The Düsseldorf Festival is a fixed institution in the Düsseldorf calendar. Founded by the two musicians Christiane Oxenfort and Anderes Dahmen, it is a festival for performing arts such as theatre, music, new circus and dance. In earlier years it was known as the "Altstadtherbst Kulturfestival". Today it sees itself as an alternative to the classical concert halls and the classical concert business. Christiane Oxenfort and Anderes Dahmen are constantly on the lookout for worldwide attractions. One of them is the Australian performance artist Guru Dud, who has already thrilled many Düsseldorfers with his performances in the Altstadt. The Cirkus Cirkör group from Sweden has been performing for many years, earning standing ovations. For Christiane Oxenfort, however, this is normal: "Standing ovations are normal at the Düsseldorf Festival. Our indicator is how quickly it happens."

The Düsseldorf Festival is also an important employer: Over 80 people work behind the scenes to make the festival a success every year.

21 September 2023

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Interview Directory 

DÜSSELDORF

Name: Christiane Oxenfort

Occuation: Musician, entrepreneur

Name: Anderes Dahmen

Occupation: Musician, entrepreneur

You see the Australian DJ Guru Dudu all over social media. How did you actually get to know him?

Christiane Oxenfort: I found him on the internet through the Edinburgh Festival. We look around the world and a few years ago I came across Guru Dudu's reels and videos. I liked him as a street theatre man. He comes to Europe every year, first in Edinburgh, then in Brighton and then he comes to us in Düsseldorf.

"After the pandemic, it is urgent that fun comes back into society."

Andreas Dahmen: Guru Dudu appeals to an audience that is not necessarily festival-, theatre- or dance-savvy. We want to do actions that radiate out into the street,

to get in touch with the people. So we bring the festival to the street, because a marquee is a hermetic situation. Guru Dudu is an incredibly positive event and after the pandemic, it is urgent that fun comes back into society.

I hear there was a standing ovation at Cirkus Cirkör?



Christiane Oxenfort: Standing ovations are normal at the Düsseldorf Festival. Our indicator is how quickly it happens.

Andreas Dahmen: Cirkus Cirkör is very poetic and has a certain atmosphere. It is a "new circus", much more theatrical, narrative, with political and social ambitions, something the Swedes always pursue.

Premiere Cirkus Cirkör Courtesy Düsseldorf Festival

Premiere Cirkus Cirkör Courtesy Düsseldorf Festival

What is the mood like in the team?

Andreas Dahmen: We have had very warm days. The mood is good because the artists are very close to us. Cirkus Cirkör has been working with us for many years. After more than 30 years, I notice that not every team is the same, but that they mesh like cogs.

Have you actually felt how the rising cost of living has affected your business?

Christiane Oxenfort: We are at the 2019 level. According to economists, people save on food but not on pleasure and holidays.

Your festival is in English?

Andreas Dahmen: We work with mimes. Our performances are understandable for everyone

understandable for everyone, because there is no spoken theatre, but dance or acrobatics and music. It is rather rare that a word is spoken.

"We were artists and we did it all ourselves and we had to learn everything."

You are both musicians and also entrepreneurs. How does that work?

Andreas Dahmen: We are managing directors and owners of a non-profit limited company. We were artists and we took it all into our own hands and we had to learn everything. Managing the bureaucratic task is of course not the nicest task at the end of the day. Our team is relatively small and we have to do a lot in terms of personnel. There are also unpleasant tasks, such as Gema notifications and artists' social insurance.

Do you still have time to be artistically active?

Christiane Oxenfort: It is a decision and hardly feasible for me in terms of time. I was sitting at the concert in the Andreaskirche the other day and thought to myself that next yearI could play a flute piece again next year. But in the end I decided against it because it's too much in the context of the festival. After the festival, however, I have a flute concert on 14 October as part of the Ido Festival in St Peter's Church.

There are also young people performing and I think they should play it and not me. I'm not trying to take away the opportunity for young people to start.

What does your festival mean in numbers?

Andreas Dahmen: 4 people are employed by us throughout the year. In addition, there are freelancers who work with us on a regular basis, such as marketing, PR, production office and the technical director as the most important position. Then there are interns and also trainees in the field of dietetics at Diakonie Düsseldorf. We have a professional chef who runs the canteen. Everything grows to 80 people.

"We want to manifest a certain kind of art here in the region on an international level."

What is your mission? What do you want to express with your festival in Düsseldorf?

Andreas Dahmen: We want to manifest a certain kind of art here in the region on an international level. We have noticed in recent years that the audience, especially the regular audience, expects things that they don't get to see at the regional theatres. They are very open-minded people, heterogeneous and broadly diversified, who all have in common that they are interested in new things.