Quo vadis ars?

The situation in the cultural sector has been described and discussed in numerous interviews, corona diaries, comments and reports in the past few weeks. Our annotated collection of currently 193 sources gathers voices from different sectors and media. This creates a picture of the cultural landscape in crisis, whose temporal transformation can be explored interactively via a dedicated tag cloud.


 

Buchhandel setzt auf Digitalpräsenz . Frankfurter Buchmesse ohne Aussteller
Book trade focuses on digital presence . Frankfurt Book Fair without exhibitors

by Alexander Skipis, Britta Bürger (08 Sep 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur

At a press conference, the director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Juergen Boos, announced the cancellation of the presence fair in the exhibition halls in Frankfurt. The decision was made together with all publishers and representatives of the national booths. In the end, the restrictions, especially the travel restrictions, were too great to adhere to the presence event.
The fair is an important pillar for the book industry. Since a digital offering was also planned from the outset, Alexander Skipis, General Manager of the German Publishers & Booksellers Associ ation (Börsenverein des deutschen Buchhandels), assumes that the presence of books will be maintained. As before, there will also be physical events in Frankfurt where authors can be experienced live.
As a further mainstay, a digital rights trading platform will enable publishers to handle the rights business, which has been important at the fair to date. However, personal exchange will not be possible at this point.
Another important pillar of the Book Fair is intellectual exchange and freedom of opinion and the press. These topics will also be dealt with online and in face-to-face events. Such online offerings will certainly not reach as many readers as a presence fair. The intensive encounter will therefore play a major role in 2021.

There will be a series of physical events in Frankfurt. In addition to the award ceremonies - Book Prize and Peace Prize - there will be readings in the festival hall. They will be distributed simultaneously through the media and can be accessed worldwide. Nevertheless, it should not be overlooked that the lack of attention to the book will damage the book market. Sales will probably not really be satisfactory in the autumn of 2020 either.

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tag Buchbranche Buchmesse Frankfurt Lesung Alexander Skipis virtuelles Angebot
Literature/ Text Interview

»Das ist kein Neustart, das ist der Tod auf Raten« . Konzertveranstalter und Corona
»This is not a fresh start, this is living on borrowed time« . concert organizers and Corona

by Benjamin Fischer (17 Aug 2020)
Original source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Stephan Thanscheidt is co-head of FKP Scorpio. The company, with around 350 employees in 11 countries, is not only one of the largest festival organizers in Europe, but last year the company hosted around 3000 concerts by more or less well-known musicians - including superstars such as Ed Sheeran and David Guetta. Thanscheidt is primarily responsible for the organization of the festivals. In the summer, he usually spends more time at festivals than at his desk. This is important in order to keep a feel for the wishes and expectations of the visitors.
In March and April, FKP Scorpio continued to plan the summer events. Although there was already a bad feeling during the lockdown, but without a long-term cancellation by the authorities, the company had no choice but to postpone the festivals for the time being in order not to lose insurance coverage. This was an enormous effort, as events and the corresponding tickets had to be rebooked time and again. The advertising was reissued, only to announce the next postponement.
The industry, which even during the economic crisis of 2009 had hardly any loss of revenue, now faces completely new challenges. Short-time work and home offices have been completely unknown until now. Although there are regular digital meetings, it is difficult to realize joint creative work. Especially for the ten trainees, the situation is more than unsatisfactory, as they are currently only getting to know parts of the planned areas of responsibility.
In the summer, the industry has prepared itself for a standstill until Christmas. If no events are possible next year either, many companies are on the verge of closure. Although the public and politicians have the impression at the moment that the drive-in cinema concerts or other events will bring money back into the coffers, according to Thanscheidt, this is not a matter of income to be taken seriously, but rather of "living on borrowed time". FKP Scorpio has been running a solid business in recent years and can still fall back on reserves. If, however, no festivals with normal capacity can be held next year, FKP Scorpio will also be in trouble.

