The cultural association protagon e. V. has made the organisation, implementation and promotion of cultural offerings, especially in the field of performing arts, its first concern. With this approach, the association pursues the goal of creating cultural meeting spaces for a diverse urban society and facilitating overall participation in cultural life through barrier-free access.

Therefore, the main task of the association’s work is the organisation and implementation of interventions and cultural events in public space. The public space is transformed into a freely accessible cultural space, into an integrative space of shared culture and experiences. Art and culture have a very direct effect, namely where many people move and meet anyway. Unelitarian, uncommercial, analogue. Face to face.

At the Sommerwerft – as at the smaller theatre festivals IFTF and Winterwerft – a unique atmosphere is created by the many participants who make the festival possible in motivated cooperation, an atmosphere that is rarely found at large events and is unparalleled in the RhineMain region. This atmosphere is palpable and is confirmed by the increasing number of visitors year after year as well as the success of being voted the most popular German host of the year by our international helpers on the online site Workaway.

In addition, the association is a founding member and is involved in the Federal Association of Theatre in Public Spaces, in local and Hessian network meetings of the independent theatre scene as well as in the working group for the development of the Fechenheim North district and in the meetings of the sustainable commercial area Frankfurt East.

Motivated through a common idea

The heart of the Sommerwerft consists of two central ideas: art and community. Our festival offers artistic freedom in the literal sense – also for spontaneous actions outside the program. Synergies and impulses arise from interdisciplinary encounters and cultural exchange that cannot be written into a program in advance. That’s why the Sommerwerft also makes unplanned performances and appearances possible. In this way, we want to encourage people to become actively creative on their own responsibility and to help shape the festival – and give impulses to transfer this experience of self-efficacy to other areas of the community, entirely in the sense of sustainable development.

The team of the Sommerwerft, all those involved here, artists, volunteers and partners, together create the unique and legendary atmosphere. The 100 volunteers from all over the world and the many volunteers from the region make up the team with which we make our festival possible. A meeting of different ages, nations and cultures; people full of ideas and curiosity, who all come together at one aim and live through a piece of life and work reality together and grow from it together. During the entire festival period, up to 180 participants live and work on the association premises of protagon e. V. in Frankfurt East and many, many more support the festival on site at the Weseler Werft in front of and behind the scenes.

The festival creates this space for you and all of us: visitors, theater & culture lovers and also all Sommerwerft workers. The association Protagon e. V. (organizer, organization center and starting point of the Sommerwerft) never tires of finding interested people to enlarge this team, to give the space for responsibility, realization and of course creation. From this core, our 17 days of Sommerwerft is created year after year.

It is and remains an uncommercial festival and its atmosphere is noticeably different from that of many other cultural events. The feeling of community and identification with one’s own living space develops openly in contact and exchange with other cultures here.

And for all those who also have the desire and time to help out: it’s never too late. We are looking forward to further help and support. Whether as a donation or behind the bars, in the kitchen, in the theater tent, with the construction and dismantling behind the scenes – it is for a cause that we all want: the Sommerwerft – independent. Freedom-loving. For everyone. Get in touch with us directly on the festival grounds at the Infocorner or send us an email via the contact form.

Art & Culture Creators

Without the many creative artists who annually offer a wide variety of performative, theatrical and musical contributions to watch and participate in about 170 individual events, a Sommerwerft would not be much more than a beer garden. A big thank you to all the creative artists for enriching Frankfurt so much and for coming up with top-class and diverse programs year after year.

In addition to the artists, there are also those cultural workers who are not so obvious to the visitor. The core crew of the Sommerwerft consists of about 40-45 motivated people each year, each of whom takes on large areas of responsibility ranging from technology, curatorships, accounting to program planning, public relations and catering. They all help to ensure that the Sommerwerft runs so smoothly and that this cultural event can take place.

Volunteers

Whoever visits the Sommerwerft can hardly believe that the entire event is run by a mostly volunteering organization team, supported by our key team. Around 400 people from over 30 countries and from our region get involved and help to shape the Sommerwerft. The organizational structure is extraordinary: from the planning we work in a participatory and integrative way. For many weeks we live and work together on the Sommerwerft campus on the association grounds of protagon e.V. and learn from each other. Decisions are developed through discourse and shared responsibility.

