Context
Flensburg boasts a vibrant and diverse cultural landscape: In addition to the Schleswig-Holstein State Theater, which serves as an institutional anchor, a dynamically growing independent arts scene – particularly in the field of contemporary dance – shapes the city’s cultural life. As part of its ongoing cultural development process, the City of Flensburg commissioned actori to systematically assess the current state and future prospects of the performing arts and to explore ways in which the SHLT and the independent scene can benefit more from each other in the future. At the same time, in light of rising operating costs and a tight municipal budget, the goal was to identify potential courses of action for the SHLT at an early stage. The project ran from September 2025 to April 2026.
Approach
To assess the state of the performing arts in Flensburg, actori conducted interviews with city officials and key figures in the independent arts scene. The goal was to comprehensively document the scene’s needs, current situation, and future prospects, and to provide the city with a well-founded snapshot of the current climate to serve as a basis for its work. A supplementary online survey provided further insights into collaboration needs and potential synergies. Based on these surveys, actori developed a SWOT analysis of the performing arts as well as a best-practice analysis of comparable cities regarding approaches to collaboration and the strengthening of the independent arts scene. The results formed the basis for two facilitated workshops with representatives of Flensburg’s cultural scene. The focus was on networking, resource sharing, and the question of how stronger collaboration between the SHLT and the independent scene could be structurally embedded.
At the Landestheater, actori conducted a comprehensive status quo analysis: The organizational and financial structures were examined based on four representative seasons and transparently assessed through a benchmark analysis with comparable theaters. Interviews with the theater’s management supplemented the data analysis with qualitative assessments of the initial situation.
In the final report, actori compiled all the results: In addition to developing scenarios for the SHLT’s future positioning, it includes recommendations for action to strengthen the performing arts in Flensburg. The results were subsequently presented to the city’s political bodies.
Impact
- The SWOT analysis provides a clear picture of the state of the performing arts and identifies specific areas for development within Flensburg’s cultural landscape.
- The comprehensive assessment of the independent arts scene’s needs and perspectives provides the city with a robust information base for its cultural development process.
- Best-practice examples from comparable cities provided concrete, transferable insights for strengthening cooperative structures and the independent arts scene.
- A status quo analysis and benchmarking created transparency regarding the SHLT’s efficiency and positioning in a supraregional comparison.
- The development of scenarios enables the city to thoroughly evaluate various future paths for the SHLT in terms of their financial and cultural implications.
- The final report serves as a solid foundation for the city council and cultural administration to strategically advance the development of Flensburg’s theater landscape.
The project was carried out by Julia Engl, consultant, and Franziskus Linsmann, project manager.