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fwd: Artistic Closure for PODEWIL and SCHAUBUDE



from musik@xxxxxxxxxx

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PRESS RELEASE

Budget cuts planned by the Cultural Department of the Berlin Senate
Consequences for Berliner Kulturveranstaltungs-GmbH
Artistic closure of PODEWIL and SCHAUBUDE

As a result of the latest budget discussions of the Berlin Senate (19.03.2002) drastic economic measures have been taken to save 5.000.000 Euros. It was decided that the state-owned Berliner Kulturveranstaltungs-GmbH (the legal and administrative structure of PODEWIL and the puppet theatre SCHAUBUDE) has to foresee cuts in funding by 715.000 Euros. This equals one third of the overall subsidy of the corporation. The Senate's decision means that the artistic programme of both institutions (PODEWIL and SCHAUBUDE) will be terminated at the end of 2002. The Berliner Kulturveranstaltungs-GmbH is taken by utmost surprise by these devastating news.

It was further decided that the PODEWIL building at Klosterstrasse 68 should become the home of Berlin's Museumspädagogischer Dienst (the pedagogical services of Berlin's museums). The reduced subsidy will only cover the expenses of the administrative personnel and the running costs of the building. "No shut-down" (as promised by the minister of culture) thus means: the building will remain open but solely for administrative purposes and devoid of any artistic content.

The PODEWIL is one of Berlin's few internationally renowned institutions for the young art scene, an important address for the advanced national and international arts of the capital, for new and electronic music, innovative performance theatre, dance and media productions. Many internationally renowned artists are closely attached to the PODEWIL and could in the past produce and present their work here.

Events such as the Internationales Tanzfest Berlin -Tanz im August, the media festival transmediale, the theatre/performance festival reich & berühmt, the dance series Körperstimmen, innovative music series and festivals, e.g. the ICMC/Off-ICMC (International Computer Music Conference), x-tract Chicago and MontagsMusik Klangkrieg were initiated and developed at Podewil, presented in cooperation with a number of partner institutions and co-producers.

Since its opening ten years ago, PODEWIL has been a forerunner in bringing new impetus into the city by its internationally and interdisciplinary oriented programme. Other institutions in the city had followed suit. Choreographers such as Meg Stuart (B), Nigel Charnock (GB), musicians such as Arik Hyut (IL), Sam Auinger and Rupert Huber (A), performance groups such as Gob Squad (GB) and Forced Entertainment (GB), directors Stefan Pucher and René Pollesch have all conquered Berlin and Europe from their residency-base at PODEWIL. Choreographers Sasha Waltz and Xavier Le Roy, the new music ensemble zeitkratzer (directed by Reinhold Friedl) have found their artistic signature at PODEWIL and are sought-after guests at international festivals in Europe and overseas. Without a continuous programming at PODEWIL, events such as last Sunday's concert by zeitkratzer with Lou Reed are unthinkable (17.03.2002, MaerzMusik festival).

One cannot understand why cutting-edge interdisciplinary institutions such as Kunst-Werke in Auguststrasse, the Künstlerhaus Bethanien or the PODEWIL are simply struck from the city's funding list. No more spaces are left for new artistic production within the cultural metropolis Berlin?

The team of the Podewil

Contact:
Podewil office of press and public relations
Tel. +49/30/247 49 732, email pr@xxxxxxxxxx, www.podewil.de

More information on the budget cuts can be obtained from the Department of the Cultural Senate:

Contact: Herrn Dr. Torsten Wöhlert
e-mail: torsten.woehlert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tel.: 90228-203, Fax: 90228-450