Sponsorships for School and Art
The Sponsorship Initiative
A central field of activity of the program “Offensive kulturelle Bildung in Berlin” (pro-active cultural education in Berlin) are the recently agreed sponsorships between artistic and educational institutions of Berlin (schools and nurseries; intended are also trade schools and academic institutions).
The idea of a familial cooperation has arisen from considerations of various organisations affiliated in the “Berliner Rat für die Künste” (Berlin council of arts). Long-term cooperation will become a basis for exchange and for the use of a synergetic action platform. At the same time a concrete framework will be established opening up the houses as familiar meeting places for the youth.
Many art and culture institutions are willing to accompany a school for a period of three to five years beyond joint artistic projects. This accompaniment includes: supporting the schools with the development of their school profile, providing pupils with an insight into artistic production processes, presenting cultural institutions as potential workplaces, supporting the schools in special activities, planning project classes together with teachers, providing internships and mentorships. While these tasks will of course differ from institution to institution, the common element will be the binding character of long-term cooperation.
Benefits are expected not only for schools and their various members: the institutions get involved with the world of children and adolescents, forming experiences which are only too rare amongst art and culture planners. In order to fit the programming of the several houses to their target audience, detailed knowledge of each other’s everyday life is essential.
Art and school – how does that work?
The new collaborations need special attention and manifold support:
- Collaborations need a vision: permanent contact persons.
- Collaborations need support: concerning content, financial and human resources.
- Collaborations need acceptance: active commitment and involvement of all sectors of art institutions, information and participation of all partners in and surrounding the schools.
- Collaborations need ideas: contact scouts; profiles and institution portraits; try-out days; visits of rehearsals, depots and collections; meetings between pupils, parents, and godparents; internships; experimental works outings, and many more.
- Collaborations need time: art and culture institutions as well as schools are dissimilar institutions which work in different ways.
- Collaborations need publicity: they need more than open doors; they need new platforms and event formats.
- Collaborations need cooperation: they need exchange, consulting, and networking on local, national and international level.
- Collaborations need accompaniment and financial support.
- Collaborations need a market: The activities and progress of collective working processes of the sponsorships shall be intensified, documented, and analysed through accompanying artistic-academic research.
Initial stage of the sponsorships
Since the beginning of 2007 about 50 schools and 30 art institutions have been following the demand for intensive cooperation between artistic and educational institutions in Berlin. As a result, about 25 active sponsorships have developed by agreement upon a close cooperation for a period of three to five years.
Patron of the sponsorship initiative is Lothar Zagrosek, Chief Conductor of the orchestra Konzerthausorchester Berlin, who in February 2007 had rewarded the brave newcomers with a magnificent concert at the concert hall at Gendarmenmarkt.
As far as possible all types of schools in all destricts of Berlin shall be enabled to develop a cooperation with an art and culture institution based on a solid programmatic and financial fundament as of 2008.
Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH and a team of meadiators support the committed allies during the process.
Zoom 10 Patenschaften (Zoom 10 Sponsorships)
The PwC Foundation makes possible a concentrated allowance for Sponsorships for School and Art.
Further information [in German only]