News

On 11 June 2025, Theater Oberhausen opened its doors for the very first Local Policy Hub in Germany. Cultural professionals, city officials, and civil society actors came together to imagine how sustainability can take root not only in artistic practice but in cultural policy itself.

Apostolos Tsalastras, Head of the Department of Culture at the City of Oberhausen, set the tone for the day with a strong message: in the face of today’s overlapping global crises, sustainability must become a guiding principle across all sectors—including the arts.

The event also welcomed representatives from Greenstage’s associated partner cities Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, and Wuppertal, underlining the growing commitment of municipalities across the region to support ecological transformation in the cultural field.

Project Manager Christiana van Osenbrüggen gave a concise introduction to Greenstage and its goals, followed by an open and honest exchange among participants. It became clear: many seeds have already been planted, but a deeper, shared commitment and better structures are needed to truly grow sustainable change.

After a short break, the room turned into a collaborative workshop space. Participants worked in groups to identify what resources, levers, and challenges they face, and formulated their first concrete ideas and demands for a more sustainable cultural future.

The Oberhausen team is now clustering and refining these inputs. They will shape the foundation for the second Local Policy Hub, already in the making. This next step will actively involve municipal and regional policymakers, ensuring that sustainability in the arts doesn't remain an isolated effort but becomes a shared public mission.