Dr phil. Thomas Renz (*1979) is a cultural studies scholar. Since 2020, he has been conducting research at the Institute for Research on Cultural Participation at the Foundation for Cultural Education and Cultural Consulting (SKWK) in Berlin on issues concerning the strategic development of public participation in cultural institutions and administration. From 2017 to 2020, he acted as commercial and artistic director of the Stadttheater Peiner Festsäle – Kulturring Peine e. V. From 2010 to 2017, as an academic assistant, he taught and did research at the University of Hildesheim’s Institute of Cultural Policy. He teaches at several German universities and is co-spokesman for the methods working group of the Association for Cultural Management, reg. Ass.
What is your professional focus?
As a cultural studies scholar with a wide artistic background, I above all conduct empirical cultural sociology research on issues concerning participation in culture. Currently, as an assistant at the Institute for Research on Cultural Participation at the Foundation, I advise cultural institutions and the Senate administration in Berlin on questions regarding the strategic development of public participation. In all my previous career stages, I have dealt with administrative and legal issues. I would like to hand on this experience in the course.
What potentials do you see in the certificate course “Artistic Interventions in Cultural Education” for your specialist field?
Comprehensive and thematically broad-based further education.
Which changes are needed at cultural policy or education policy level to strengthen the potentials of cooperation with artists for Cultural Education in Germany?
Issues concerning Cultural Education, communication of culture and the development of public participation should feed into all cultural policy decisions. Staffing a theatre director post must not depend solely on an individual’s artistic profile but should also consider knowledge of the above issues. On the other hand, artists must also more strongly integrate the significance of communication in their own activities. Merely engaging in a certain form of art and then hoping that some mediator will make the public aware of it just won’t work.
Thomas Renz at “Artistic Interventions in Cultural Education”
Thomas Renz is taking part in the course framework as a consultant in Module 5: “Cultural management for creators of art in Cultural Education”.
If you have any queries or are interested in cooperating, you are welcome to contact zertifikatskurs@ uni-hildesheim.de