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.


 

»Es fühlt sich an wie eine Bestrafung und Verhöhnung« . Kommentar zum Theater-Lockdown
»Es fühlt sich an wie eine Bestrafung und Verhöhnung«

by Dorothea Marcus (31 Oct 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur

Theater critic Dorothea Marcus spoke with Wilma Renfordt, dramaturge of the NRW-Impulse-Festival, and Stefan Bachmann, director of the Schauspiel Köln. Although both are frustrated by the recent closures, they do not criticize the lockdown, but rather see it as a solidary contribution by the theaters. The independent critic cannot agree with these statements. Rather, she speaks of a slap in the face for culture, which - in contrast to slaughterhouses and shopping centers, church services and the train - must now close again, despite almost chumming up efforts for ex cellent hygiene concepts. However, she finds the new lockdown for culture alarming, not because it does not affect so many others, but because she does not believe it will be effective. This in turn undermines the acceptance of the measures in society. The many parties in the last few days speak for themselves. Corona deniers will feel encouraged. This not only endangers health, but also social peace. With the closures, hotbeds of fire will be set, which will perhaps occupy us much longer than the Corona crisis.

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tag Theater November-Lockdown Unterhaltung Verständnislosigkeit gesellschaftlicher Friede Wilma Renfordt Stefan Bachmann
Performing Arts/ Cinema Kommentar

»Als ob Kultur nur Bespaßung wäre« . Louwrens Langevoort über Corona-Maßnahmen
. Louwrens Langevoort about Corona measures

by Louwrens Langevoort, Carsten Beyer (29 Oct 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur

That's the perversion of the whole story. We are not a swimming center. It's not like we can close in one day and on December 1st we open again and the audience is back. The director of the Cologne Philharmonic has to cancel 30 events for November. Whether and when he will be allowed to reopen his house is still written in the stars. Since concerts require advance notice, he would have to know by now whether he will be allowed to play again on December 1, otherwise it would be impossible to organize a performance. Basically, a certain frustration is exp ressed in the conversation: even though Langevoort, as director of the Philharmonic, must expect the worst, he had hoped that the intensive advertising for the well-designed hygiene concepts in theaters, operas and concert halls, among others by the German Stage Association, would be noticed by politicians. The second lockdown for cultural institutions seems to him to be exaggerated, especially since he has the impression that politics does not do exactly that in those places where it would have to take consistent action. The fact that the Chancellor talks about having to reduce the total mass of encounters because of the incomprehensible chains of infection is completely understandable to him. Nevertheless, the disappointment is great - also about Markus Söder's statement that one does not want to offend anyone who has made an effort. The cultural industry feels that it suffers a snub in the face of current events.
Asked about the promised compensation payments, Langevoort is skeptical. Also in the spring support was promised. These were only implemented very slowly and many companies and solo self-employed persons did not benefit from them. He also points out that artists want to perform and not to become welfare recipients. In addition, the houses also see themselves as cultural institutions with an educational mission. They want to fulfill this mission even in times of pandemic.

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tag Konzerthäuser Philharmonie Köln Soforthilfe November-Lockdown Planungssicherheit Angela Merkel Markus Söder Deutscher Bühnenverein Bauernopfer
Music Interview

Bayerische Theater entsetzt über neue Corona-Regeln
Bavarian theaters appalled by new corona regulations

by Christoph Leibold (22 Oct 2020)
Original source: BR24

Following the announcement last week in North Rhine-Westphalia of a limit on the number of spectators for theaters due to rising corona infections, Bavaria is now following suit. Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder announced that regardless of the size of a house, when an incidence rate of 100 infections per 100,000 inhabitants is reached, only 50 participants will be allowed to attend a cultural event.
In Bavaria's theaters, the outcry is great. Up to now, the rules of distance have been generously adhered to, and every house has a well-developed hygiene concept. In Bavaria, too, there are no infectious diseases among visitors to cultural events. Instead of recognizing this success, the new decree destroys it. Those involved in culture accuse the State Chancellery of not having gained an impression of the situation in the houses so far. Even the »representatives of the cultural scene« apparently involved in the decision could not be identified so far. No director of the large Bavarian theaters was asked to comment. So it is not surprising that the director of the Kammerspiele, Barbara Mundel, accuses the state premier of »purely symbolic politics« at the expense of the cultural institutions. For these institutions, the new decree is tantamount to a new lockdown. Another aspect that Mundel addresses should not be forgotten in the current situation: Theater and other open spaces of art offer the opportunity for exchange and reflection. This is the place to reflect on the consequences of the Corona crisis for our society.

