FEDERAL THEATER PRIZE 2021

For the fourth time, the Federal Theatre Prize was awarded to small and medium-sized theatres in Germany by Monika Grütters, former Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Eleven theatres were selected by a jury of experts. They each received 75,000 € for their outstanding artistic programme. The basis for this decision was the first half of the 2019/2020 season. A special focus of the 2021 Federal Theatre Prize was on addressing the pandemic.

IN 2021, THE JURY CONSISTED OF:

• Elisabeth Bohde
• Marie Bues
• Sophie Diesselhorst
• Roland H. Dippel
• Dorte Lena Eilers
• Mazlum Nergiz
• Dorothee Starke

THE PRIZE WINNERS WERE:

Prize Ceremony

The Prize Ceremony took place on 08 July from 19:00-20:30 hybrid at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, and via live stream. You can find the programme of the prize ceremony here.

A recording of the event can be found below.

#dialograumtheater: The symposium accompanying the prize 2021

How do theatres succeed in integrating themselves into urban society as social spaces of the public sphere? This question accompanied the symposium and - in view of the challenges of the Corona pandemic - became even more topical. How can theatres hold their ground in the face of lockdown measures? How do they remain visible and be heard when the stages are closed? What impulses - artistic, discursive, political - can they provide in digital space or with projects in urban space? What does social change mean after the Corona crisis? And what central role can and must art and culture play in social dialogue?

These questions were discussed in the context of the hybrid symposium #dialograumtheater not only with actors from dance and theatre, but also reflected and commented on with perspectives from other areas of society - from education, church, media, business and science. In doing so, three fields of action of theatre work were addressed: places of irritation, reflection and vision. The symposium took place on site and was streamed on July 08 at the Academy of Arts.

A recording of the event can be viewed below.

Touring exhibition: Theatre work beyond the metropolises

Following the 2021 Federal Theatre Prize, the ITI organised a touring exhibition that was shown in nine of the most recent prize-winning theatres in the spring and summer of 2022. Under the title "Dialogue and confrontation, transformation and strengthening - theatre work beyond the metropolises", the exhibition attempted to provide an insight into the work of the prize-winning theatres in a small space and at the same time to make the understanding of theatre work as dialogue tangible in the broadest sense and to create an offer to contribute one's own perspectives. The travelling exhibition was available to all visitors as a fold-out box format. In addition to a digital Theatre Prize archive, it also offered video formats and interactive modules.

More information can be found here.