Working area
Arts & Culture
Opening up
new perspectives for society
We are strengthening art that voices objections,
demonstrates alternatives and stimulates dialog in society.
Societies are becoming increasingly polarized, although they need to foster communication and cooperation. Since art has repeatedly motivated us to work along the fault lines of society, we firmly believe that confident cultural scenes have a decisive influence on sustainable development. Artists create spaces and spark debates in which a society communicates about itself and its future. This is why we stand up for art that experiments and forges links. Together with our partners, we try out new forms of community and make people curious about how art follows its own rules.
© Siemens Stiftung
© Siemens Stiftung,
Photograph Benjamín Matte
© Music In Africa Foundation
© Music In Africa Foundation
© Miguel Braceli
© Siemens Stiftung
© nadaproductions
© Marta María Borrás
© Music In Africa Foundation
© Music In Africa Foundation
© Siemens Stiftung /
Photograph Felipe Moreno
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Key areas
Social cohesion:
Promoting a stronger community spirit
Promoting a stronger community spirit
Art creates an experience of participation and belonging along lines of social conflict. Cultural projects and initiatives that we launch together with local partners raise awareness of community spirit in societies that are drifting apart.
Cultural diversity:
Promoting sensitivity toward social exclusion
Promoting sensitivity toward social exclusion
An open society requires people to be mindful and accept diversity. With gender equality projects and interactive artworks, we are opening the door to art that makes diversity a tangible experience and gives society the space to address its polyphonic nature in a playful way and without shirking controversy.
Sustainable creation of art:
Promoting sustainability across the board
Promoting sustainability across the board
We all need to act with sustainability in mind, but the journey there will be a long one. Our cultural initiatives tackle the question of what is standing in the way of sustainable behavior, in both society and art. This work is enabling us to strengthen art’s role as an agent of sustainable action.
Projects
We are creating spaces for dialog and cooperation through cultural projects and platforms that span national borders.
We perceive our cultural work as transnational learning communities and are committed to co-creation and networking across borders. This includes promoting dialog and collaboration between different cultural scenes with artistic interventions in cities and online as well as platforms for shared learning and working. In Africa, our focus is on music, while the emphasis is on performing arts in Latin America.
Partners
Close partnerships and co-creation give rise to artworks that have an impact in their local context.
Working together with partners including national and international cultural institutions, universities, and government ministries, we develop projects that draw on their local context.
Find out more about our international cultural projects!
Press release
12.10.2023
Inviting Journalists to attend ACCES, one of Africa’s biggest Music Conferences in Tanzania, from November 9-11, 2023
- Music In Africa Foundation and Siemens Stiftung invite journalists to attend the Music In Africa Conference for Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases (ACCES) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from November 9-11, 2023. The conference has grown to become a trade show for African and international music industries offering a platform to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages.
Press release
27.06.2023
Siemens Stiftung will work in three new topic areas for sustainable social development
- Moving forward the internationally active Siemens Stiftung will focus its project work on the three cross-foundation topics of “Access to Essential Services,” “Connected Societies,” and “Climate & Sustainability.” The necessary transformations demanded by these global challenges will be actively shaped by the foundation in an increasingly interdisciplinary manner from its Education, Social Entrepreneurship and Arts & Culture working areas
Background stories & interviews
Insight
20.12.2022
The transcendent power of music: A social and economic leveler
- In her blog post, Dr. Nina Smidt sheds light on the role Africa's largest music network can play in the continent's social and economic development.
Insight
19.12.2022
Diversity sounds good
- In 2022, the Gender@Work workshop series prepared young women from all over Africa for a career in the music industry for the third time.
Project websites
The Music In Africa platform unites the creative potential of all 54 African countries, providing detailed information on the music scene across the whole continent, numerous networking and training opportunities, and free music and videos to stream.
musicinafrica.net
Artists are illustrating new perspectives in unused spaces in the city of Lima and are asking how, particularly in the age of pandemic-induced contact restrictions, art is capable of creating a shared public space. New artworks are being produced every month between November 2021 and March 2022.
Amid pandemic lockdowns, how can art find its place in imagined spaces? On the online platform SITIO INESPECIFICO (Unspecified Place), Latin American artists present digital works that open the door to artistic encounters beyond physical spaces.
SITIO INESPECIFICO
Contact
Would you like to work with us? Or do you have any questions?
Managing Director & Head of Culture
Dr. Nina Smidt
nina.smidt@siemens-stiftung.org
+49 89 540487 0
Head of Performing Arts
Joachim Gerstmeier
joachim.gerstmeier@siemens-stiftung.org
+49 89 540487 316
Joachim Gerstmeier
joachim.gerstmeier@siemens-stiftung.org
+49 89 540487 316