Die Frauenkultur Leipzig

• 01.10.1990
• Foundation of Frauenkultur e.V. Leipzig

• 07.10.1990
• Opening of the house in Schönefeld | Löbauer Straße 49

• from 1990 bis 1991
• Work as a women’s cultural center – with the corresponding development processes

• from 30.09.1991
• Socio-cultural center with all the corresponding fields of work -> until 1993 in Löbauer Str. 49

• until 02-1994
• Interim domicile: Budde-Haus | from 18.02.1994 in Braustr. 17

• since 05-2000
• Socio-cultural center for women’s culture at Windscheidstr. 51 on the grounds of the Kulturfabrik Leipzig

• www.frauenkultur-leipzig.de

Historical

Women at the “Culture Round Table” campaigned vehemently for the creation of a women’s cultural center. In May 1990, the “Culture Round Table” decided that a center for women artists should be opened in Leipzig. The former youth clubhouse “Jörgen Schmidtchen”, Löbauer Straße 49, was proposed as the location for what was initially still called the Women’s Cultural Center. And of course the question arises: why this house? It was well known that this house was very large and very, very much in need of renovation.

In the documentary “Women’s groups in the GDR in the 1980s” by Samirah Kenawi, we find a note:

Frauenkulturzentrum Leipzig – an experiment
„In 1982, a full-time employee of the youth club “Jürgen Schmidtchen” planned a series of events for women. Contrary to the usual practice, this series was to be largely co-organized by the women involved. A private preparatory group wanted to work out their own lectures and organize the evenings themselves. The planned program included the following events: “Of witches, bluestockings and other rude women”; “The international women’s movement, what was it and what is it?”; “What we can, may, must, should, want – being a woman at work and in the family”; “Women on the move – how do women imagine communism?”; “I don’t always want to be defeated – women and sexuality”. Around 60 women attended the first event. The prospect of being able to discuss and implement their own ideas met with a great response. The success of this event brought government agencies onto the scene. As a result, the DFD (Democratic Women’s Association of Germany) claimed the topic of women and thus the series of events for itself and took it over with the support and mandate of the SED. The initiator was called to account under labor law for her high-handedness in planning the series of events and was ultimately “persuaded” to resign. DFD replaced the planned events with the usual topics: “How do I swaddle my baby?” and “My friend is in the army, how do I behave?”, whereupon the series “successfully” fell asleep.“

The full-time employee at the time was Petra Lux; head of the youth clubhouse “Jörgen Schmidtchen”: see under “Activists”…

Today, it is hard to understand that it was primarily such circumstances that influenced the decision in favor of this property. It was a different time, the clocks were still ticking in the right direction, but it was still quite a bit different…

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However, an analysis of the archive material indicates that 1 October 1990, the date of the association’s registration with the Leipzig district court, is equated with the founding of Frauenkultur e.V. On 7 October 1990, just six days later, the then-named Frauenkulturzentrum in Schönefeld was inaugurated. These two facts are typical of any chronicle of an association. It is therefore pertinent to enquire as to the precise date of the association’s foundation, as well as the date on which the location, rooms or building were opened. It is only upon closer examination that the significance of these two dates becomes apparent. The foundation of the association, including its registration as a non-profit organisation, occurred during the period of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). However, the opening of the premises at Löbauer Straße 49 occurred amidst the fervour of German reunification on 3 October 1990. This transition between two distinct social systems is a defining feature of the association, and it cannot be dissociated from the context of the citizens’ movement in the GDR.

Actual situation in 1990

The time between the “Peaceful Revolution of 1989” and the beginning of the new era in the reunified country was too short to establish the new structures in all areas of society. Not only the women in the Schönefeld cultural center had founded a cultural association – without detailed knowledge of the legal basis of a non-profit association and inexperienced in legal responsibilities – but in all public and private areas, the know-how of everyday processes was developed virtually in retrospect.

With the founding of the association, the association register number and the opening of what was initially called the Women’s Cultural Center in Schönefeld, the legal basis for the takeover of the house as a non-profit organization and for funding applications to the municipality, state, foundations and funds was created – but the solid ground for everyday work was missing. There was a statute, founding women, the dilapidated building and many, many ideas – mostly without a concept for costs and financing. The further operation of the Women’s Cultural Center as a whole was still open in many respects – in terms of rent, operating and personnel costs.

