Rethinking funding practices in contemporary dance, or what do artists really need?

Moderator: Dr. Kerstin Evert
Speaker:
- Dr. Ursula Sinnreich, Secretary-General Kunststiftung NRW, Düsseldorf
- Trevor Carlson, Trustee, Merce Cunningham Trust
- Jean-Marc Diébold, director Bureau du Théâtre et de la Danse Institut français Allemagne
- Katrín Hall, Choreographer and artistic director of GöteborgsOperans Danskompani
- Pia Krämer, artistic director, O Espaço do Tempo
- Jan Martens, Choreographer - factory artist at tanzhaus nrw

Funding bodies fine-tune their profile by setting out clear funding guidelines and precise project requirements. This fosters diversity in performing arts production, but it also has a highly restrictive effect. But where does that leave us, if a project is no longer based on a performance idea, but rather a funding body’s requirement? In conjunction with the Kunststiftung NRW arts foundation, Tanzmesse brings together a think tank of choreographers and funding bodies from around the world to pose the fundamental question: What does dance need? A plea for greater freedom in arts funding!