Rolf C. Hemke leaves Kunstfest Weimar - switch to Theater Vorpommern!

Rolf C. Hemke leaves Kunstfest Weimar - switch to Theater Vorpommern!

Weimar, Deutschland - The wind of change blows through the arts in Weimar, because after an impressive era, Rolf C. Hemke leaves the Weimar art festival to switch to Theater Western Pomerania. From November 1, 2025, he will work there as an artistic director, as the Tagesschau reports.

Hemke has headed the art festival since 2019 and has recorded numerous successes, even in the challenging pandemic years 2020 and 2021, when over 27,000 visitors attested the events. In recent years, the number of visitors has fallen up and reached in 2023 respectable 41,000 and 2024 even 43,000 guests. The art festival thus became an important cultural event in East Germany, which takes place not only in Weimar itself, but also decentrally throughout Thuringia, as the Kunstfest Weimar describes in detail.

a year full of art and color

This year's art festival takes place from August 20 to September 7, 2025 and will be the last appearance of Hemke. The transition to a new artistic direction is already in sight: from 2026 the duo Katharina Germo and Juliane Hahn take over the fortunes of the festival. This festival is not only one of the oldest cultural initiatives in German space, but has blossomed into the largest festival for contemporary arts in Central Germany, the website of the city of Weimar .

Every year the Weimar Art Festival opens its doors to a cross -divisional program, ranging from theater and music to dance, performance and discourse. It offers a platform for premiere and initial surveys as well as projects specially developed for Weimar. The multifaceted history of the city is impressively discussed in different artistic forms.

• Festival periods: Second August and the first half of September
• Visitor numbers under Hemke's management: 41,000 (2023), 43,000 (2024)
• New artistic director from November 1, 2025: Rolf C. Hemke
• successors from 2026: Katharina Germo and Juliane Hahn

The Kunstfest Weimar is not only a highlight in the cultural calendar, but also manages to promote the exchange between artists and the audience as well as between locals and tourists. With all the changes, one thing remains certain: Weimar will continue to be a place where art and culture remain alive.