Since 2004, FREISCHWIMMEN has been an international exchange and production platform in the German-speaking world for the needs-based and sustainable promotion of artists. As a growing association of 8 independent theaters in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, FREISCHWIMMEN enables emerging artists to work across genres and national borders and to develop new artistic styles and working biographies.

For many artists and groups, FREISCHWIMMEN has already been a springboard into the pools of supra-regional and international visibility.

With co-productions, guest performances in the production house network, residencies, workshops, showings, labs and a biennial festival, FREISCHWIMMEN promotes individual artistic development, process-oriented work and the exchange of aesthetics and working methods between artists and partner houses. On the part of the venues, the platform facilitates intensive knowledge transfer between them and enables substantial further development of their own structures, which in turn benefits artists in the regions associated with the network venues.

We want to initiate collective and supra-regional processes between artists and venues, always placing the artistic work at the center.

Free-swimming means navigating confidently through the sometimes cold, rough water, developing your own style and courageously exploring new depths.

Credits:
Film and editing: Mayra Wallraff
Music: NEBYOU ALIAS
Graphics: Jan Grygoriew
Voice: Karoline Günst
Text: Lilli Ruopp, Laila Grümpel