Arts & sciences

In the arts and sciences we sponsor a particularly wide range of projects. One aspect is the funding of outstanding research and development at the higher education institutions in the city. Our funding focuses on special research projects, endowments for professorships and the technical equipment for scientific work.

An additional aspect is that the promotion of art and culture helps to reinforce Lübeck’s position as a cultural centre in northern Europe. Alongside the major cultural institutions such as the Lübeck Cultural Foundation, Lübeck Theatre, the Lübeck College of Music and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, which all receive regular funding from the Possehl Foundation, there are many other smaller initiatives that keep culture alive and vibrant in Lübeck and are sponsored by the Foundation.

Your planet loves you: the Superkunstfestival 2023 by the Diakonie Nord Nord Ost

3 days, 5 stages, 36,000 fans: the SUPERKUNSTFESTIVAL took place for the fourth time on the campus of the Diakonie Nord Nord Ost over three days in May 2023. It is Germany’s biggest inclusive festival. Artists like Alice Merton, Leoniden, Westbam, Danger Dan and Antilopen Gang, along with many others, certainly had the crowds dancing and cheering. But the thing that makes the festival so special mostly happens away from the main stages: it is the atmosphere, the diversity, the involvement of cultural institutions and clubs from Lübeck, and the incredibly varied programme that includes music, art, film, circus and theatre.

The ticket policy is based on the principle that culture has to be paid for, but also has to stay affordable – and at the same time it enables people who would not otherwise be able to go to a festival to experience fantastic cultural events for free.

The motto for the SUPERKUNSTFESTIVAL 2023 was “Your planet loves you”, which reflects an important message from the organisers of the festival and the SUPERKUNST fans: the team of the Cultural Academy of Diakonie Nord Nord Ost – consisting of people with and without disabilities from all nations – and their partners, paid particular attention to sustainability when they were organising the festival. The concept includes environmental aspects, such as recycling, reuse, zero-waste and carbon-neutral energy resources, as well as social and cultural sustainability.

Urban space project by Theater Lübeck: Romeo und Julia in the Cathedral Courtyard

In 2023 the theatre hit the road and reached out into the city. In the beautiful setting of the Cathedral Courtyard it staged an open-air production of Shakespeare’s classic play Romeo and Juliet. This is immediate, approachable theatre that is also interested in new audience groups.