International Curatorial Team for "Theater der Welt" 2026 has been determined

Theater der Welt, Germany’s most significant international theatre festival, has announced the artistic direction for its 17th edition in Chemnitz in 2026. As outlined in the festival’s bid, artistic responsibility will be shared among nine international curators.

The curatorial team, consisting of Simon Abrahams (Australia), Joshua Dalledonne (Canada), Rodrigo González Alvarado (Colombia, Argentina), Faye Kabali-Kagwa (South Africa), Nikos Mavrakis (Greece), Aya Nabulsi (Jordan, Saudi Arabia), Srishti Ray (India), Ndèye Mané Touré (Senegal) and Yuan Zhang (China) has convened in Chemnitz and begun its work.

The festival’s core values—partnership, equality, sustainability, interdisciplinarity, and digitality—will guide the development and exploration of new collaborative models. At the heart of the festival team’s work is the belief that art is created under different conditions. Globally, the festival will seek to recognize commonalities, understand differences, and make them artistically and aesthetically tangible in an interdisciplinary and individual way.

Yvonne Büdenhölzer, President of the International Theatre Institute, German Centre / ITI: "With this new curatorial approach, we are further developing the long-standing festival THEATER DER WELT. I am delighted to entrust the curatorial responsibility to a group of transnationally active curators who bring their diverse local perspectives to global issues and will present shared artistic visions for Theater der Welt 2026 in Chemnitz."

Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth: "From the European Capital of Culture 2025 to the international capital of performing arts: With THEATER DER WELT 2026, Chemnitz is securing another internationally acclaimed cultural event for the coming year. This solidifies Chemnitz’s position as a vibrant cultural city in eastern Germany."

For the first time in the festival’s history, its organization will be handled by a five-genre theatre, an international training and networking organization, and a local cultural producer. Together, Theater Chemnitz, The Festival Academy, and the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH will host THEATER DER WELT in Chemnitz from June 18 to July 5, 2026.

The festival's directorial team consists of Christoph Dittrich (General Director of Theater Chemnitz), Inge Ceustermans (General Director of The Festival Academy), and Stefan Schmidtke (Managing Director, Program of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH).

Theater der Welt is a festival organized by the German Centre of the International Theatre Institute e.V. and has been held every three years in a different German city since 1981. The festival program is expected to be announced in March 2026.

Find more information about the project here.