International Symposium on Theatre Governance and Audience Development in Public Theatre in Germany, France and England

How public is publicly funded theatre?
This question concerns both the (political) governance of theatre and theatre-making itself. And it is more topical than ever: in the wake of the much feared and discussed audience decline in connection with the COVID 19-pandemic, there is increasing discussion about how publicly funded theatre can and must actually be public, who is responsible for it and how it can succeed in reaching as large a public as possible.

In an international symposium with representatives from theatre, research and cultural policy in Germany, England and France, the view often limited to the country and discipline horizon in questions of audience orientation is to be broadened and different perspectives brought into dialogue: Cultural politicians and directors of publicly funded theatres in Germany, England and France will discuss cultural policy strategies for cultural democratisation in theatre and explore differences between the countries. Fundamentally connected to this is whether audience orientation is understood as making "high" culture accessible or as promoting cultural democracy. The very different approaches to cultural policy in the three countries raise the question of how much binding cultural policy guidelines are necessary so that theatres can reposition themselves in a more participatory way.

Theatre actors from the three countries talk about the changes in their audiences over the last decades and due to the pandemic, about expectations of politics and the public with regard to attracting a diverse audience and about strategies with which theatres react to changes in demand and different expectations regarding audiences. Here, too, differences between the countries can be observed in the respective central strategies and instruments of audience development. The central question is whether the desired opening for new audience groups is also connected with changes in the overall structural and programmatic orientation of the theatres.
Finally, we will take a look at research: What role does research on audience-oriented cultural policy and audience development play in France, England and Germany? What is the status quo, what are the perspectives?

Please note that the conference will be held in English.

The regular contribution (for catering on both days) will be 50€, the reduced fee for students is 20€.
(If this is financially not possible for you, don't hesitate to contact us, we will try to find a solution!)

We strive to make our event as barrier-free as possible. If you have any questions about accessibility, please feel free to contact us: Maria Nesemann: nesemannm@uni-hildesheim.de .

You can register here. (https://www.uni-hildesheim.de/fb2/institute/kulturpolitik/anmeldung-zum-symposium/)

The symposium is organised by the DFG research project "Cultural Democratisation in Publicly funded Theatres. Theatre Governance and Audience Development Strategies in Germany, France and England" at the Institute for Cultural Policy at the University of Hildesheim.

Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Maria Nesemann: nesemannm@uni-hildesheim.de
Vera Glaser: glaserv@uni-hildesheim.de

Weitere Informationen:
http://www.uni-hildesheim.de/fb2/institute/kulturpolitik/anmeldung-zum-symposium
https://www.uni-hildesheim.de/fb2/institute/kulturpolitik/anmeldung-zum-symposium