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tag Konzertveranstalter Festivals Versicherung Planungssicherheit Exit-Strategie Auszubildende
Music Beitrag

Der verzögerte Kulturinfarkt . Resilienz des Kulturbetriebs
The delayed culture infarction . Resilience of the cultural sector

by Dieter Haselbach, Pius Knüsel (27 Jul 2020)
Original source: Kulturmanagement

The cultural industry has long been a two-tier society. While the state-financed cultural institutions will come through the crisis with the help of much public funding, the many private institutions and artists will fall victim to the crisis. The public institutions are not innocent of this, as they have used the solo self-employed as an inexhaustible reserve army.
In view of the fact that even before the crisis there was a discussion about the dwindling public in cultural institutions and the loss of significance of museums, the authors are irritated by a contri bution by Tobias J. Knobloch, President of the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft, who urged that public funding be expanded in order to avert the consequences of the crisis for the cultural industry. In this context he also speaks of resilience.
Here it should not be forgotten that the crisis is the great time for cultural associations. They are now trying to get a share of the public funding.Differently it looks with the solo independent ones, which fall by the promotion rasters of the federation and federal state governments for enterprises and come thus over the rounds only with an application for unemployment relief ALG II .
Here the authors come to the crucial point of their article: Many artists do not have a business model that would be sustainable and provides for reserves and a sensible old-age provision. Postponing crisis and old-age provision until later is not a model with a future. Even if the state is currently generous, sustainable business practices must be introduced in the cultural sector.
In their outlook, the authors assume that the large state-financed houses will survive the crisis, and that many solo self-employed and privately financed houses will give up. Cultural tourism will also start again in 2021. The only chance the stakeholders have is to create new room for maneuver. A cultural infarction can currently only be avoided if the funding instruments and organizational principles are reconsidered and digitization is promoted.

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tag Museen Kulturförderung Soforthilfe Solo-Selbständige Hartz IV Olaf Zimmermann Tobias J. Knobloch
All sections Bericht

Die Buchbranche leidet und macht Verluste . Ein Virus namens Angst greift um sich
The book industry suffers and makes losses . A virus called anxiety is spreading

by Paul Jandl (17 Jul 2020)
Original source: Neue Züricher Zeitung

Even before the crisis, things did not look bright in the book industry. In recent years, the number of people who regularly buy a book has fallen steadily. The Corona crisis, during which many switched to other media and Amazon preferred to deliver toilet paper instead of books, reinforced this trend. At the end of May, the industry recorded a loss of 17.5 percent compared to the previous year. And so many publishers are reacting with a cost-cutting programme.
Just how hard the industry is struggling with its reinvention was shown by the squabbles surrounding the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. Many publishing companies have since cancelled their participation after the people in charge decided very early on to hold the Fair with an alternative concept. In Frankfurt, for example, people are now thinking about transforming the industry meeting into a creative festival where, besides literature, music, pop and gaming are also present. At the moment it is to be feared that anxiety is causing much more damage in the industry than the virus.

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tag Buchbranche Buchmesse Neustart Kultur Umsatzeinbruch zweiter Frühling
Literature/ Text Bericht

Zerreißprobe für die Buchmesse
Ordeal for the book fair

by Sandra Kegel (04 Jul 2020)
Original source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

The Frankfurt Book Fair is not only an important economic factor for the industry, it is also a historical institution, as it can look back on an intellectual tradition and five hundred years of history. In the current crisis, the fair management, together with the Börsenverein, has decided to hold the fair this year, but to distribute many events throughout the city. Now it has become known that the city of Frankfurt wants to expand the trade fair concept for 2021 to include music and gaming. The outcry in the book industry is huge. It is to be hoped that the book fair concept will survive this crisis as well.

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tag Literatur Buchmesse Frankfurt
Literature/ Text Bericht

War’s das mit dem Wumms? . Aktionsplan und Stellungnahme des Netzwerk Autorenrechte (NAR) zum Konjunkturpaket „NEUSTART KULTUR“
That's it with the oomph? . Action plan and statement of the Network of Authors' Rights (NAR) on the economic stimulus package "NEW START CULTURE"

by Netzwerk Autorenrechte (05 Jun 2020)
Original source: Netzwerk Autorenrechte

The economic stimulus package passed by the federal government provides hardly any subsidies for the book sector. The Network of Authors' Rights (NAR) is calling for improvements in this respect so that authors and translators are not pushed into social welfare (Hartz IV). Various funding possibilities are outlined and the importance of literature not only as a source of knowledge and education, but also as an economic factor is pointed out.

