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Red alert for Greifswald: Where is the support for clubs?
Greifswald's club culture is on the verge of extinction: closures and setbacks alarm the SPD/Left, which is demanding more support.
Red alert for Greifswald: Where is the support for clubs?
What's going on in Greifswald? The club and party scene here looks uncomfortable. The Mensa Club has closed its doors forever, the Pink Club has announced its imminent end and the Huschecke is also on the verge of extinction. These developments are alarming, not only for the community, but also for the SPD and Left parliamentary groups, who are calling for more support for the subculture. How the Baltic Sea newspaper reports, the current financial aid from the city treasury is not enough to save the scene.
A similar picture can be observed throughout Germany: the closures of small clubs and festivals are on the rise. The Association of Music Venues Germany e.V. has found that start-ups have declined sharply since 2021. Clubs are simply no longer able to find successors, which further limits the concert offerings for young and newcomer acts. Loud ZDF today The corona pandemic, combined with inflation, has made the situation even worse and many clubs are fighting for survival.
An alarm signal for culture
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) underlined the importance of clubs and festivals. Nevertheless, the industry faces enormous challenges. Even though a festival funding fund of five million euros is to be made available in 2024 to primarily support smaller and medium-sized festivals, Michael Somarski from the Association of Music Venues criticizes the low funding rate, which only covers 20 percent of applications.
Club culture is often burdened by structural disadvantages in cultural policy. Many decision-makers in the municipal cultural committees are older and financially secure people who have little connection to subculture or club music. This means that young people and active cultural workers are often not represented in cultural policy, as in an article by Felix Grädler is explained in detail. These structural hurdles must be dismantled in order to bring a breath of fresh air into the promotion of club culture.
Future prospects
The calls for special funding for club culture and a reduction in bureaucratic hurdles are becoming louder. Particular attention should be paid to the integration of young cultural workers into the decision-making processes. This is the only way to achieve a balance between high culture and the lively subculture in cities like Greifswald and beyond.
The culture is vibrant and diverse - this applies not only to the large theaters and opera houses, but also to the vibrant club scene, which creates a variety of social spaces and creative opportunities. It is high time that politicians recognize this and act accordingly.