The Gesellschaft der Neuen Auftraggeber, Society of the New Patrons in Germany, has been awarded the KULTURGESTALTEN Prize for the Future of Cultural Policy in the category "Initiative and Network Projects" on behalf of the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media on Thursday 8 July 2021.

With the award of this new prize, the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft e.V. recognises exemplary initiatives and outstanding practical examples of forward-looking cultural policy. The award aims to draw new attention to innovative cultural policy practices, visions and guidelines and to make visible the special social commitment associated with them. The Future Prize is awarded every two years in the three categories "Individual Projects", "Initiative and Network Projects" and "Local Self-Government Projects" and is endowed with a total of 15,000 euros.

"The Neue Auftraggeber are an innovative and participatory model for cultural policy oriented towards current socio-political needs, which enables a democratic process of culture by all for all. This approach offers a thematically open format for the concrete shaping of the discourse and is scalable. The project has a broad impact through its work in several model regions throughout Germany."

Dr Tobias Knoblich, President of the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft, in his speech motivating the jury's decision.

"We are extremely pleased to be awarded the Future Prize," said Alexander Koch, Director of the New Patrons Society in Germany. "It goes to an entire network of citizens' groups, cultural workers and their partners, whom we as the New Patrons Society accompany and support in reshaping a piece of the environment and community with ambitious project plans."

"This important award to the New Patrons makes us optimistic that this project will serve as a model for a democratic culture with high artistic standards in Germany. The Kulturstiftung des Bundes sees this as recognition of a successful collaboration between art and politics, in which the interests of civil society are the criterion for its actions."

Hortensia Völckers, Artistic Director of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Federal Cultural Foundation).

KULTURGESTALTEN Prize

This new prize is intended to reward exemplary initiatives in forward-looking cultural policy. The award is given to projects and initiatives in which interdepartmental and interdisciplinary strategies have been developed, structural and content-related experiments have been ventured, groundbreaking requirements for cultural policy and planning have been defined, innovative approaches have been developed and new target groups or communities have been reached. The award aims to highlight their commitment and to create a new awareness of these practices, visions and guiding principles of cultural policy.

The Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft thus responds to processes of social change such as digitalisation, diversity and climate protection, and supports the necessary adaptation of all areas of cultural action, for example by changing sponsorships, establishing new collaborations, developing contemporary programming and updating processes of monitoring, financing, communication and participation.

KuPoGe

The Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft e.V. (KuPoGe), founded in 1976, is a nationwide, politically independent association of individuals and organisations interested in and committed to cultural policy. It is the platform for cultural policy in Germany, advocating the principle that "cultural policy is social policy".