tag Buchbranche Konjunkturpaket Hartz IV
Literature/ Text Statement

Das Eine-Milliarde-Euro-Baby
The One-Billion-Euro-Baby

by Dirk Peitz (05 Jun 2020)
Original source: Zeit

Dirk Peitz explores the question of how the crisis of culture in Germany can be described exactly and who is currently bearing the costs that arise in the cultural sector. The »latent lack of systemic relevance« could become a problem for the industry if the economic crisis becomes more severe or lasts longer than currently expected. While the approximately 1.7 million employees are currently an argument in favour of artists, cultural funding could be discontinued very quickly in times of tight budgets.

tag Monika Grütters Konjunkturpaket Kulturförderung Systemrelevanz
All sections Analyse

Was wir im Lockdown über das Digitale gelernt haben

by Anika Meier (02 Jun 2020)
Original source: Monopol

The corona crisis has accelerated the shift to the digital world. Art exhibitions were also presented online in times of lockdown. If there is no other choice, even these institutions who have tended to avoid online media are now turning to social media to communicate and exchange ideas. In her column, Anika Meier examines what we have learned with regard to the digital world during the crisis, presenting various activities of the recent months, from livestreams via Instagram to online viewing rooms and augmented reality. In doing so, she urges art critics to think about new standards for evaluating art on the Net. Naive euphoria or unreflected criticism of the fact that virtual exhibitions cannot replace real museum visits do not do justice to either the artistic-curatorial claim or the medium.

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tag Online Viewing Room Streaming Augmented Reality Hans Ulrich Obrist Iwan Wirth Koo Jeong A Krise als Chance
Visual Arts/Design Kolumne

In Zeiten der Abstandsästhetik . Theater unter Corona-Bedingungen
In times of distance aesthetics . Theatre under corona conditions

by Stefan Grund (26 May 2020)
Original source: Welt

In Hamburg, the theatres are currently not yet allowed to reopen. However, in preparation for the new season, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus and the Thalia Theater have resumed rehearsals. Here, too, the rules of hygiene are strictly observed. This has an impact on the plays, in which more distance must now be maintained between the actors. Jan Bosse, director at the Thalia Theater, understands the alienation, which he did not choose himself, as an aesthetic challenge, which produces new solutions during rehearsals. These are also understood by the audience, since everyone can understand and interpret the collective narrative Corona. As an unique experience, he considers the Corona conditions as a challenge. However, the rules of hygiene should not be set in the long run, because especially the distance on stage can quickly lead to boredom.

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tag Theater Probenbetrieb Hygieneregeln Hamburg Jan Bosse
Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht

Zurück aus dem Netz: Theater unter Corona-Auflagen
Back from the Web: Theatre under Corona Constraints

by Susanne Burkhardt, Elena Philipp (22 May 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur

In the »Theatre podcast« by Deutschlandfunk, Susanne Burkhardt and Elena Philipp, theater critic Cornelia Fiedler and actor Matthias Wuttke investigate the limitations of the crisis and the opportunities that the reopening of houses can bring. Few houses have found ways to show current productions under the conditions of the lockdown. It turns out that theaters in Germany have developed many formats in recent decades that now enable corona-compatible forms of theater.

tag Theater Theaterformen Onlineangebote Hygieneregeln Cornelia Fiedler Matthias Wuttke
Performing Arts/ Cinema Podcast

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The Team

Facing arts is a projet by STORM.

STORM is an acronym playing with the initials by Miriam Seidler & Tim Otto Roth, who are hit both by the Corona crisis. Dr. Miriam Seidler is a scholar in German literature and currently works as specialist in public relations. Dr. Tim Otto Roth is a scholar in art and science history and works as a conceptual artist and composer. He is known for his huge projects in public space, cooperations with leading scientific institutions and his immersive sound and light installations. Miriam and Tim collaborate regularly for years. With facing arts they reaslize their first common art project.
You find more informatin on both initiators on www.miriamseidler.de and www.imachination.net.

Special thanks to Paco Croket for the tag cloud programming!

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