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tag Theater Inzidenzwert Hygieneregeln Bayern Markus Söder
Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht

Debatte um Künstler in Not . Corona-Soforthilfe gefloppt
Debate about artists in need . Corona emergency aid flopped

by Peter Jungblut (28 Sep 2020)
Original source: BR24

Another round of discussions on the state of culture: in Munich's Volkstheater, the Bavarian Minister of State for Science and Art Bernd Sibler had to answer questions from cultural workers. The displeasure is great. In Bavaria, the number of allowed visitors is still determined not by the size of the event rooms but by the size of the events. Only three houses are allowed to accommodate 500 spectators in the course of a model experiment. The fear among culture enthusiasts is still great, so that even these places are not sold out.
Just as unsuccessful as the pilot project was the emergency aid program for solo self-employed persons, which expired at the end of the most recent quarter. Instead of the expected 60,000 applications, the Free State received only 10,000, of which 8,000 were approved. The reasons for this are manifold. Some have already received money from other funding sources or applied for Hartz IV, while others are keeping their heads above water with other jobs if they are not already trying their luck in another profession. In the cultural sector, the fear of the "point of no return" is now spreading. What if next year too many cultural workers have already reoriented themselves and a return to the situation before the lockdown will no longer be possible? The helplessness is great. Bernd Sibler points to the satisfaction of the Bavarians with the strict corona measures, while Volkmar Halbleib, SPD party member of the state parliament, vehemently attacks his colleague from the CSU party: civilized cultural events are not a source of infection. Everyone is now aware of this. Therefore, something must now finally be done for culture to free the artists from their hopeless situation.

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tag Soforthilfe Bayern Bernd Sibler Münchner Volkstheater point of no return Sitzplätze
All sections Bericht

»Die Leute haben eine Sehnsucht in die Theater zurückzukehren« . Kultur in Bayern
»People have a longing to return to the theater« . culture in Bavaria

by Sara Maria Behbehani (13 Sep 2020)
Original source: Süddeutsche Zeitung

At the beginning of the new season, Sara Maria Behbehani explores at theaters in Bavaria how theater professionals are facing the opening of their houses and how the corona rules are perceived in everyday life. The joy of regaining contact with the audience and the intensive work on corona-compliant themes is common to all the theaters.
The Theater an der Rott has already hosted successful open-air events in the summer. For the indoor events, the program was completely rewritten once again - not only to implement the corona rules and incorporate them conceptually into the plays, but also to do justice to the loss of income.
At the Landestheater Niederbayern, the journalist talks to the freelance director Sarah Kohrs. She is happy that she has a new engagement and tries to bring her new play on stage as corona-conform as possible.
The lockdown at the Junge Theater Regensburg was extremely productive. Maria-Elena Hackbarth and her team tried to keep in touch with the young audience with various offers. Also the implementation of the distance rules is not considered problematic here. Family islands offer a personal atmosphere, which at the same time offers protection from infection. The lockdown will probably also play a role thematically, since the theater is starting the new season with Kafka's "Metamorphosis".
At Ingolstadt City Theater, Andrea Frohn is not allowed to open the season with a cabaret evening as planned. Since she is pregnant, she is not allowed to perform. Nevertheless, Frohn is looking forward to the new season, as the audience is incredibly grateful that it is now starting again.

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tag Theater Bayern Spielzeitauftakt Hygieneregeln Kabarett
Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht

Wir sind ein Ökosystem . Krise des Kunstmarkts
We are an eco system . Crisis of the art market

by Deborah Schamoni, Esther Schipper, Catrin Lorch (11 Sep 2020)
Original source: Süddeutsche Zeitung

With the exception of Art Cologne, all major art fairs have been cancelled in 2020. On the occasion of the traditional gallery tours, which open the cultural autumn in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Munich, gallery owners Esther Schipper and Deborah Schamoni are talking about the state of the industry in Corona Autumn.
The art trade is not down, but the situation is serious. Whereas international collectors traditionally attended the gallery openings in the fall, they are now largely attended by a local audience. With the collectors, not only is there a lack of income, but the concentration on local business also leads to a complete breakdown of the exchange at fairs. Whether the time left for written contacts can compensate for this will be seen in the near future. The gallery owners agree, however, that the losses cannot be compensated for by a virtual presence - be it their own homepage or the pages set up by the trade fairs. Although it would be possible to sell works by well-known artists, the newcomers have little chance of attracting attention.
On the other hand, the gallery owners are well aware that the art market will have to change in the coming years. Climate change and Corona will become a task for the art market in the coming months and years - even if the gallery owners have to admit that their artists have so far shown little consideration for the climate.
It is still uncertain whether the galleries can really be helped by government support. At the very least, this is an appreciation of the galleries' work. Although they view the funds earmarked for purchases in the Neustart Kultur program positively, they see a reduction in VAT on sales as a guarantee for the kind of sales boom the industry currently needs.

