Connecting & Outreach
flausen+ kongress:
Theater in the headwind. Courage for change
OFF-Stage KOMPLEX, Chemnitz, DE
Throughout my travels, I have endeavored to connect Canadian artists and organisations with their international peers. This spring, I was invited to speak and share my practices at the flausen+ kongress, a meeting point for independant theatres of Germany and beyond.
flausen+ bundeskongress #4
Theater in the headwind. Courage for change.
More information: www.flausen.plus/veranstaltungen/kongress
May 20 – 22, 2025
Chemnitz, DE
During the three days of the conference, various panels explored topics such as the challenges facing independent performing arts in times of change, culture in rural areas, audience relations, inclusion in everyday theater life, international perspectives, and new formats in public spaces. In addition to taking stock, the focus will be on exchange, networking, and visions for the future.
I shared practices from my work on connecting and creating with artists on International, national, provincial and rural projects – Sharing in Each Otehr’s Songs: Connecting across distance, language & Culture – on the International panel.
International Perspectives Panel
Artistic Freedom, Cultural Political Resistance, and Self-Empowerment through International Alliances in Times of Crisis.
The panel brought together cultural practitioners from Slovakia, Italy, Canada, and Germany to examine how artists and institutions are navigating intensifying political and financial pressures. From Slovakia’s independent cultural centers resisting top down control, to Italy’s increasingly nationalist cultural policy, to Canada’s shift toward local focus amid international tensions, each speaker highlighted both the fragility and resilience of their ecosystems. In Germany, institutions like Schaubühne Lindenfels and flausen+ are creating space for displaced artists and experimental work, while also confronting rising right wing populism and increasingly exclusive cultural tendencies.
Despite these varied landscapes, a shared recipe for winning emerged: make the struggle visible and stay loud, reconnect with audiences and remind them of their role, invest in human-to-human solidarity, experiment with alternative funding like crowdfunding to involve audiences, build bridges between local and international communities, and actively include those often left outside cultural spaces. Together, these actions form a collective path toward defending artistic freedom and empowering creative resistance.
Panel guests: Zuzana Psotková (Curator and Manager, Tabačka Kulturfabrik Košice, DE), Kim Selody (Artistic Director Emeritus, Presentation House Theatre CAN), Jack Paterson (Creative Producer, Ryga Arts Festival CAN), Davide D’Antonio (Artistic Director IDRA Teatro IT), Dr. Michael Schramm (Schaubühne Lindenfels DE), Winfried Wrede (Artistic Director flausen+ DE) Moderation: Chang Nai Wen (Director & Producer DE) Translation: Sabine Köhler
flausen+ is a network of over 30 independant theatres from across Germany and beyond. The biennial flausen+ Festival and Kongress have become important gathering point for independent, small, and mid-sized companies from across the EU. Artists, company leaderships, and cultural representatives meet, develop new artistic and admin. relationships, and exchange knowledge through a series of networking activities, workshops, panels, and events. www.flausen.plus