At its plenary meeting on Monday, July 14, 2025, at the Altes Kino Franklin, the Mannheim Council for Art and Culture announced its personnel and structural reorganization.

A newly elected steering committee of 10 people from various sectors of Mannheim’s cultural scene is taking over responsibility from the council’s previous main spokespersons, Vivian Schöchlin and Ali Badakhshan Rad. Since 2021, the two had represented the council in city politics, giving the interests of Mannheim’s art and culture scene a clear voice.

Since its inception, the Council has consisted of up to seven sections representing different art forms, each with its own spokesperson, who in turn appointed two people to represent the Council externally. The steering group elected on Monday has been elected for two years and will initially replace the council’s previous management structure. Its mission is to continue the successful substantive and political work of the Council for Art and Culture, while also further developing its structure. The steering team is expected to elect new spokespersons in late summer.

The new steering committee consists of Philipp Bode, Gerrit Bogdahn, Sascha Koal, Monika-Margret Steger, Hannah Moser, Ralf Moser, Iris Rüsing, Kerstin Weinberger, Dr. Angela Wendt, and Maximilian Wex.

At an initial meeting on the sidelines of the event, the group agreed to start working together as soon as possible: “Rarely has advice been as important as it is now, when acute austerity measures are threatening the very existence of artists and cultural venues. We want to give art a strong voice in politics and stand by politicians as reliable critical discussion partners, especially in difficult times. That’s why we need to get started soon and in a well-structured manner,” said the group.

The spokespersons of the previous sections were bid farewell, as were the two main spokespersons of the council. Special thanks went to Vivian Schöchlin and Valentina Jaffé (spokesperson for the visual arts section). Schöchlin looks back on four years of intensive and successful work: “The last few years have been a very formative and enriching time for me. I am grateful to everyone who has accompanied us for their trust, critical discourse, and opportunities for exchange. The relationships we have established and consolidated with artists and cultural professionals, cultural institutions, political parties, the city administration, but also with the cultural office and the mayor for culture are important and at the same time demonstrate the relevance of the association of artists and cultural professionals in Mannheim,” says Schöchlin, adding: “I am all the happier to now pass on the baton and support a new team in its activities in the future. I hope for growth, commitment, and a clear cultural policy orientation.

We are all the COUNCIL!