Kunst und Kultur brauchen unsere Stimme! – Demo der Freien Szene

In the organizer's words:

On 1 October 2024 at 2 pm, Cologne's independent cultural scene is calling on all artists, event organizers and cultural workers from all trades to demonstrate on Theo-Burauen-Platz to send a clear signal against the existential threat to the city's professional art and cultural scene on the occasion of the council meeting. If the budget cuts in culture planned for the coming years in the city, state and federal government are actually implemented, many independent institutions and groups, artists and projects will be on the brink of extinction. This would cause massive and lasting damage to a pillar of the city's cultural and social life that has grown over decades.

The independent arts and culture scene makes the city vibrant and worth living in with its outstanding artistic achievements, the diversity and creativity of its projects and its enormous civic commitment. It promotes cultural education and social processes, productive local networks and sustainable international cooperation - and thus makes a major contribution to the perception of Cologne as an outstanding cultural location in Germany. The initiatives of the independent cultural scene in particular have made Cologne known as a creative and vibrant city far beyond its borders. They must not be jeopardized. We cannot and will not afford a new provincialism!