Cultural Policy Salon

As director of the Forum Zukunft Kultur of the Stiftung Zukunft Berlin, Andreas Richter, together with Christophe Knoch, a member of the Foundation’s Board, will moderate the next Cultural Policy Salon in Berlin.

Berlin’s cultural policy is currently facing considerable challenges. Budget cuts, changing social expectations, increasingly scarce spaces for artistic production, and growing international competition among Europe’s cultural capitals are presenting new challenges for policymakers and cultural institutions alike.

What are the challenges facing Berlin today? What role should culture play in the city’s future? And which cultural policy decisions appear particularly important from today’s perspective?

It is worth looking back, because Berlin’s cultural policy has had to repeatedly redefine its direction over the past four decades, and many of the issues being debated today have clear historical precedents.

Against this backdrop, several personalities who have helped shape these developments over many years and from a range of political positions have been invited to the panel. Among them are Volker Hassemer, Thomas Flierl and Klaus Lederer, three former Berlin Senators for Culture.

11 September 2026, 7:00 p.m., Chamber Music Hall, Philharmonie Berlin
CULTURAL POLICY SALON — What Kind of Cultural Policy Does Berlin Need?
Volker Hassemer, Senator for Culture and Senator for Urban Development / Thomas Flierl, Senator for Science, Research and Culture / André Schmitz, State Secretary for Cultural Affairs / Sabine Bangert, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs / Klaus Lederer, Senator for Culture and Europe