Strengthening cultural activities in rural areas with the independent performing arts - models for the professionalisation of cultural infrastructures in rural regions of Brandenburg

In Brandenburg, the independent performing arts play an important role in cultural life - especially in rural regions. They bring art and people together, create encounters, stimulate dialogue and open up spaces for participation. However, there is often a lack of stable structures, networking opportunities or reliable local co-operation. This is precisely where the new project "Strengthening cultural activities in rural areas with the independent performing arts", funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft, DFG), comes in.

The aim of the project is to develop sustainable models to strengthen the cultural infrastructure in Brandenburg's rural regions. Together with artists, venues, municipalities and local initiatives, the project is investigating what makes successful cultural work possible in rural areas - and how the independent performing arts can act as a driving force for social cohesion.

An important component is research into the "conditions for success": What factors contribute to the long-term success of artistic work, collaborations and cultural offerings in rural areas? The findings will be used to develop practical recommendations and tools that support artists, event organisers and administrations alike.

At the same time, a digital knowledge and networking platform is being created under the direction of Prof. Dr Ellen Euler (FH Potsdam), which will be linked to the networking project already successfully initiated by the Brandenburg State Association of Independent Performing Arts "Brandenburg Venues", which has already been successfully initiated by the Brandenburg Independent Performing Arts Association, and makes the actors, venues and projects more visible, pools resources and initiates new collaborations. Within the project, openly accessible self-study units will be created to impart skills for cultural work in rural areas. This will make experience and knowledge even more accessible and usable in the long term - even beyond the duration of the project.

The project recognises the independent performing arts as a cultural practice with particular potential for social participation. They create flexible, creative and often communally conceived forms of publicity - whether on village stages, in community centres, churches, old inns or in the open air. Together with the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, the Brandenburg State Association of Independent Performing Arts wants to help ensure that this artistic diversity remains a vibrant part of the state's basic cultural provision in the future and can continue to grow.