About Us

Together with the 21 cities and one regional association as well as other municipal, supraregional and international cultural partners, the NRWKS, based in Wuppertal, initiates, promotes and organizes a wide range of programs, projects and events in the fields of theater, music, visual arts, literature and dance - often cross-disciplinary and experimental.

The focus is on international and digital culture as well as the topics of diversity and interculture.

In a cooperative, dialogic and participatory way, NRWKS connects actors and multipliers from all cultural fields, provides impulses in cultural-political discourses and also participates in the initiative DIE VIELEN for the increasingly threatened freedom of art.

Hand in hand with the state

As part of its international activities, the NRWKS coordinates the International Visitors Program in close cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Also in cooperation with the NRW Ministry of Culture, NRWKS has been managing the New Paths profile funding for municipal theaters and orchestras in NRW since the end of 2018.

In addition, the NRW Ministry of Culture provides the NRWKS with special annual funding for the New Music Theater Fund.

Structure and funding

The NRWKS consists of a team of permanent and freelance employees who organize and coordinate the program work in close cooperation with the individual cultural partners, accompanied by selection committees, advisory boards and juries. Chairwoman: Dr. Christiane Zangs, Neuss; Deputy Chairman: Jörg Stüdemann, Dortmund. Director: Dr. Christian Esch.

The work is steered by the committees Working Committee and Plenary Assembly. In addition, there is a regular program committee at the working level of the participating municipalities. Numerous programs and projects are discussed and decided in advisory boards, juries and boards of trustees.

The institution NRWKS is financed by its partner cities, while project funding is provided by the state of NRW, but program-related funding is also provided by foundations and other sponsors at state and federal level. Funding is provided within the framework of a program adopted annually by the plenary assembly of member cities.

With the declaration published on November 9, 2018, DIE VIELEN NRW want to clearly articulate the cohesion in art and culture as part of civil society against right-wing populist as well as völkisch-nationalist currents.

With this declaration, the creators of art and culture are sending a socio-political signal that intervenes in our daily practice. Together, in NRW and nationwide, we show our stance for tolerance, diversity and respect.

The NRW KULTURsekretariat is one of the first signatories of the declaration.

The NRW Declaration of  DIE VIELEN can be downloaded >>here.

The final declaration of DIE VIELEN from 17.11.2019 for download.

Current information on activities of DIE VIELEN can always be found here.

Since 2005, the NRW KULTURsekretariat has turned its annual programs into an art space for predominantly serial works by selected artists.

You can browse through the brochures from 2005 to 2021 by clicking on the respective link.

2021 – Hanna Noh: »An Uncontacted Tribe«
2020 – Herlinde Koelbl: »Colors of Myanmar«
2019 – Juergen Staack: »WEI«
2018 – Thomas Hawranke: »OOB«
2017 – Josef Schulz: »Übergang«
2016 – Udo Dziersk: »Tagesnotizen«
2015 – Eugen Egner: »Die gebrüllhafte Geweihserie«
2014 – 40 Jahre NRWKS
2013 – Yeondoo Jung: »DOCUMENTARY NOSTALGIA«
2012 – V. A. Wölfl: »VA WÖLFL 95%«
2011 – Freya Hattenberger: »Metaphorical Staircase«
2010 – Régis Perray: »Tapis et Tissus. Patrimoine de la cité Malakoff«
2009 – Franziskus Wendels
2008 – Aksel Zeydan Göz: »Rain in NRW«
2007 – Ferhat Özgur Kale: »santralistanbul«
2006 – Ben Plefka: »Lebensraum«
2005 – Nevin Aladağ: »Der Mann, der über seinen Schatten springen wollte«