Directors: Bernd Abraham, Bernhard Bub – Vorstand protagon e.V.

Technical Director: Joscha Erker

Finance Coordination & Accounting: Benedikt Müller, Udayasree Bayyam

Office Communikation: Lucas Baumeister

Security Concept: AES Veranstaltungskonzept GmbH, GS Guardian Security GmbH

Theatre Space: Bernhard Bub, Benedikt Müller

Theatre Stage: Bernhard Bub, Julia Pohlmann

Blue Lab: Bárbara Luci Carvalho, Sarah Weber, Bernhard Bub

Music Stage & Beduine Tent: Seppl Niemeyer- Virus Musik Kick e.V., Joaquím Alaña Puente

Night of Dance: Bárbara Luci Carvalho – Protagon e.V., Mareike Uhl und Frédéric De Carlo – ID_Tanzhaus Frankfurt Rhein-Main, Producer: Val Araújo 

Porto Brasil Evening: Bárbara Luci Carvalho, Producer: Val Araújo 

Queer Night: Lucas Tanajura, Benedikt Müller

Kids Stage: Julia Pohlmann, Nils Wittkowski

Kids Workshops: Nils Wittkowski

Kids Program: Lisa Gerstner, Effi Bodensohn

Cinema Program: Edith van den Elzen, Marc Rodrigues & Pupille: Martin Urban 

Cultural Free Space: Julia Nierzwicki, Luna Araya Vega

Workshops: Patsch Katrin Hailer, Nerea Larios Garcia

Press & PR: Carola Schaffrath & Anne Schütz – Filmpresse Meuser, Bettina Decker, Julia Nierzwicki

Social Media: Sprosse Anne Mertens,Ana Carolina Vera Sánchez

Webseite: Nils Wittkowski, Lisa Gerstner, Daniela Schmitt

Video: Convoi Films, Marijn de Zeeuw, Edith van den Elzen

Photographers of the Festival: Barbara Walzer, Edith van den Elzen, Salah Ebrahimi

Helper Coordination: Clémence Demay, Francesca Jouaux Negri, Marta Pesci, Lara Zantout, Pauline Lunglmeir

Staff Coordination: Lauren Boissonnet, Dario Lozano

Care Team Management: Arwed Schmitz

Awareness Team Management:  Anna D’Errico & Jeff Bennett

Artist Childcare: Ruben Wielsch, Effi Bodensohn

Flowmarkt: Juri B. Ghofrani Azar

Bar Organisation: Manuel Frenzel

Gastro Organisation: Hugh Alderson, Dario Lozano

Café Pimpanelli: Josephin Berger

Cocktailbars: Josephin Berger

Porto Brasil: Michael Schmidt, Preto Bittencourt  

Babuschka Café: Klaudia Grygo

(Festival) Kitchen: Hugh Alderson, Saleh El Halabi

Infopoint: Sprosse Anne Mertens

Decoration Festival Space: Ruben Wielsch, Josephin Berger

Technical Team: Bobby Packham, Joe Kipp, Benedikt Müller, Lucas Tanajura, Jacob Theurer, Laurin Schwarzmayr, Alex Niejaki, Dario Vandelli, Vladimir Shapovalov, Gerardo Vitale, Wolfgang Grunwald, Koyo Kruse, Isy Keller, Jonas Hühn, Otto Dent

Backstage: Toumi Hamadi

Housekeeping & Hosting: Lucas Tanajura, Yun Tian (Emma) und Preto Bittencourt  

Shuttle & Transportation: Helder Oliveira, Aleksandr Mialin, Nikolai Bockelmann

Poster Advertising: Nils Wittkowski

Design Flyer, Poster & Program Booklet: Tanita Volknandt

Cover Image: photo Luna Araya Vega, Grafik Tanita Volknandt

Program Booklet Organisation & Editorial & Editing Team: Julia Nierzwicki, Jeff Bennett, Francesca Joaux Negri, Joaquím Alaña Puente

Und Viele mehr, die hier nicht genannt wurden…