Conference "Stat(d)t Culture: Chemnitz 2025" concluded
Valuable tips for the European Capital of Culture application
The "Stat(d)t Kultur: Chemnitz 2025" conference, which began on Monday, ended today with a conclusion by Mayor Michael Stötzer. For two days, over 100 interested parties, including representatives from the candidate cities of Dresden, Gera, Görlitz, Hanover, Hildesheim, Kassel and Zittau, discussed the idea of the European Capital of Culture and questions of cultural strategy with European experts from Austria, Germany, Croatia, Bulgaria and Greece. Ferenc Csàk, project manager of the Chemnitz application, explained in his welcome address: "Chemnitz has mirrored European history since the 19th century and therefore has the DNA of a Capital of Culture."
The discussions focussed on the questions of how cities can benefit from the application process, how the application can be integrated into long-term urban development, what role citizen participation must play and what significance the failure of an application has.
Dr Oliver Scheytt, long-standing Head of Cultural Affairs for the City of Essen and Managing Director of Ruhr.2010 GmbH from 2006 to 2012: "The title is about bonfires, not lighthouses. The bonfire symbolises the breadth, whereas lighthouses only symbolise the tip."
Ektor Tsatoulis, cultural manager from Athens and involved in the bids of the cities of Paphos 2017 and Kalamata 2021: "The failure of a Capital of Culture bid must be considered from the outset."
In addition to the presentations by international experts, there was also a workshop on EU funding opportunities on Monday, which met with great interest and attracted over 70 participants. Furthermore, various topics were discussed in so-called bar camps.
The new funding programme "KRACH - Kreativraum Chemnitz", which aims to support companies in the cultural and creative industries in the start-up process, was presented for the first time. The programme will soon be put out to tender across Europe. The city will support start-ups by providing rent-free premises, financial assistance during the start-up phase and advice from a network of experts.