Cultural participation of people with disabilities

KUBI-S is committed to inclusion and accessibility in Stuttgart's cultural landscape with various measures and projects.

14.10.2025

KUBI-S (opens in a new tab) is part of the Cultural Office and stands for Netzwerk Kulturelle Bildung Stuttgart. KUBI-S is committed to cultural participation. This means that KUBI-S wants to bring as many people as possible into contact with cultural education. From 2021 to 2024, KUBI-S focused on the cultural participation of people with disabilities as part of the diversity-related umbrella project Auf.jetzt.

On this page, KUBI-S presents the survey "Inklusion in der Kulturellen Bildungslandschaft Stuttgarts", the Stuttgart cultural festival "Funkeln inklusive" and the workshop series "Auf.Machen".

Status Quo Analysis on Inclusion in Stuttgart's Cultural Landscape

The first focus of KUBI-S's new concept in recent years has been the participation of people with disabilities in Stuttgart's cultural life as part of program and network work. What are the strengths of Stuttgart's cultural landscape in terms of inclusive cultural education? What challenges does it face? KUBI-S has been addressing these questions since 2021 as part of a city-wide status quo analysis. KULTURGOLD GmbH (opens in a new tab) advised KUBI-S and played a key role in conducting the analysis.

We would also like to invite stakeholders and experts with and without disabilities to exchange ideas and network with us in the long term.

Publication

Expert panels

Online survey

Theme workshops

"Sparkle Included" - The Stuttgart Cultural Festival

Experiencing art and culture together in Stuttgart - that was the goal of the Stuttgart festival "Funkeln inklusive" from May 20 to 22, 2022. The topic of "inclusion in Stuttgart culture" was brought into focus with various artistic and professional events. Another goal of the event was accordingly to make the work of artists* with disabilities visible.

When we use the term disabilities, we mean its social meaning.

That means: people are disabled. And not: people are disabled. These experiences of disability can be different and feel different for each person.

The invitation at "Sparkle inclusive" was: Everyone is allowed and can participate everywhere if they want to. Each person decides for themselves where and how they want to participate. All events were free of charge.

The picture shows an illustration of the festival "Sparkle included". You can see yellow stripes with green stars at the upper ends on a gray background. At the top left is the word-picture mark of the festival. It reads: Funkeln inklusive Das Stuttgarter Kulturfestival.

In the picture you can see the agora of the cultural area. There are many people standing in the agora. From the ceiling hang many different models.

The picture shows Sandra Olbrich. She is sitting in a wheelchair and is wearing black pants and a red top. To her right is a table. On it are two bottles of water. On the left of the picture is a sign language interpreter. She is wearing a black dress. Her hair is pinned up. Between the two people is a lectern.

The picture shows the First Mayor Dr. Fabian Mayer. He is wearing a light-colored shirt and a gray suit. He is standing at a lectern and speaking into a microphone. To his left is a woman wearing a longer black dress. She is signing with her hands.

Kate Brehme is standing on the picture. She is wearing black glasses, big earrings and red dress with short sleeves. Her hair is short and dark brown. She is standing in front of a lectern and speaking into a microphone. To her left is a sign language interpreter. She is wearing a black dress and blue tights. In the background there is a presentation with a picture of "Funkeln inklusive".

Felix Klieser can be seen in the picture. He is sitting on a chair on a stage. With one foot he holds his instrument horn and plays on it. On the right side of the picture is a woman sitting at a piano.

There are four people in the picture. On the right side of the picture sits Felix Klieser, who is speaking into a microphone. Next to him sits Jörg Beese from the dance company SZENE 2WEI. He is wearing a blue checkered shirt, black glasses, has a beard and long hair tied into a bun. On the left side in the picture is Sandra Olbrich. She is wearing an orange-red sweater and is sitting in a wheelchair. She has moderation cards in her hand. Behind her is a sign language interpreter. She is wearing a black dress.

The picture shows a hand placing dried flowers on a table. Under the hand are also dried flowers on a white cloth. The flowers are purple, green and yellow. The background of the picture is blurred.

In the picture there is a table. On the table is a glass with orange juice, a sugar shaker and two plates with pastries on it. Behind the table is a red wooden chair.

In the picture there are three laughing people. They are sitting on the floor. The floor is black and seems to belong to a stage. On the left side of the picture you can see a part of the audience rows. The chairs for the audience are blue.

There are seven people in the picture. They are sitting on chairs. On the far right sits Viktoriia Vitrenko and holds a microphone in her hand. In the other hand she holds moderation cards. In the background there are green trees and bushes.

In the picture you can see a big white room. In the room there are many colorful different objects. For example, a silver ladder, neon yellow safety vests, a globe and many lights and lamps. In the background there are people.

Organizer and cooperation partners

The program

Workshop series "For more inclusion in culture"

October 2025 sees the continuation of the successful workshop series "For more inclusion in culture". From autumn 2025 to spring 2026, KUBI-S will be organizing various workshops on the topic of cultural participation for people with disabilities. The workshops will take place in cooperation with the Cultural Promotion Department of the Department of Culture.

The workshops raise awareness and pass on knowledge and practical tips for implementation in your own work. They also serve to promote networking and professional exchange.

The workshops are aimed at all cultural institutions, cultural actors and freelancers in Stuttgart. We expressly welcome the participation of people in management and decision-making positions. The workshops provide further training in various specialist areas: in terms of content, organization and implementation.

Are you planning an inclusive cultural project? The workshops are a good basis for applying for the "Inclusive Cultural Projects Fund" (opens in a new tab) of the Cultural Promotion Department. Further information can be found in the program brochure.

You can register for the individual workshops via the calendar of events (opens in a new tab).

Program brochure workshop series "For more inclusion in culture"PDF-File 626,03 kB