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tag Kunstmarkt Kunstmessen Mehrwertsteuer Neustart Kultur Ankaufsetat Klimabilanz Art Cologne virtuelles Angebot
Visual Arts/Design Interview

Kinos in Not . Betreiber fordern finanzielle Hilfen – und blicken neidisch nach Bayern
Cinemas in need . operators demand financial aid - and look enviously to Bavaria

by Tim Spark (05 Sep 2020)
Original source: Handelsblatt

The film industry is suffering from the Corona crisis. Above all, German cinema operators do not see how they can maintain their program offerings in the long term. Michael Pawlowski, co-partner of the Filmpalast Group, reports a 50 percent drop in visitors in North Rhine-Westphalia. In federal states with stricter visitor regulations - in NRW only one seat has to be vacated - the decline is even more serious. This means that cinema operations are currently being run from reserves, as the revenues are not sufficient to cover them.
This is the situation that 68 med ium-sized, family-run movie theaters have to address in an open letter to Monika Grütters. The cinema operators need financial support and a relaxation of the hygiene rules. Since the movie theaters are well ventilated and the visitors do not speak during the screening, the risk of infection is lower in the cinema than in the office, according to a study by the Hermann Rietschel Institute of the Technical University of Berlin.
But it is not only the rules of distance that make life difficult for cinema operators. Film distributors are currently holding back on film releases because the number of visitors is currently not very attractive.
Although the German Minister of State for Culture has already released funds to support cinemas, these funds are tied to conversion, modernization and equipment measures and are therefore not helping to save the cinemas in the current liquidity squeeze.
In Bavaria, there is currently an aid program in place that compensates cinema operators for every visitor they have less than last year. In the other federal states, this model is seen as an opportunity to at least cover the fixed costs of the cinemas and prevent a cinema from dying out.

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tag Kinobetreiber Filmwirtschaft Neustart Kultur Filmproduktion Monika Grütters Hygieneregeln
Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht

Macht die Theater zu – und fangt von vorne an . Theater als Gesellschaftslabor
Close the theaters - and start from scratch . Theater as social laboratory

by Björn Bicker (20 Jul 2020)
Original source: BR Kultur

Björn Bicker considers the slogan of the »crisis as an opportunity«, which is often used in connection with the Corona pandemic, to be one of the last possibilities to save the German-speaking publicly financed theater landscape. His analysis of the situation is unsparing: at the theaters, which are predominantly run by despots, plays are now only performed for a parallel society. The white, well-off middle class is having its theaters financed by an increasingly diverse society.
The compulsory pause, which was heralded by the lockdown, could have been used as a pause for reflection. The standstill was a chance to reflect on the conditions of their own work. But instead of devoting themselves to the question of what a theater of tomorrow might look like, many houses fell into a digital hyper-actionism. Readings, short scenes up to entire performances were put on the net. The opportunity is not yet gone. Instead of continuing to indulge in an actionism that does not reach society, performing theater should pause for a while. This time can be used not only to find a new togetherness in the houses, but also to seek dialogue with a diverse audience at round tables. In this way, concepts for a theater of tomorrow can be developed. The utopia that Bicker creates is that of the municipal theater as a prototype of social development. Whether it really remains a utopia is up to the institutions themselves.

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tag Theater Denkpause Krise als Chance
Performing Arts/ Cinema Zwischenruf

Besucheransturm auf Museen nach Lockdown bleibt offenbar aus
Visitor rush on museums after lockdown apparently is missing

by Wolfgang Ullrich (14 Jul 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk

The museums are open again, but the expected visitors are missing in many houses. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio, Wolfgang Ullrich explains why the offer is so hesitantly accepted and how the museums will change in the coming years.
An important approach for understanding the hesitant return of visitors after the opening of the museums lies in the changed perception of the museum visit.The idea still prevailed that visitor contemplate before the works and enjoy the peace and quiet. In that context, it is often forgotten that the museum has become an im portant social place. You visit it with friends and acquaintances to experience something there. This is not yet the case. The obligation to wear masks and the limited number of visitors is a deterrent to many people.
Wolfgang Ullricht basically assumes that the exhibitions will change in the next few years. Large blockbuster exhibitions will no longer be economically viable with lower visitor numbers. Museums will therefore have to concentrate more on their collections again and use these to design attractive exhibitions for a local audience. 

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tag Museen Besucherzahlen lokales Publikum Onlineangebote Blockbuster
Visual Arts/Design Interview

Entwarnung klingt anders . Chorsingen und Corona: Studie macht Aerosole sichtbar
It doesn't sound like the all-clear . Choral singing and corona: Study makes aerosols visible

by Tobias Stosiek (03 Jul 2020)
Original source: BR Klassik

At the beginning of the Corona pandemic there were some cases of mass infection in choirs and so it is reasonable to assume that the risk of infection is particularly high when singing. In a study conducted by the LMU Munich and the Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen, the voice physician Matthias Echternach and the fluid mechanic Stefan Kniesburges conducted a series of experiments to make the spread of aerosols visible. Singers of the Bavarian Radio Choir were available as test persons. They had the hope that the study would send a positive signal for an early resumption of concert activities.

The all-clear hoped for by the study did not come true, the hygiene rules that have been in force up to now are quite sensible, since aerosols do not only spread forward but also sideways. The degree of propagation depends on the existing ventilation system. A whole series of questions still remain unanswered: Does deep breathing while singing contribute to an increased probability of infection? How large is the amount of aerosol that is formed when singing and what is the corresponding concentration of aerosols in the air? Questions that still need to be answered in order to further trace the dangers of choral singing.

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tag Chorsingen Aerosole Spucketröpfchen Hygieneregeln BR-Chor Matthias Echternach Stefan Kniesburges
Music Bericht

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Facing arts is a non-profi project. Feel free to support it and get in touch with us!

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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