The Berlin Children’s and Youth Theatre Working Group has written a letter against the Senate’s decision to cut the cultural budget. It sees the cultural infrastructure massively jeopardised, with drastic social consequences. Here is the statement and request to correct the political decision of 25 November 2024:
Image above: Courtesy of Schaubude Berlin, © Joachim Fleischer.
On 19 November 2024, the Berlin Senate announced its decision to cut the cultural budget by 130 million euros. With only 2.1%, the culture department already contributes little to the overall budget, but will now be disproportionately burdened with a 13% cut. The cuts will permanently destroy cultural infrastructure and lead to drastic programme cuts, staff redundancies and closures. Diversity, excellence, resilience and social cohesion are at stake.
Young audiences are particularly affected by the cuts – contrary to the coalition’s declared aim of strengthening cultural programmes for children and young people: The Theater an der Parkaue, the GRIPS Theater and the Schaubude Berlin are facing irreparable cuts, the youth culture initiative is being cut completely, as are the increases for rising minimum fees in children’s and youth theatre and the Lucy-Lameck-Straße cultural venue, which was to become a dance house for young audiences. The cultural institutions for young audiences are also affected by the cancellation of the Diversity Fund, the Berlin Mondiale, funding for cultural exchange and for resilience dispatchers, the expected closure of the Diversity Arts Culture project office and cuts to workspaces, scholarships and contemporary dance.
These cuts to the cultural budget are part of an overall scenario: funding for the majority of cultural projects in the education sector (including TanzZeit and many other programmes) is being cut by 18%, while funding for youth social work, independent youth work and youth welfare is being drastically reduced. Once again, the situation of young people is being ignored. The coronavirus pandemic has shown where such a policy leads: The long-term consequences are still affecting children and young people today. The only correct conclusion that the Berlin Senate could have drawn from this was to spare young people from cuts. Instead, it is once again cutting back on one of the most vulnerable groups in our society.
We, the Arbeitskreis Berliner Kinder- und Jugendtheater, stand in solidarity with all those involved in theatre for young people who are affected by the cuts, firmly oppose the political decision and demand a correction.
For the Arbeitskreis Berliner Kinder- und Jugendtheater:
Atze Musiktheater, Thomas Sutter und Matthias Schönfeldt
Das Weite Theater, Björn Langhans
Figurentheater Ute Kahmann
GRIPS Theater, Philipp Harpain und Andreas Joppich
Morgenstern – Theater im Rathaus Friedenau, Pascale Senn Koch und Daniel Koch
Schaubude Berlin, Tim Sandweg
TanzZeit/TANZKOMPLIZEN, Livia Patrizi
Theater an der Parkaue, Christina Schulz und Alexander Riemschneider
Theater Jaro, Katja Pölzer
Theater o.N., Dagmar Domrös, Doreen Markert und Vera Strobel
Theater Strahl, Karen Giese, Anna Vera Kelle und Matthias Kelle
This information was provided to the editorial team by Schaubude Berlin. For children and their families, there is a varied, fabulously beautiful Christmas and winter programme at the Schaubude Berlin. LICHT premieres at the end of November (see cover picture), a material theatre with live music for the youngest members of the audience. With voice, sound and playfulness, jazz singer Mette-Nadja Hansen and puppeteer Ulrike Kley explore questions such as how light speaks to us, what happens when it comes on stage and where it goes when it’s off and we can’t see it.
(26-28 Nov., 10:00, 30 Nov., 15:00 Premiere, 1 Dec., 15:00)
WHERE?
Schaubude Berlin
Greifswalder Straße 81-84
10405 Berlin
