New "RuhrBühnen für die Demokratie" campaign

11 theatres and two festivals present a calendar of events for democracy in the run-up to the elections

In the run-up to the Bundestag elections and with a view to the local elections in September, the RuhrBühnen network is launching a campaign for democracy. Eleven municipal theatres in the Ruhr area and the two festivals Ruhrtriennale and Ruhrfestspiele will focus on current anti-democratic developments and underline the close relationship between art and democracy.

"Art creates space for critical debate and new perspectives," says Olaf Kröck, Director of the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and spokesman for RuhrBühnen. "We are positioning ourselves for a society that values plurality and diversity and takes its responsibility for climate protection and social justice seriously."

The network refers to a mission statement formulated two years ago in which the preservation and strengthening of artistic diversity in the Ruhr region is named as an important common goal. In this way, sustainable cultural development and the expansion of the sphere of influence of the cultural metropolis Ruhr are actively shaped.  

"This diversity is in danger if a shift to the right spreads through society and also affects cultural policy," emphasises Julia Wissert, Director of Schauspiel Dortmund and, together with Kröck, spokesperson for the RuhrBühnen. "A right-wing cultural policy jeopardises the freedom of art and will foreseeably have an impact on the financial resources of art and cultural institutions and thus on the scope for creativity."

At the centre of the campaign are discourse formats and a continuously growing calendar of events, which is available online on a daily basis. This RuhrBühnen calendar for democracy presents selected productions and events by the 13 network members in various cities in the Ruhr region that are particularly relevant to democracy and take a stand against current populist trends. 

Through artistic productions and other interventions, the RuhrBühnen invite audiences to take a critical look at the values and developments of our society, to perceive other perspectives and to think beyond their own imagination. Theatres create spaces for discourse and experimentation, they are places where visions of the future are developed and social conditions are reflected upon, they encourage participation and show possibilities for action. At the same time, the RuhrBühnen invite people to meet other people in these places who are committed to defending democratic values, especially in these times.

RuhrBühnen's regional campaign is part of the German Theatre Association's nationwide campaign THEATER UND ORCHESTER FÜR DEMOKRATIE (Theatres and Orchestra for Democracy).