The Association

Kulturland Brandenburg - The Theme Years - The Network
In its function as an overarching campaign, Kulturland Brandenburg conceives and organizes cultural, yearly theme-oriented projects in Brandenburg in cooperation with a wide array of partners. These partners and projects evince an intersection of science, (cultural) education, and tourism. The goal is to raise public awareness of the region’s cultural legacy and cultural diversity via various thematic foci that can be experienced time and again both visitors and inhabitants alike (internal and external marketing).Every year, the association Kulturland Brandenburg e.V. issues a call for proposals to cultural agents, institutions, and initiatives active in the state of Brandenburg to participate in the current theme year with a suitable project concept. More detailed information can be found under the rubric “Ausblick“ (“Outlook”).

The Themes

1998 “Theodor Fontane” and “Zisterzienser (“Ordo Cisterciensis”) in Brandenburg“
1999 “Brandenburg and the House of Orange”
2000 “Stations of Industrial Culture”
2001 “300 Years Prussia”
2002 “Romanticism”
2003 “Europe is Here!“
2004 “Landscape and Gardens“
2005 “Heaven on Earth. 1000 Years of Christianity in Brandenburg”
2006 “Horizons. Kulturland Brandenburg 2006 The Culture of Architecture“
2007 “Kulturland Brandenburg 2007 | Focus: Water“
2008 “Province and Metropolis-Metropolis | Province”
2009 "Democrazy and Democratization Movements"
2010 "Women in Brandenburg" (working title)

Kulturland Brandenburg is a network of cultural networks
Kulturland Brandenburg fosters, supports, and qualifies the cultural infrastructure in the state. In addition, it targets and initiates cooperative projects as well as interdepartmental and interdisciplinary approaches. By means of networking, cooperative efforts, and regional, i.e., thematic collaborative projects, the association has been successful in generating synergy and in focusing resources. In addition, Kulturland Brandenburg establishes networks between the agents and the activities of the state of Brandenburg and projects and institutions not only of other German federal states, but also of other nations. The main foci are the federal state of Berlin and the neighboring European country, Poland. As an umbrella brand name, Kulturland Brandenburg gives conceptual impulses, and by means of acquisitions of resources from third parties, it oversees cooperative projects both in terms of content and organization. What is more, the association offers its own infrastructure and network as a platform for exchange and cooperation within these fields.An additional central task of Kulturland Brandenburg comprises the conception of comprehensive image marketing for the Theme Years and also on site support and overseeing of agents in their relative press- and public relations. Included herewith is the designing of their print materials, which are oriented on a binding corporate design of the respective theme year.One of Kulturland Brandenburg’s primary conceptual goals is to design the yearly themes with a historical reference, a contemporary historical perspective, and current topics or even challenges-e.g., urban redesign and demographic and economic developments in the Theme Years of 2004 and 2006. This means that the concrete regional and local reference plays a major role. It is not about arbitrarily selecting a theme. Rather, it has to do with exactly how the theme is reflected in personalities, places, and events-and in Brandenburg’s social, political, and economic contexts-and with making these connections visible. It is about creating identity in the region and, by means of this identity and the region’s strengths, about motivating visitors to discover Brandenburg, its culture, and its diversity.Within the framework of the Theme Years, all artistic directions are addressed and various types of events are developed. This is reflected in an increasing differentiation of events, addressing various target groups, a broader integration of partners, and the realization of cooperative projects. The strengthening and targeted fostering of group-, cooperative-, and interdepartmental projects thus compose a focus of the program. In the same vein, the association continuously strives to advance networks with Berlin and other regions. Also, it focuses on products, cooperative endeavors, and structures which, for purposes of sustainability, are future-oriented and which can be developed further.From 2000 to 2005, Kulturland Brandenburg‘s Theme Years were supported by the federal government, the Commission for Culture and Media, and the Brandenburg State Ministry for Science, Research, and Culture.Since 2006, Kulturland Brandenburg has been supported by the Brandenburg State Ministry for Science, Research, and Culture as well as by the Brandenburg State Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development Planning.The Theme Years can be realized thanks to the gracious support of the Brandenburg Savings Institutions, together with the Endowment of East German Savings Intitutions in the State of Brandenburg.Kulturland Brandenburg has initiated, moderates, directs, and coordinates several networks: Gartenland Brandenburg e.V. .

