ÜBER LEBENSKUNST is a project initiated by the German Federal Cultural Foundation in cooperation with the Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

The German Federal Cultural Foundation funds and initiates cultural projects of national interest and international magnitude within the scope of federal competence. It also develops its own programmes which explore current issues concerning our society and its cultural dimension. The impact of climate change and the global environmental crisis are among the most urgent, long-term issues facing us today. For this reason, the Federal Cultural Foundation established the programme ÜBER LEBENSKUNST in 2009 which examines perspectives of economic and social restructuring that could lead to a sustainable way of life and investigates what kind of role culture can play in such a process. The Federal Cultural Foundation has allocated a total of 3.5 million euros to fund the project until 2012. 

The Haus der Kulturen der Welt is an experimental center for international contemporary art. It also takes up central social themes such as migration and cultural diversity. During the past twenty years, it has developed and initiated international co-operation projects in the fields of art, film, music, performance, literature and the production of knowledge. Its name is programmatic, suggesting that the questions of culture and justice triggered by ecological crises can be grasped and solved only in global contexts. The Haus der Kulturen der Welt is located in the centre of Berlin, not far from the city’s lakes and forests, the River Spree and the Tiergarten. For the theme festival it will be transformed into an exhibition, learning and play center designed to provide sensual access to the theme.