Unique innovation promotion in Jena

Jena has a unique artistic and cultural landscape. This is precisely why JenaKultur, the city's own municipal enterprise, also takes a special approach to promoting art and culture. Initiated by plant manager and dramaturge Jonas Zipf, innovation funding was launched in Jena for the first time in 2018 - a project that is unparalleled at municipal level in Germany. In close cooperation with sponsors from Jena's business community (including the Stadtwerke Jena Group) and the city administration, forward-looking and inspiring projects have been financially supported in the City of Light ever since. In 2019 and 2020, numerous projects and events were once again supported in this way - until the pandemic struck and events had to be canceled one after the other.

One of the sponsors, dotSource GmbH, is now presenting the projects supported so far in an impressive way. The JenaKultur blog now offers a deeper insight.

But what will happen to this innovative funding instrument in 2021? This much is certain: JenaKultur and the sponsors have an urgent desire to continue.

Art, culture and digital business have a lot in common: both areas are about creating something new or interpreting the existing in a different way. It's about surprising people, networking and driving innovation. That's why we are all the more pleased to support JenaKultur in its work!

says Christian Otto Grötsch, Managing Director of dotSource.

Jonas Zipf adds:

'In view of the ongoing pandemic, it is currently important to save the basic stock of cultural performance in our city over the next year. At the same time, we must never lose sight of the fact that culture in Jena is characterized by an unusually high potential for constant self-renewal. Culture in Jena: this rarely means self-congratulation related to the past, but much more often a forward-looking joy of experimentation. This has been impressively demonstrated by the innovation funding projects in recent years. And I therefore hope that we can continue this special model as soon as possible!