Weimar, 10 September 2025 – With strong attendance, artistic diversity, and a new record in gross revenue, Kunstfest Weimar 2025 has come to a close. Approximately 42,000 guests attended this year’s interdisciplinary festival, which took place from 20 August to 7 September. With 10,419 tickets sold (last year’s record was 10,783) and a new all-time gross revenue record of €182,000, Kunstfest reaffirms its position as the largest festival for contemporary arts in Eastern Germany. The programme featured 150 events across 50 projects from all artistic disciplines. Particularly noteworthy: 25 world and national premieres were celebrated in Weimar – an impressive testament to the festival’s artistic innovation. Many events were again freely accessible this year, making a significant contribution to cultural participation.
A particular highlight for audiences was the concert by Weimar sound artist Martin Kohlstedt, a graduate of the Bauhaus University Weimar, held on the floating stage at the Weimarhallenpark – more than 2,000 tickets were sold for this event alone. Other artistic highlights included the world premiere of FaustX by South African star director Brett Bailey, which satirically cast Elon Musk as a modern-day Faust figure, as well as Genesis, a new choreography by internationally acclaimed South African choreographer Greg Maqoma. The festival’s thematic focus on Taiwan, with five elaborate premieres, was also met with great acclaim by both audiences and critics.
The national and international media response was exceptional: French daily newspapers Le Monde and L’Humanité both featured full-page reports on the festival. Le Monde praised: “Rolf C. Hemke gives the festival a sharp political edge without ever compromising its aesthetic standards.” The BBC was also on site, and The Guardian published an in-depth article on the festival – a clear sign of the international resonance of the Weimar festival. Moreover, Kunstfest once again proved to be an important economic driver for the city of Weimar: In addition to the many visiting tourists, the festival itself accounted for 1,057 overnight stays by artists and contributors in Weimar’s hotels during the festival period.
For Rolf C. Hemke, this year marked both his seventh and final Kunstfest as Artistic Director – a position he has held since 2019 and during which he managed to deliver a fully in-person festival even during the 2020 pandemic, thanks to his persistence. Hemke, who will take up a new role as Artistic Director at Theater Vorpommern, expressed his gratitude to all involved and emphasized the festival’s role as a cultural flagship and driving force for the city of Weimar.
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https://www.kunstfest-weimar.de/presse
Press contact for inquiries (from 01 November):
Rolf C. Hemke
Künstlerischer Leiter – Kunstfest Weimar – Artistic Director
Tel: +49 (0)3643 755 290
Mobil: +49 (0)177 7424608
r.hemke@theater-vorpommern.de
www.kunstfest-weimar.de