Claudia Roth and culture, that is obvious. Many anecdotes come to mind about sociable, cheerful, thoughtful encounters. More likely than with the previous Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters, whom Roth is now to inherit. One of them remembers a concert with the anarcho rockers Clay stones shards in the eighties, when he saw her backstage as their manager, another was sitting next to the Bundestag deputy waving a mug on the VIP balcony at the Oktoberfest tapping. A particularly large number of experiences are being told in their constituency of Augsburg. On request, your office team cannot quantify the exact number of events attended by the Green politician in a non-Corona year.
But it is important to her to take advantage of the many different offers in her constituency, they say there and count, for example, “cinemas, open-air theaters, festivals and concerts, the peace festival with its accompanying program, cultural receptions, exhibitions and premieres, as well as industrial culture and that as Unesco World Heritage Excellent Water Management System “(of which Roth acts as patron).
On many of these occasions up to the CSD, cultural advisor Jürgen Enninger has seen them, and always “affectionate, empathic, interested, open, enthusiastic”. Immediately after taking office, she was one of the first to come by on her own initiative. A fun Corona distance photo was taken, which Enninger has just posted on Facebook in anticipation of “many points of contact”.
As in Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam”, her index fingers are approaching … Yes, he thinks she is great, “not only as a cultural advisor, but also as a gay man. It is breathtaking what moved her for our scene.” And this openness and diversity, which they understand and live in culture, in queer, migrant, pop and clubs, federally and across the board. “This is a huge opportunity.”
Roth campaigned for culture as a “democracy-relevant” factor
André Bücker, director of the Augsburg State Theater, also sees Roth as “exactly the right person for this position”. He has known her for a long time, she often goes to the theater, she is a competent conversationalist. “Above all, it now has the task of supporting the artists, the free ones as well as the institutions, to emphasize their importance in the overall social context. It is important that the meaning of art is redefined.” Although the Augsburg theater occasionally receives federal funding (about two years ago for the South Africa project or for digital projects), Bücker does not believe “that Claudia Roth is now promoting Augsburg artists out of pure local patriotism”. She is not “the Christmas woman”.
At the municipal cultural reception in Augsburg, which was a video switch this year, Roth did not promise any gifts specifically for Augsburg in the federal election campaign mode. In general, she advocated culture as a “democracy-relevant” factor that needs a “crisis-proof structure”: “It must become a compulsory task, it must also have consequences for the municipalities,” she said. Roth demanded, for example, gender-equitable, generally appropriate minimum fees for artists, including for urban projects.
That was well received by those affected. Susanne Reng, director of the Junge Theater Augsburg, attests that she has a big heart for the independent scene. “We are very committed to her and are extremely pleased about her appointment,” she says. Roth has been a guest at the Junge Theater several times, which also sees itself as a citizens’ stage. For their theater production project “Music in the Blood !?” She even acted as a patron in 2019/20, witnessed how the corona pandemic forced the theater to rethink the project and develop podcasts instead of a stage production. Reng hopes that Roth will manage to “focus more on the independent scene”. But she also has a fear: “Probably she will no longer be able to show up in person because she will have more appointments than before.”
“In these times it is important for someone to act as a strong advocate”
This is also feared by Kathrin Mädler, director of the Schwaben State Theater in Memmingen. Claudia Roth has known the house for a long time from her own experience, after all, after her first internship in the school holidays after graduating from high school in 1974, she sat in as a dramaturgy and assistant director. A year and a half ago she almost came back to the theater to discuss sustainability, in keeping with a play that Mädler had planned. “That was all broken up because of Corona,” says Mädler, “and now we will probably not get them any more.” Regardless of this, she believes Roth is exactly the right person to lead the necessary debate about the existential importance of culture for the cohesion of society. “I trust her to have an integrative moment when the distribution struggles within the cultural scene start after the pandemic.”
Karl Borromäus Murr, director of the State Textile and Industry Museum (tim), knows: “But she likes our house.” Murr, who also sits on the city’s cultural advisory board, knows about the needs of independent artists and amateur stages. Everyone needed support, and many were facing an existential end. “In these times it is important for someone to act as a strong advocate.” His house would also benefit from nationwide funding programs.
Christof Trepesch, director of the art collections and museums in Augsburg, has seen Roth personally several times. “As Bundestag Vice-President, she actively promoted our exhibition program and opened several exhibitions here, including, for example, ‘Magic from the Roof of the World’ with jewelry objects from Tibet.” With their support, works by regional and international artists who were represented in exhibitions at the Augsburg Art Collections were also purchased for the collection of the German Bundestag. “We very much hope that Claudia Roth will continue to support and promote the Augsburg art and culture scene in her new role.”