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THE ART OF STAYING MANY

2025: Forum Chemnitz 2024: Nationwide Forums 2024: Films about Art, Freedom and Democracy

2025: Forum for Art, Freedom, and Democracy: Germany & Europe

May 21 and 22, 2025, Chemnitz, Capital of Culture

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.

Documentation

  • © 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!

  • © Lora Ganeva + Rike Oehlrich

    #Articles

    Students enrolled in the Master's program in Cultural Journalism at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich engaged intensively with the lectures, the panel discussion, and the social issues addressed therein. Their articles can be read here.

Impressions

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

Program: Steffen Klewar, Anna Kondring

Communication: Björn Frers, Anne John

Project management: krass & krasser - Ann-Kristin Meivers, Dominika Homa

Scenography: Thea Hoffmann-Axthelm

Photos: Dorothea Tuch

Video design: Silvan Hagenbrock

Graphic design: Engenhart ° Design Studio

Translation: Christopher Langer

An event of the Fonds Darstellende Künste in cooperation with Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH  and radio3 of the rbb. Gefördert vom Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien. Supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

2024 - Nationwide forums for art, freedom, and democracy

May to August 2024 in Berlin, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Potsdam, Erfurt, Weimar, and Dresden

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.

Stops along 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

    May 24 and 25, 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

    June 1 and 2, 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

    June 7 and 8, 2024
    Impulse Theater Festival, FFT Düsseldorf

  • 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

    June 14, 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

    June 21 and 22, 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

    June 29 and 30, 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

    August 16 and 17, 2024
    Plattenstufen Festival presented by the PHOENIX Theater Festival

  • 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

    August 24 and 25, 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

    August 28, 2024
    HELLERAU, Societaetstheater, Zentralwerk e.V.

Documentation

  • A woman stands at the lectern and speaks into the microphone. © Kunstfest Weimar / Candy Welz

    #Poetic positions

    The authors Anne Rabe, Manja Präkels, Sivan Ben Yishai, and Deniz Utlu gave presentations at the forums on the increasingly radical course of politics and society and on the challenge of remaining many.

  • 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

    #Articles

    This series of articles accompanied the program DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN (The Art of Staying Many). Elisabeth Wellershaus curated the series, in which she examines open and closed spaces in a fragile society with authors such as Esther Boldt, Nora Burgard-Arp, Zonya Dengi, and Mirrianne Mahn.

  • Soap bubbles fly through the air. Blurred in the background, people can be seen talking in front of a billboard with the inscription “DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN” (“THE ART OF BEING MANY”) in a summery setting. © Sebastian Bolesch

    #Illustrated Book

    Photographs by Sebastian Bolesch depicting city life at individual stations are juxtaposed with voices from politics and art, tracing the search for an art form that remains pluralistic.

Impressions

One person is holding a fan with the inscription "DIE KUNST, VIELE ZU BLEIBEN" and is fanning themselves while talking to another person. © Johanna Baschke
© Dorothea Tuch
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
© 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

Overall curation: Felizitas Stilleke

Co-curation: Franziska Werner

Dramaturgy: Fabian Lettow

Assistant overall curation: Kate Fenderl

Scenography: Philine Rinnert

Scenography collaboration: Lotte Dohmen

Technical direction & lighting design: Anahí Pérez

Technical assistance: Rio Theis

Communication: Sarah Rosenau

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

Production management Dresden: Nicole Meier

Project management fund: Björn Frers, Steffen Klewar

Project coordination fund: Anna Kondring

Communication fund: Anne John, Carolin Meyer

Graphic design: Uta Oettel

Video design: Roman Hagenbrock

Translation: Christopher Langer

Woodwork: Hannes Heinrich

Theater sculpture: Simone Schulz

Textile work: Ola Korbańska, Cian McConn

„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.

Films about art, freedom and democracy

  • „Die Kunst, Viele zu bleiben“ - A film by Felix Meyer-Christian

    A film that explores the tension that has long been a theme in the world of fine art. Between aesthetic innovations and political art forms, between formats for encounters and spectacle: THE ART OF REMAINING MANY is the motto when art, freedom, and democracy are called into question by right-wing extremists. A film commissioned by the Fonds Darstellende Künste.

  • Artistic perspectives on art, freedom, and democracy

    What are the rules in art and society? - To kick off the nationwide forums entitled “THE ART OF REMAINING MANY,” a film crew commissioned by the Fonds interviewed independent performing artists about the relationship between art, freedom, and democracy.