Mission Statement

THE TEAM

The team of Ringlokschuppen Ruhr consists of around 20 people with different professional backgrounds and experiences. As a team, we work on conceiving, organizing and staging events in various forms of art and culture. From dance, theater and performance, comedy, cabaret and concerts to readings and discursive formats.
The synthesis of art and socioculture characterizes the profile of the house.

Since 2024, this program is collectively designed by an artistic committee and implemented by the entire team. Each department has its own creative freedom.

At the same time, the team always provides ideas to add to the program. This means that different perspectives and opinions are reflected in the program.

We make every effort to ensure that people who are affected by intersectional discrimination also feel comfortable in our team. We try to work together collectively and without hierarchy.

OUR STANCE

We want to be a house for many and address people of different ages, backgrounds and experiences. Our aim is to break down barriers and make culture accessible.

We stand against all forms of discrimination, but we are also aware that we live in a society characterized by power structures that have an impact on and behind the stage. We work to raise awareness of these and to dismantle them. We are constantly learning, reflecting and educating ourselves as a team.

We strive to bring culture to urban society - by opening doors and breaking down barriers, but also by actively reaching out to Mülheim's urban society. As part of vier.ruhr we help run the city project space vier.zentrale. At our free workshops and courses in the area of Do It Yourself, people from the urban community can stand on our stage themselves or receive introductions to plays.

We support newcomers and offer them a stage to try out new approaches, for example in artist residencies. However, established artists and collectives, that are already known in the independent art scene and/or working internationally, also regularly perform on our stages.

Attending our events should not depend on your own resources. That's why we offer tickets for theater, dance and performance according to the „Pay what you can“ principle and cooperate with KulturPott.Ruhr, which provides free tickets for people on low incomes. We are striving to offer more accessible events with translation and childcare. The building and all stages are wheelchair accessible.

We want to empower people who have experienced discrimination. Since it was founded in 2016, we have supported the Silent University Ruhr, an exchange platform for refugees and asylum-seeking academics. What is important here, as in our program, is that people affected by discrimination can share their expertise, professionalism and knowledge.

OUR UTOPIA: WHAT WE WISH FOR

Society seems more divided than ever. The social gap is widening economically and socially. People remain “among themselves”, in their own milieus. In this lack of contact, prejudices and exclusion are spreading.

We want to create art (spaces) in which it is possible for different perspectives to come together. Where people can come into contact with each other and engage in a process of change. At the same time, we want to critically reflect on social structures as a whole.

As a theater and sociocultural center, we want to be a place of encounter. We seek contact between different art forms and their audiences. Performances, contemporary dance and experimental theatre are just as much a part of our program as comedy, cabaret, live music and new circus.

The programme of the Ringlokschuppen Ruhr should reflect social diversity and cultural variety. Our stages should feature artists and people who have not yet been given enough visibility in society.

Our utopia is a successful coexistence. Art should be a medium and laboratory for this. We see theatre as a social space for exchange and negotiation. A place where people can ‘be different without fear’ and where these differences do not lead to inequality and marginalisation, but are understood as a potential for diversity, change and joint progress.