“Culture Leads!” Event Series on Cultural Leadership
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Digitalization, demographic change, the climate crisis, and increasing pressure on democratic structures are currently posing profound challenges for cultural organizations and their leaders. As resources become scarcer and the political landscape shifts, there is a growing desire—and pressure—to actively participate in processes of social change. How can leadership succeed under these conditions? What skills do cultural institutions need to remain effective? And how can decisions be made when no option seems truly “right”? The Rhineland Regional Council (LVR) and the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Council (LWL), in cooperation with the Cultural Leadership Fellowship Program at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama (HfMT), will address these questions starting in the fall of 2026 in the event series “Culture Leads! – Cultural Leadership in Practice.”
The series focuses on the concept of cultural leadership as an approach to leadership that takes the unique dynamics of cultural organizations seriously and views their social responsibility as a starting point. In three digital lunch web talks, the founders of the Cultural Leadership Fellowship Program, Martin Zierold and Marlene Troidl (HfMT Hamburg), will explore key aspects of this approach: fundamental questions of leadership in cultural organizations, dealing with conflicting decision-making situations, and ways to maintain creative freedom with limited resources. In all three talks, guests with practical experience will contribute their own insights and perspectives. On January 22, 2027, a Barcamp in Bonn will conclude the series.
The series kicks off on October 5 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. with the web talk “Fundamental Questions of Leadership.” Together with Jasmin Vogel (Executive Director of the Kulturforum Witten), the discussion will focus on the core tasks of leadership in cultural organizations and the question of how leadership skills can be developed. Participants will be presented with a practical example they can use to reflect on their own leadership roles.
On November 9 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. , the web talk “Leadership—Deciding on Indecidable Questions: Problem, Restriction, Dilemma” will take place. Dr. Christina Ludwig (Director of the Dresden City Museum) focuses on situations where there are conflicting goals and no decision seems unequivocally “right.” The focus is on the question of where there is room for creativity and where the challenge lies instead in finding a coherent way to deal with restrictions.
The third web talk, “Shaping the Future with Scarce Resources,” will take place on December 7 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. . Dr. Birgit Schneider-Bönninger (Commissioner for Culture and Sports of the City of Bonn) and Steven Walter (Artistic Director of the Beethovenfest Bonn) will draw on their practical experience to address the question of how cultural organizations can maintain creative freedom, refine their mission, and preserve their social impact despite stagnating or declining funding.
All three web talks will take place digitally via Zoom. Participation is free of charge.
On January 22, 2027 , the series concludes with the “Barcamp: Cultural Leadership in a Crisis—Exchange, Case Studies & Networking” in Bonn. This in-person event combines expert insights with a Barcamp format—that is, an open conference without a fixed agenda, where participants help shape the program and content themselves. They can share their own experiences and expertise, raise questions within the collaborative space, and discuss current topics together. Ideas, topics, and case studies will be collected in advance and can also be submitted on the day of the event itself.
Further information about the event series and registration is available at this LINK:
Background
The series “Culture Leads! Cultural Leadership in Practice—Cultural Conversations 2026” builds on the event series “Culture Under Pressure—Cultural Conversations 2025” organized by LWL and LVR. While the 2025 series focused on issues surrounding democracy education, democracy outreach, and addressing hostility in the cultural sector, the 2026 series will examine leadership and the capacity for action within cultural organizations under challenging social and financial conditions.
The partners for the 2026 Cultural Dialogues are the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL), the Regional Association of Rhineland (LVR), and the Cultural Leadership Fellowship Program at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama (HfMT) (www.leading-culture.de).