director &

lighting design: Anahí Pérez

Technical assistant: Rio Theis

Communication: Sarah Rosenau

Production manager: krass&krasser (Franziska Bald, Ann-Kristin Meivers, Lara Yilmaz)

Production manager Dresden: Nicole Meier

Project directors Fonds: Björn Frers, Steffen Klewar

Project coordination Fonds:Anna Kondring

Communication Fonds: Anne John, Carolin Meyer

Graphic design: Uta Oettel

Videodesign: Roman Hagenbrock

Translation: Christopher Langer

Woodwork: Hannes Heinrich

Props: Simone Schulz

Textile work: Ola Korbańska, Cian McConn

The Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V. has signed the Declaration of Die Vielen and supports the current campaign for an open, diverse society in democracy and against right-wing extremism!

„THE ART OF STAYING MANY. Nationwide Forums for Art, Freedom and Democracy” is a series of events of the Fonds Darstellende Künste in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, Chamäleon Berlin, fabrik Potsdam, FFT Düsseldorf, Hans Otto Theater Potsdam, HELLERAU – Europäisches Zentrum der Künste Dresden, HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, Impulse Theater Festival, Kunstfest Weimar 2024, LOFFT – DAS THEATER Leipzig, OSTEN Festival Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Plattenstufen-Festspiele presented by PHOENIX Theaterfestival Erfurt, Residenz Schauspiel Leipzig, Societaetstheater Dresden, Sophiensӕle Berlin, Zentralwerk e.V. Dresden, Zirkustheater Festival Dresden. Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the context of NEUSTART KULTUR.