German Federal Cultural Foundation helping Hans Otto Theatre, among other institutions, tackle climate change
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Germany’s federal ministry of culture has launched a €3 million pilot project, called Zero – sponsoring the Hans Otto Theatre in Potsdam and 25 other cultural institutions across the country to completely restructure their creative modus operandi.
Through Fund Zero, the German Federal Cultural Foundation seeks to support cultural institutions in testing climate-neutral forms of production and improved aesthetics of ecological sustainability, according to a press release.
During a meeting in September, the Zero expert jury recommended 26 projects for funding with a total volume of €3.04 million. In order to promote knowledge transfer within and beyond the programme, regional network meetings and academies are planned in Zero until 2025.
Hans Otto embracing changes to fight climate change
In order to make a model contribution to climate protection within the framework of the programme, the 26 projects selected will pursue the target path to climate neutrality along the sequence “avoid, reduce, compensate.”
Using a green source of electricity in 2022 had already improved the Hans Otto Theatre’s carbon footprint, reducing its annual 661 tonnes of emissions, or the “equivalent of 66 households”, by more than 10%, but did not go far enough, said Marcel Klett, the managing director.
No aspect of the process of making a play has been left unturned. From reducing travel (rehearsals are longer but less frequent to reduce journeys) to lighting (switching to LED bulbs), Klett said that “everything has come in for scrutiny”, reported the Guardian.
Pilot project’s success largely depends on the audience
Statistics from the German culture ministry suggest that less than a third of state-funded theatres in the country produce a climate impact report. But most will be required to do so from next year, under EU legislation that will to treat theatres the same as big commercial enterprises.
Marcel Klett, the managing director of Hans Otto Theatre, is appealing to local politicians to embrace the project by sponsoring the erection of solar panels on the theatre’s roof. But the success of the project largely depends on the audience.
Even though 20% of its theatergoers already arrive on foot or by bike, travel remains Hans Otto’s single biggest polluting factor. In response, theatre tickets are set to double up as public transport passes before and after the play.
Institutions receiving funding as part of Fund Zero
Some of the projects funded by Zero also address climate change and its origins, including a production of Thomas Köck’s “eure paläste sind leer (all we ever wanted) at the Hans Otto Theatre, which links man-made climate change and European colonialism together.
Institutions receiving funding as part of Fund Zero
Theatre:
- Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Berlin
- State Theatre Braunschweig
- Giessen City Theatre
- Theater of the Young World, Leipzig
- Theater Regensburg
- Theater Oberhausen
- German National Theatre and State Orchestra Weimar
- Düsseldorf Playhouse
- Hans Otto Theater, Potsdam
- State Theater of Saxony
- Palatinate Theatre Kaiserlautern
Musical theatre:
- Neuköllner Opera, Berlin
- Leipzig Opera
- Wuppertal Theater and Symphony Orchestra
Music :
- Cultural Center Pavillon (Citizens’ Initiative Raschplatz), Hanover
- Tonhalle Dusseldorf
Dance:
- HAU Hebbel am Ufer
- Hellerau – European Centre for the Arts, Dresden
- Dance Theatre Wuppertal Pina Bausch
Cultural history:
- LWL Museum of Archaeology (Westphalian State Museum), Herne
Literature:
- Pankow City Library
- Tübingen City Library
Fine arts:
- Museum Ludwig, Cologne
- New Society for Fine Arts (nGbK), Berlin
- Foundation Gallery for Contemporary Art Leipzig (GfZK)
- Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen
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