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kultur.forum.RUPTUR strengthens cultural heritage and economy

  • 19.01.2026
  • Research
Publikum bei einer Veranstaltung: Einige Personen sitzen vor der Bühne, andere stehen an einem Stehtisch.
© Stefan Ringler - Lebensraum Tirol Gruppe

Panel discussion with Sebastian Knopp (Head of Creative Authority Regensburg, second from left), Bernadette Abendstein (actress and director of the STEUDLTENN theater festival, third from left) and Christian Steinmeyer (managing director of Steinmayr & Co Insurance Brokers GmbH, fourth from left), moderated by Hanna Dressler (Lebensraum Tirol Group, first from left).

At the kultur.forum.RUPTUR event organized by the Lebensraum Tirol group, experts from the fields of culture, business, and tourism came together to exchange ideas and initiate joint projects. As part of kultur.kreativ.tirol, the event provided valuable impetus for the Interreg project EMY and highlighted further opportunities for networking.

Combining culture and business – this was the focus of the kultur.forum.RUPTUR event organized by the Lebensraum Tirol Group at the end of November 2025. The event offered cultural professionals and representatives from business and tourism the opportunity to develop new collaborations and initiate joint projects.  At the same time, the Interreg project EMY of the FH Kufstein Tirol, which is being implemented together with the municipalities of Maniago, Montebelluna, and the Fondazione Università Ca' Foscari, supports precisely this kind of cooperation. By networking museums and the local economy, the aim is to bring cultural heritage to life and make it tangible for young people.

“The kultur.forum.RUPTUR provides us with valuable insights into the tension between culture and business - and at the same time shows ways in which these challenges can be constructively resolved. These insights are particularly helpful for the further development and implementation of our Interreg project Emy,” says Emily Kirchlechner, MA (project manager of Emy).

CROSS-SECTOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN CULTURE, ADMINISTRATION AND BUSINESS

During a panel discussion, Bernadette Abendstein (actress and director of the STEUDLTENN theater festival), Sebastian Knopp (head of the Regensburg Creative Authority), and Christian Steinmayr (managing director of Steinmayr & Co Insurance Brokers GmbH) represented culture, administration, and business, respectively, and discussed how these areas can be networked. The search for common ground and the constructive handling of areas of tension are important in this context. Only in this way can mutual understanding and genuine cooperation develop. The strengths of culture and creativity were particularly emphasized: flexibility, adaptability, and agility. The creative sector in particular - especially small and independent cultural workers - demonstrates remarkable resilience.

ART AND CULTURE CHARACTERIZE TYROL (...) AND ARE AN INSEPARABLE PART OF OUR IDENTITY.

Anton Mattle

Provincial Governor

Formats such as kultur.forum.RUPTUR are extremely important because they create spaces where different perspectives can be seen and genuine cooperation can grow. At the same time, it became clear that there is still room for improvement - particularly when it comes to involving economic actors. Even greater interest on the part of the business community could further enhance the impact of such events and provide additional impetus for joint strategies for the future.

“AArt and culture characterise Tyrol (…) and are an inseparable part of our identity,” emphasized Governor Anton Mattle. This significance is reflected not only in our cultural self-image, but also in social cohesion: culture creates common points of reference, strengthens local communities, and highlights regional characteristics.

 A NEW INTERPRETATION OF FAMILIAR PLACES

The highlight of the day was the so-called rupture sessions - short presentations and insights from creative professionals into their working environments. A recurring theme was the need to consciously break away from familiar perspectives on places in order to reveal new perspectives and potential. For example, Ines Graus, founder of Zimmer 3 – the small museum in the Esterhammer inn (Rotholz) – showed how familiar places can be reinterpreted. This is a small museum in the inn that uses historical objects and stories to provide insights into the past of the house and the hamlet of Rotholz. Active intergenerational dialogue and knowledge sharing create places of open exchange and lingering that bring different people together. Innsbruck Marketing and Stadtmarketing Kufstein also showed examples of how art installations and events can be used to rethink familiar places, making culture a driver of urban change. Disruptions are not seen as disturbances, but as necessary impetus for further development – they require communication and courage.

As part of kultur.forum.RUPTUR, fresh impetus was given to networking between culture and business, and new formats were presented at the same time: a live podcast series is being created in cooperation with Life Radio Tirol, and the Ruptur creative competition was also presented. Another highlight was the presentation of the five new Tyrolean cultural ambassadors, who will act as mediators for the regional cultural landscape in the future. Together, these initiatives open up new opportunities to link culture and business even more closely in the future.

 

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