Open
Call!

Dear artists and artist groups in Bremen: Are you planning a new production in the fields of performance, dance, or theater for 2027/28 and would like to develop it at the Schwankhalle? Do you intend to apply for individual project funding from the Senator for Culture ↗? Then apply to us by May 18, 2026, to collaborate!

Open Call for Productions at the Schwankhalle

The Schwankhalle is a venue and production house for independent performing arts in Bremen, with a focus on contemporary productions in the fields of performance, dance, and theater. With this open call, we aim to make the selection process for projects by Bremen-based artists and groups more transparent. We currently anticipate being able to realize up to five Bremen-based productions at the Schwankhalle in the 2027/28 season.

Focus: Aesthetics of Access

The Schwankhalle prioritizes artistic projects that represent the diversity of our society—in the audience, on stage, and behind the scenes. For this reason, we would particularly like to support artistic projects that engage with “Aesthetics of Access.” By this, we mean treating measures to overcome access barriers not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental aesthetic decision embedded in the creative process. Groups adopting this approach will receive additional consulting services and an expanded budget from us.

We specifically encourage applications from:

• Artists with disabilities
• Neurodivergent artists
• Artists with chronic illnesses
• Artists with personal experience of exclusion or marginalization

Application Requirements

Artists and groups based in Bremen who are planning a new production for 2027/28 are invited to apply with their project ideas. A prerequisite for collaboration is the application for individual project funding from the Senator for Culture Bremen.

The selected productions will receive from Schwankhalle:

• Support with the application process
• In any case, 4 weeks of rehearsal time on the rehearsal stage (more time possible if needed)
• Dramaturgical feedback
• Free use of the stage for the final rehearsal phase and 2–3 performance days
• Integration into Schwankhalle’s press and public relations work as well as ticketing
• Use of technical infrastructure

How to Apply

Please send us the following documents by May 18, 2026, as a single PDF file (named according to the pattern »Name-Artist*_­OpenCall202728«), max. 5 MB) via email to programm@schwankhalle.de (subject: Open Call 2027/28):

• A short description of your project (conceptual and artistic), max. 2000 characters
• Information on the organizational framework: planned venue/spatial setup, target audiences, planned funding (e.g. intended funding applications)
• Information on the project team
• Work-in-progress stages and open questions are explicitly welcome – you do not need to submit a finished concept at this stage.

Alternatively, you can present your idea in a short video (maximum 3 minutes, format .mp4 or .mov), in which you verbally address the points listed above. Name your video file according to the pattern »Name-Artist_OpenCall202728« and send it to us via a download link.

Process and Timeline

• Application deadline: May 18, 2026
• Feedback on submissions: mid-June 2026
• Initial meetings (if applicable): second half of August 2026 – content, budget, timeline, rehearsal periods, and performance dates
• Final confirmation: after secured funding (usually following successful individual project funding from the Senator for Culture Bremen or another funding source)

Please note: The number of groups invited to an initial meeting may exceed the number of productions that can ultimately be realized. At present, we assume that we will be able to realize a maximum of five Bremen-based productions at Schwankhalle in 2027/28.

Info Zoom

On April 27 from 15:30–16:30, an info Zoom session with Anna K. Becker and Katrin Hylla – the co-directors of Schwankhalle – will take place.

Join the Zoom meeting ↗
Meeting ID: 817 6249 2145
Passcode: 736824

We look forward to your applications and are excited to hear your project ideas!
Anna K. Becker & Katrin Hylla

Contact

Anna K. Becker (she/her) | Tel. 0421 520 80 732
Katrin Hylla (she/her) | Tel. 0421 520 80 731
programm@schwankhalle.de

Further resources for project funding:
Consultation services of the State Association of Independent Performing Arts (LAFDK): lafdk-bremen.de ↗
Senator for Culture – Individual Project Funding: www.kultur.bremen.de ↗
Questions about the application form: projektmittel@kultur-bremen.de