The goal of this association is to foster the development of the culture of gardens in the State of Brandenburg. This network of gardens, which came into being as a result of the 2004 Theme Year, should make the general population aware of the value of gardens and parks and, under the umbrella brand name, make Brandenburg known as a “Gartenland” (“Garden State”) of the first rank. The forum, which had previously been active on an informal basis, was formally institutionalized in mid-May 2006 with the founding of the association Gartenland Brandenburg e.V. (www.gartenland-brandenburg.de).Arbeitskreis der Kulturämter im Land Brandenburg (“Council of Cultural Offices in the State of Brandenburg”)
The Arbeitskreis der Kulturämter (AKK) is an informal task force in the State of Brandenburg that has been meeting biannually at workshops for over ten years. The Council has established itself as one of the most important sites of exchange and cooperation between the cultural administrative offices. Kulturland Brandenburg advises the AKK on the conceptual and organizational levels.Tage der Offenen Ateliers (“Ateliers’ Open House Days”).

A project of the AKK is the organization and realization of the “Ateliers’ Open House Day.” The Ateliers’ Open House Day is a regional cooperative project. Twice a year, artists from Brandenburg invite an interested public to come and watch the artists as they work, ask the artists questions, and acquire works of art. In addition, in individual regions, the artists’ offerings are enhanced by means of an overarching cultural-touristic program. The Ateliers’ Open House Day is an important project that supports artists as they try to make a living under difficult circumstances.Cultural Portal of the State of Brandenburg
Kulturland Brandenburg is the provider of the cultural portal of the State of Brandenburg (www.kulturportal-brandenburg.de).FSJ Kulturim Land Brandenburg (“Voluntary Social Year for Culture in the State of Brandenburg”)
Kulturland Brandenburg helped kick off the initiative Voluntary Social Year for Culture (FSJ Kultur) in the State of Brandenburg. In the FSJ Kultur, young people between the ages of 16 and 27 get involved and volunteer for twelve months at cultural institutions. On the basis of the FSJ law, young people can combine social and cultural involvement with their additional personal and professional education. In this way, Kulturland Brandenburg acts as a nationwide “meeting point” for the State of Brandenburg and is also the platform for active participants in Brandenburg (www.fsjkultur.de).BRANDENBURG: Journal for Culture, History, and Nature Kulturland Brandenburg and its partner of many years, the House of Brandenburg-Prussian History, are this journal’s co-editors. With its broad spectrum of topics, the journal appeals to those interested readers who want to learn more about the State of Brandenburg’s culture, history, and nature. The journal’s goal is to better familiarize the people in Brandenburg with its history, current affairs, and (future) perspectives. The journal should provide the State’s visitors with a wide spectrum of information and also pique interest in discovering Brandenburg’s cities and different regions (www.zeitschrift-brandenburg.de).

Kulturland Brandenburg-A Network of Culture and Tourism
A central prerequisite for the synergetic linking of the branches of culture and tourism comprise both the timely initial conceptual planning for the umbrella campaigns and the coordination and the networking of cultural agents. In cooperation with Tourismus Marketing Brandenburg GmbH (TMB), successive constructive and transparent communication- and work structures have emerged. These structures have made it possible to coordinate both conceptual/content-based and organizational processes in both branches as well as to integrate cultural projects in TMB’s marketing. TMB and Kulturland Brandenburg are represented on each other’s various boards. In 2005, they made a cooperative agreement that is carried out and brought to life every year via concrete steps within the framework of an agreed-upon marketing plan. The project “Cultural Travel in the State of Brandenburg,” which is supported both organizationally and financially by the Brandenburg State Ministry for Science, Research, and Culture, has been particularly successful in the past three years not only in sensitizing the respective partners in culture and tourism to each other’s concerns, but also in defining criteria for the touristic marketability of cultural products. These products serve as the basis upon which suitable event formats and cultural-touristic packages can be developed. In this process, Kulturland Brandenburg has taken on the task of strengthening and moderating regional and local networks between cultural and touristic partners.For the sake of unity, Kulturland Brandenburg strives to support local and regional value-added processes within the framework of the Theme Years as well as the various networks.

INNOPUNKT 14
In accordance with the call for proposals of the Brandenburg State Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social- and Women’s Affairs via the State Agency for Structure and Labor (LASA) for the so-called “Innopunkt-Campaign 14,” Kulturland Brandenburg, under the motto “Alliances between Culture and Economy,” applied with a project for the further development of cultural tourism. Competing against five other applicants, Kulturland Brandenburg was awarded the bid. The project is called “Offensives of Qualification and the Development of Regional Networks-Cultural Travel in the State of Brandenburg” and will be carried out in cooperation with Lorenz Tourismusberatung GmbH. The project, which will last for a total of two years, should open communication between active persons in culture and economy based on regional structures in the State of Brandenburg. It also deals with qualifying and coaching with an eye on needs and practical experience as well as with developing structures and platforms that can be sustained after the project has ended. Concrete cultural-touristic projects, products, and packages should result which can be marketed together in accordance with the focal points of State tourism. This requires SWOT-analyses and the targeted setting of priorities. These can only be transformed into concrete, future-oriented action together with all involved parties.

www.lasa-brandenburg.de