Regulations (Application deadline: 15.05.2026)

Please Note! This is a translation of the valid regulations and is meant only to help in the orientation and understanding of those, for whom German is not a first language. Only the regulations in the original German version apply. There is no guarantee for the correctness and completeness of any translated information.

01. Revival funding for rural areas is aimed at artists/groups in the independent performing arts who have been working professionally on a self-employed basis for many years and, in the interests of sustainability, supports revivals (possibly including artistic or formal reworkings) of productions for rural areas funded by the Fonds Darstellende Künste that have already premiered.

02. Applicants must have been professionally active in the independent performing arts (including performance, drama, dance, music theater, puppet and object theater, theater in public space, contemporary circus or interdisciplinary forms) for at least two years.

03. The productions applying for a revival must have been demonstrably funded in one of the following programs of the Fonds Darstellende Künste (the where-used list for the funding must be submitted to the Fonds Darstellende Künste at the time of application):

• Production funding (from 2023 onwards)
• Concept funding

04. Applicants must reside and/or work in Germany and the focus of their work must be in Germany.

05. The projects applied for must include at least two performances or presentations in rural areas in Germany as part of the revival. Artistically justified deviations from this provision must be explicitly stated in the application.

06. For the purposes of the funding program, rural areas are defined as all towns and municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, as well as all locations listed in categories 1, 2, or 4* (but not 3 or 5) in the corresponding atlas published by the Thünen Institute.

07. Applicants must be able to ensure proper management and provide evidence that the funds are being used for their intended purpose.

08. Applications must be submitted online by May 15, 2026 (application deadline) at 11:59 p.m.

09. The application must be submitted via the corresponding online form.
 

A complete application also includes:

• a 2-page detailed presentation of the artists/group and their artistic activities to date as a pdf
• a 3-page project description, including project schedule as a pdf
• a visual documentation of the result of the production planned for revival in the form of a complete video recording (and, if applicable, further internet links that present the project and artists, such as a trailer of the production, etc.)
• a cost and financing plan in the form provided by the Fonds Darstellende Künste and in accordance with the provisions of points 15 to 20of these regulations
• proof of all approved co-financing and/or contributions from the private sector (in each case in the form of an approval notification, see point 17) and own funds in cash (in the form of a bank statement)
• proof of approval of the funding granted by the Fonds Darstellende Künste for the production for which a revival is requested, e.g., in the form of the funding approval or the project funding agreement
• a venue certificate

and

• a PDF file containing the results of the checklist “Ecological Sustainability in the Performing Arts”.

10. An application is deemed to have been submitted on time if all the documents (see point 08) have been uploaded to the database of the Fonds Darstellende Künste by 11:59 p.m. on the day of the application deadline at the latest and the complete application has been sent. Late or incomplete applications cannot be considered. 
 

11. The basis for the approval, disbursement and accounting of funds is a project funding agreement within the meaning of No. 12.5 of the Administrative Regulations on Section 44 of the "Federal Budget Code" (BHO). The "General Auxillary Conditions for Project Funding" (ANBest-P) are constituent in the project funding agreement.

12. There is no entitlement to funding. Payments will be made on the basis of a current cost and financing plan following the conclusion of a project funding agreement. In addition, a project bank account must be used or set up to receive the funding. Otherwise, funding cannot be guaranteed.

13. Where funding is approved, the appropriation period lasts from (estimated) July 15, 2026, and September 30, 2027. During this period, the project or project section applied for must be fully implemented.

14. Complete proof of use must be submitted within one month of the end of the approval period, but no later than 30.11.2026. In the case of projects lasting more than one year, there is an obligation to submit an interim where-used list sby 31.01. of the following year at the latest in accordance with the General Auxiliary Provisions for Project Funding (ANBest-P) (6.1).

15. The Fonds supports projects in the field of the independent performing arts within the framework of the revival funding in rural areas with a minimum of €10,000 and a maximum of €25,000.

16. The prerequisite for revival funding in rural areas is the existence of a balanced cost and financing plan.

17. Co-financing from public funds amounting (by states and/or municipalities)** and/or contributions from the private sector*** to at least 30% of the amount applied for to the Fonds must be demonstrably secured at the time of application.****

18. Personnel and material expenses are eligible for funding in accordance with the General Auxiliary Conditions for Project Funding (ANBest-P). Any travel expenses incurred are eligible for reimbursement in accordance with the Federal Travel Expenses Act (BRKG). As a rule, investment costs for technology, presentations and other project-related purchases may not exceed 30% of the amount applied for.

19. VAT deductible in accordance with Paragraph 15 of Germany’s Value Added Tax Act (UStG) is not eligible for funding. Ongoing non-project-related material and personnel expenses are also excluded.

20. Proposed fees must adhere to the recommended minimum fees for the independent performing arts.***** To verify compliance, comprehensible calculation bases for artistic fees must be specified in the cost and financing plan.

21. Funding is excluded if the project applied for has already commenced before funding is approved, i.e., if expenditures have already been incurred or contracts have already been concluded.

21. The project can also be submitted for funding under the Rural Areas Revival Program if it was previously funded or rejected under the Fonds Darstellende Künste Revival Program.

23. A project that has already been submitted for funding under the Rural Areas Revitalization Program cannot be resubmitted.

24. Applicants may only apply for one project in one funding round of the program.

25. An application to the Fonds Darstellende Künste excludes any co-financing of the project applied for by another funding institution that awards federal funding. This applies, among others, to the Federal Cultural Foundation, the Capital Cultural Fund, the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the Sociocultural Fund, the Dance Pact, the Music Fund, the National Performance Network (NPN) and, as a rule, the Goethe-Institut.

These regulations apply from January 15, 2026 and are subject to change.

Berlin, January 15, 2026

Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V.

Board of Directors and Management

* Category 1: “very rural/less favorable socioeconomic situation,” Category 2: “very rural/favorable socioeconomic situation,” Category 4: “rather rural/less favorable socioeconomic situation”

** In this program, public funds are defined as subsidies from German municipalities and states in direct or indirect form.

*** Private funds include, for example, grants from private foundations, but also cash contributions from your own resources.

**** If you apply to the fund for €15,000, for example, you must be able to provide evidence of at least €4,500 in co-financing from public or private funds. In this example, the total cost of the project amounts to at least €19,500.

***** Recommendation of the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V. (Federal Association of Independent Performing Arts) for a minimum fee for the independent performing arts in Germany for 1.) Professional groups with compulsory insurance in the Artists' Social Security Fund (KSK): €3,600 per month / €830 per week / €165 per day / €360 per performance. For 2.) professional groups for whom social security coverage through the KSK is not possible: €4,220 per month / €970 per week / €190 per day / €422 per performance. The Performing Arts Fund also recommends taking a closer look at ver.di's initiative for basic fees for self-employed creative professionals.