Foto: Celia Maria Schmidt © NRWKS

International Visitors Programme 2025

The NRW Kultursekretariat's International Visitors Programme offers cultural professionals, journalists, curators and festival directors from all over the world a wide range of insights into the cultural scene in NRW and the opportunity to make contacts for collaborations. Six programmes on various topics are being planned for 2025.

Since 2009, the NRW KULTURsekretariat's International Visitors Programme has been offering cultural professionals, journalists, curators and festival directors from all over the world a wide range of insights into the cultural scene in North Rhine-Westphalia and the opportunity to make contacts for future collaborations.

Six programmes are currently planned for 2025 in the areas of time-based media, music, photography, contemporary drama, children's and youth theatre and independent theatre

The first visitors programme of the year on the occasion of the VIDEONALE.20 starts in April. Curators, museum directors and multipliers from the fields of video and time-based media will visit the 40th edition of the festival in Bonn from 9 to 14 April. In addition to the VIDEONALE events, the guests will meet curators and artists for talks and visit other institutions in these fields in other cities in NRW.

The c/o pop Festival and Convention in Cologne are on the programme for the visitors' trip from 22 to 27 April. In addition to attending festival concerts, the participants will also take part in other c/o pop-related events in order to engage in dialogue with regional players and the international specialist audience. Meetings with institutions from the pop music sector in Cologne and NRW are also planned, as well as discussions with the organisers and musicians of c/o pop.

International curators, festival directors and specialist journalists from the field of photography will be coming to NRW from 14 to 19 May to visit the biennial photography festival Photoszene in Cologne. Talks are planned with the artists and curators of the festival as well as other players and institutions from the field of photography in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Contemporary German-language drama has been at the centre of the Mülheim ‘Stücke’ since 1976. On the occasion of the 50th Mülheimer Theater Tage, from 27 May to 1 June, organisers, artistic directors, dramaturges and directors from the field of contemporary theatre are invited to meet translators, directors, authors and the festival team as part of a visitors programme and, among other things, to get to know the international workshop ‘Theater Übersetzen’.

From 30 May to 7 June, international visitors will be guests at the Westwind Festival in Düsseldorf. As part of the programme, they will not only attend events of the 41st Theatertreffen für junges Publikum NRW, but also meet experts and organisers from the children's and youth theatre sector in NRW and exchange ideas with the festival artists and organisers.

The last visitors programme of the summer will be dedicated to the Impulse Theater Festival from 17 to 22 June. The most important festival of the independent performance, theatre and dance scene in the DACH region for 35 years will be held for the first time in 2025 with a new concept under the artistic direction of Franziska Werner. In addition to attending the performances in Mülheim an der Ruhr, the programme includes an exchange with the festival team, networking with other international festival guests and visits to independent theatres in the region.


Programmes

VIDEONALE.20: 40 Years of the Festival for Video and Time-based Media
9 to 14 April 2025, Bonn
v20.videonale.org

c/o pop Festival and Convention 2025
22 to 27 April 2025, Cologne
www.c-o-pop.de

Photoszene-Festival 2025
14 to 19 May 2025, Cologne
www.photoszene.de

50th Mülheimer Theatertage – The Forum for Contemporary German-language Drama
27 May to 1 June 2025, Mülheim an der Ruhr
www.stuecke.de

Westwind Festival 2025 – 41st Theatre Festival for Young Audiences NRW
Six days in the period from 30 May to 7 June 2025, Düsseldorf
www.westwind-festival.de

Impulse Theater Festival 2025
17 to 22 June 2025, Mülheim an der Ruhr
www.impulsefestival.de