Culture for All

picture credit: Kulturpass.net

Kulturpolitische Mitteilungen, Heft 133, II/2011

A culture voucher for disadvantaged groups in Frankfurt/Main

 In Frankfurt alone there are more than 80 000 people who live below the poverty line. At the same time, the ticket prices for museums, theaters, opera, cinema and concerts have risen substantially. The people who face enough problems in their daily fight for survival are hence effectively excluded from participation in the arts.

In 2008, the Culture for All (Kultur für Alle) was founded and within a short period of time it had tremendous success thanks to its ambitious and seducing goal. The association issues a voucher-like card that can be purchased for 1 Euro (50 cents for kids) and that allows the holder to attend cultural events.

The association is negotiating with various culture venues to accept card holders to their events. Partly they are given the seats that could not be sold, but meanwhile there are a number of venues who reserve a part of their seats for card-holders. In a short period of time, Culture for All managed to issue more than 4000 cards and the list of participating organizations is growing. More than 150 of them, among which the Academy of the Berliner Philharmonic, the Radio Hessen Philharmonic, the Frankfurt Opera and almost all Frankfurt museums are on the list, which is being continuously updated and is accessible on the website www.kulturpass.net.

Culture for All sees their mission not just as mere philanthropy, but as an education project that helps to bring people, who were forced to grow up having no access to arts and culture, closer to the arts. Because what would become of a society where 15% of the population have no access to arts and culture?

The association, whose motto is: “One has to afford a little culture, even if one can’t afford it.” is run exclusively by volunteers. Its founder received in 2009 the “Everyday Hero” award of the Berliner Tageszeitung  and the association was voted as one of the 365 “places of ideas” in the framework of the 2010 initiative “Germany: Land of Ideas”. All this speaks of the public recognition of an innovative idea that is exemplary for Germany.

Source: Kulturpolitische Mitteilungen, Heft 133, II/2011

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