Service

Three different selection committees are responsible for choosing the showcases in the fields of performing arts, music and street theatre. They meet every year in a new formation to select the showcase programme for the coming Kulturbörse from the applications submitted.

As project manager of the IKF, Susanne Göhner takes part in all jury meetings and is supported by colleagues from the respective areas.

Marie-Hélène Froidevaux moved to New York in 2011 to pursue her musical ambitions. She spent a few years in the local music scene and set up the “865art’ist” booking agency. In 2016, she joined forces with Beat Jegen to launch the publishing company “Interstellar Music”, left the live industry and immersed herself in the world of international publishing. She has been working as a music consultant for advertising, film and TV productions since 2019. As a board member and managing director of the Swiss Association of Music Publishers, Marie-Hélène campaigns for issues in the field of music policy. In the context of her “kunst stueck” society, the 36-year old also organises & manages live concerts, raves, cabarets and open-air festivals.

Appointed artistic director of Vienna’s Kulturhaus Sargfabrik in April 2021, Lukas Handle is responsible for programme planning, booking and production. On top of this, since 2019, he has been creating “Spielräume Spezial” programmes for ORF Radio Ö1 where he also works as a music recording manager. Having completed a master in musicology at the University of Vienna in 2016, he is now studying part-time for a degree in cultural event management at theUniversity of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

Judith Kobus started out in the event management field, working freelance for renowned museums, such as Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn and “Sculptura” in Münster, where she created supporting programmes and organised international congresses and festivals, among them Filmmusic Biennial Bonn. Today she runs her own PR agency, cubus-music, and manages CD releases as well as handling national and international events, including festivals (Jazz & The City Salzburg, Internationale Jazzwoche Burghausen, Festival da Jazz, Kasseler Jazzfrühling etc.), congresses (Darmstädter Jazzforum) and trade fairs (jazzahead!).

Alexandra Henn is a culture manager with French and German roots. After completing her master degree in culture and media management at the Free University of Berlin, she worked both in the institutional field (International Theatre Institute) and in the independent art world (phase7 performing.arts, Kobalt Figurentheater…). At La Ménagerie e.V., she managed the FTF#5 festival and the team of translators. After four years at the Institut Français (theatre and dance department), she discovered her passion for contemporary circus and moved to CHAMÄLEON Productions where she has been working as associate artistic director and project manager since 2017. Alexandra is also part of the working group on cultural policy networking and the Städtepol Berlin group of the Federal Association of Contemporary Circus (BUZZ).

Achim Stollberg holds a degree in education science, with a focus on cultural education, from the University of Düsseldorf. He plays as a freelance musician in various band projects in Wuppertal and Cologne, has released three albums and works as an artist agent. Since 1993, he has been the artistic director of Kattwinkel´sche Fabrik which he has turned into one of the leading word art stages in the Bergisches Land region. At Kattwinkel´sche Fabrik, he develops theatre education concepts for youth theatre and has created and established the youth art school. Since 2016, he has been curator of the annual Kunsthalle Katt.

Andrea Wittwer has been part of the ZAV-Künstlervermittlung (artist placement) team of the German Federal Employment Agency since 1983. Her specialised fields are show, artistry and entertainment. She regularly serves as a jury member at international festivals, among them the International Kleinkunstfestival in Usedom, the International Juggler and Cabaret Festival Koblenz and the “Sprungbrett” young talent award presented by memo-media and IKF to graduates of the State School for Acrobatic Arts in Berlin. Her “Young & Fresh” project has been part of the International Juggler and Cabaret Festival Koblenz and the IKF since 2016.

Adrie van Essen lives in the eastern part of the Netherlands and has worked as programme planner for several street theatre festivals for more than 10 years, among them the international Kunsten op Straat festival and Heimland in Diepenheim. Adrie can draw on a large network of artists with numerous contacts in the Netherlands and abroad. He is also part of the Werkplaats Diepenheim, an “artist in residence” site where artists work on and receive support for new performances, from the early stages to the final phase.

Jana Korb is an artist (Freie Klasse, UdK University of Arts, Berlin), performer and cultural scientist (Free University/Humboldt University, Berlin) who produces artistic theatre and narrative circus. She choreographed, played in and played for productions, for instance by directors Christoph Schlingensief, John Bock or Taylor Mac, and performed in front of Vaclav Havel, at Documenta, Ostrale, at the Odin Teatret, etc.
Jana is the artistic director of the Aerial Arts Festival Berlin, cofounder of the RAW-Gelände (Berlin), an active member of the Magdalena Project (Network of Women in Contemporary Theatre) and a board member of the Bundesverband Theater im Öffentlichen Raum. She lives, and creates productions, in the korb+stiefel collective in Berlin Lichtenberg.

Julia von Wild is a freelance cultural professional, networker and curator in Bremen. Until 2011, she worked for the La Strada International Street Performance Festival in Bremen. In conjunction with Kathrin Bahr, who has since been her partner at the “zweifellos.net – Büro für kulturelle Dienstleistung” agency in Bremen, she has since been working since 2015 as artistic director of the tête-à-tête international street theatre festival in Rastatt. Julia von Wild is an active campaigner in the field of popular music and club culture, deputy chairperson of Livekomm (LiveMusikKommission – Verband der Spielstätten in Deutschland e.V.) and founder member and board member of Clubverstärker Bremen.

Born in 1961 as a cheerful Rhinelander, later on a foiled civil engineering student (“The theatre was more important”). After playing various roles with more or less success on the OFF theatre scene of the 80s, came the move into event technology. Founder of artec Bühnentechnik GmbH in 1992, which today plays a leading role in event technology in Germany in the fields of technical services, stands, special constructions, stage construction and tricky assignments. Since 1993 technical director of the Schrittmacher dance festival, where he has responsibility for over 80 international dance companies. Since 2006 technical director at the IKF. Since then a great fan of street theatre, variety show and performing arts. Co-developer of the IKF street theatre stage to its dimensions today with over 20 productions a year.

Studied Education, Cultural Sciences and Cultural Management. In the 1990s assistant director at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, freelance work for the Department of Arts and Culture in Esslingen. From1998 to 2011, Susanne Göhner worked for the Burghof Lörrach GmbH: as second managing director she was responsible for programme planning and for the organization and running of the STIMMEN-Festival for many years. Subsequently, management and head of communications for a multidisciplinary festival in Switzerland. From the 31st edition: Project manager of the Internationale Kulturbörse Freiburg.