Culture.Care.

For a long time, there was a prejudice that family and art were difficult to reconcile—an “either/or” situation. The Culture.Care project was created to change this and promote the compatibility of both areas under good conditions. It is supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) as part of its “Change in Work” funding guideline.
Measures are being implemented at seven model theaters to sustainably improve working conditions for theater professionals with care responsibilities. The basis for this is a catalog of measures that contains concrete proposals for structural changes in organizational development and care management at theaters. This catalog was published in 2024 by the project sponsor Bühnenmütter* e. V.
The proposed measures aim to explicitly anchor the compatibility of care and gainful employment and their appreciation at both the operational and legislative levels, for example through company or staff agreements. These include flexible working hours, parent-friendly rehearsal schedules and childcare services, improved communication, awareness-raising measures, and infrastructural adjustments such as breastfeeding rooms.
At the start of the project, the current situation at the seven theaters will be analyzed using surveys and interviews in order to accurately assess the existing structures. Based on this, a transformation concept will be developed together with exempt employees, project leaders, managers, and the workforce. Workshops and individual training sessions will then be organized for the entire workforce. The planned measures will be implemented step by step and continuously accompanied by reflection rounds.
Finally, the results will be evaluated and published. A concluding conference with all participants and the public will disseminate the findings and anchor the most successful approaches—with the aim of promoting structural changes for a socially sustainable future and care-friendly businesses.