About Us
Story
What happens before an association is founded?
What precedes the founding of an association? People who are missing something, who want to make a difference toward one or more common goals. So, what were these people missing when they founded protagon eV in 1999?
The seven initiators from various disciplines were driven by the vision of transforming public space into a cultural space and countering increasing privatization. The goal was to create spaces for theater culture in public spaces and to create joy and lightness in everyday places through theater and performances – while always critically addressing the questions and themes of the day and expressing them through the means of the performing arts.
The people who decided to found protagon eV were familiar with this form of theater and cultural work from other countries, where theater and art in public spaces often enjoy a long tradition and can be the true locus of politics. They wanted to revive this lost function of both theater and public space in general in Germany: to be a place for negotiating social processes, for encounters and dialogue. Even today, this goal remains paramount in all our projects.
The diversity and now also the size of the projects are due to the persistent, passionate and goal-oriented work of many committed people in recent years.
Self-image
Collective
The association's work is based on collective structures that have developed over many years. We strive for a horizontal organization as much as possible and make important decisions together. Through collaborative work on vibrant cultural projects, a spirit of community and solidarity develops. Thus, even after more than 20 years, the cultural association's original vision remains alive: a place that sees theater culture as an important part of the social process; a place to breathe deeply, marvel, and be inspired; ultimately, a place that draws attention to life.
Sustainable
Our projects have been guided by the principle of sustainability long before the advent of CO2 certificates and "climate-neutral" air travel. Our productions and events are designed for longevity and minimize resource consumption through reuse, recycling, and integration into local cycles. Our team has many years of experience organizing professional projects with minimal resources. And we're a little proud of that.
International
Nicht nur die Projekte des Vereins überschreiten schon lange die Landesgrenzen, etwa in den wichtigen EU-Projekten wie Erasmus+ und Creative Europe, in denen protagon seit vielen Jahren mit Partnern aus ganz Europa kooperiert, oder wie z.B. im soziokulturellen Bildungsprojekt Escuna Criativa in Brasilien, auch auf dem Kulturgelände in Frankfurt und auf den Festivals weht ein internationaler Wind. Das Kernteam vereint bereits mehrere Nationalitäten in sich, und während der großen Projekte lassen sich durchaus einige Dutzend verschiedene Muttersprachen erkennen. Eine Situation, die unsere Theaterarbeit stark prägt und für Dezentrierung und frische Perspektiven auch abseits der dominanten westlichen Kultur sorgt.
Decolonial
In this sense, we also understand our work as decolonial. For us, this primarily means giving space to marginalized voices and perspectives, continually seeking dialogue, striving for equality, and addressing colonial and racist patterns of thought and action not only in our projects, but also reflecting on them in our daily work and in our teamwork.
Low-threshold & inclusive
Our events are open to everyone and accessible, including financially. We thus play a key role in ensuring that the idea of broad participation can be concretely realized and experienced. This is a principle we have remained true to since the association's founding, and one that goes hand in hand with our mission: Culture for All. We are aware that fixed admission prices are a reason for many people to stay away from an event. But we also know that culture has value, that artists deserve fair pay, and that many visitors are happy and willing to give something. That's why our events operate on the principle of admission by donation or solidarity collection.
For us, inclusive also means focusing on the kind of art and culture that is relevant and understandable to a broad audience. All too often, theater remains behind closed doors, conceived and performed for an exclusive audience. We bring it to where the people are: to the streets and squares of the city and rural areas.
Cultural education
We are certain of one thing: theater can change the world. And if not the whole world, then at least the world of each individual, leading to empowerment, awareness-raising, and growth. We therefore see our socio-cultural education projects as grassroots movements toward a larger transformation. Over the years, we have worked with many target groups and in many places: with women*, refugees, children and young people, the elderly, and people with disabilities; in Frankfurt am Main, the urban periphery, and rural areas, Germany, Europe, and beyond.
protagon - eine Bestandsaufnahme
Our team
Our projects are organized by our team of people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Artists, actors, academics and experts from various fields work together to take on all the tasks involved, from administration, management and financial management to program curation and press and public relations.
To carry out our large-scale projects, the core team expands from ten to 40 to 50 people. External experts and the antagon ensemble, along with many volunteers, help to organize the festivals. Our team brings together many different nationalities and languages.