A very important aspect of the situation at the time: the administration of the Women’s Cultural Center was still under municipal responsibility and staffing, i.e. in a transitional period, the director of the cultural center and other employees (a stoker and cleaners) were employees of the city of Leipzig until the summer of 1991. The founding women of the Frauenkultur Leipzig association worked on a concept for running the center on a voluntary basis under constant time pressure in order to be able to take it over as an independent institution.

And there was a lack of women, employees who were supposed to enliven the women’s cultural center with women’s political, artistic and cultural content. The association’s first employment contracts were signed at the beginning of February 1991. By mid-1991, a total of 21 women (artists*; project and administrative women; also from the non-women’s political corner) were employed by Frauenkultur e.V. Leipzig – sixteen women worked in the house, one in the Leipzig Women’s Initiative, one in the women’s library MONAliesA, one in the women’s bookshop TIAN and two at ZAUNREITERIN (the first independent women’s magazine in the GDR; founded in 1989).

This very complicated situation, in which all those involved (both professionally and privately) found themselves – the various job connections (City of Leipzig or association; different salary classifications) plus the dilapidated building – naturally led to conflicts… and to personnel changes/changes among the employed staff as well as among the women on the board.

In the first half of 1991, representatives of Frauenkultur and Haus Steinstraße drew up a draft for a model project for independent sponsorship, in coordination with the other three socio-cultural centers that had been established in the city of Leipzig. In July 1991 – as part of the model project for Leipzig’s socio-cultural centers approved by the Leipzig City Council – the provisional contract for independent sponsorship was signed between Frauenkultur e.V. Leipzig and the City of Leipzig and signed for five years in October 1991. It included the financial security of the basic requirements for the operation of the center (financing of the rent, proportionate operating costs and two staff positions). As part of this model project, all five socio-cultural centers received a contract for independent sponsorship: Anker, Conne Island, Frauenkultur, Haus Steinstraße and naTo.

This joint approach also marked the beginning of the AG Soziokultur in Leipzig.
During this time, an everyday work routine had developed despite the complicated, external and internal structure-finding situations. The various artistic activities offered by predominantly women* were accepted. In addition to artistic projects and courses for women (including a theater project, drumming, rhetoric, singing, yoga and dance courses), the entire spectrum included cultural events (concerts, exhibitions, readings, theater, etc.), work with girls (children’s store and girls’ café), neighborhood activities (senior citizens’ café), folk dance, women’s café and women’s discotheques. During this time, the socio-cultural women’s/cultural center became a concrete place of social communication for women* and artists* in Leipzig.

Cultural events, folk dancing and the “Kiez-Café” were open to women* and men*; courses, workshops and discos were for women* only.

The documentation “30 years of society in the mirror of 30 years of Sociocultural Center Frauenkultur Leipzig” -> as download

Fundamentals

The most important concern of Frauenkultur Leipzig then and now:
…to create a public place of socially integrative communication and participation-oriented encounters via art & culture by women* | via feminist art & culture – a place where the most diverse processes of gender-equitable social development are initiated in continuity… and the self-image of solidarity-feminist action is publicly promoted.

From the very beginning, in the context of the feminist-sociocultural approach questions have been asked and discussions initiated together with users and visitors for decades. Equality, democracy, tolerance, integration and statements against all forms of racism and xenophobia were and are the cornerstones of all Frauenkultur Leipzig activities – whereby the aspect of promoting feminist equality processes is always an integral part. This includes, among many other things, the fact that gender-equitable and gender-sensitive language has been demanded in a wide variety of contexts for decades.

The socio-cultural commitment of Frauenkultur Leipzig is based on the certainty, confirmed by numerous experiences, that dialog and knowledge are the best possible starting points for any communication and understanding between people – regardless of gender, age and origin. Consistently sought dialogs become particularly important when individual life aspirations do not [or no longer] coincide with social realities.

And openness between people is the first step towards participation. A large part of the majority population must/should be encouraged to do so and approached again and again – sometimes provoking, sometimes questioning, sometimes supporting. And the sociocultural-feminist work of Frauenkultur – and many other actors in socioculture – creates the necessary continuous offerings in Leipzig.

The equality of all genders – both as a concern and as an integral part of all areas of work at Frauenkultur Leipzig – is inextricably linked to the consistent confrontation with stereotypical role models. Before, around and after 1989, traditional role models and gender-related role behavior in a binary context were almost universally attributed to people who were read as girls* or boys* or as women* or men* in the GDR. And even in the 21st century, these patterns are unfortunately still predominant, despite many positive trends.