Goethe-Institut Toronto
How We Work

The development of major projects depends, now more than ever, on people and institutions willing to support challenging and visionary work. Additional resources from foundations, partner organizations and sponsors help us realize exceptional projects aimed at promoting international understanding and exchange.

Together, we can reach more audiences and create a basis for lasting healthy relations.

The Cultural Programs of the Goethe-Institut

The Goethe-Institut Toronto operates on a partnership basis. For individual projects, as for longer-term joint ventures, we connect with stakeholders in the cultural scene across all genres – institutions, organizations, companies, people in and from Canada, Germany, and other countries (in particular our European neighbours). Often a project involves several partners working together.

The Goethe-Institut organizes its programs proactively, on a long-term, sustainable basis. It is of special importance to us to jointly develop ideas and create dialogue between the partners from the outset. Events and projects achieve their best results when they are planned cooperatively, starting with the original idea and proceeding via engaged discussions on the innovative formats and engaging events, on the selection of artists and speakers, to the financing, scheduling, and organization. Thus all parties benefit from shared work loads and implementing projects together. Contact us as early as possible (about a year in advance) if you are interested in working with us so that mutual interests, content development and internal processes can be taken into account. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make financial contributions to projects which have already been planned without our participation.

We focus on topics in multi-year cycles, currently:

• Climate & Culture
• Biocentric Art & Design
• Democracy Resilience
• Global Feminisms
• Visual Communication as a Global Language 
• Shaping the Future
• Shaping the Past
• Civil Society
• German Film 
• Residencies

In general:

• Current German cultural positions and scenes, contemporary ideas and artistic practices;
• Germany, Canada, and Europe – art, culture, society, knowledge, ideas, cultural diversity, and perspectives on international exchange;
• Cultural liaison between Germany and North America. 

Criteria that guide our work: 

• The Goethe-Institut actively curates programs and is not a foundation or a funding body such as the Canada Council. Therefore, there is no formal application process for most of our projects—every project is unique.
• The Goethe-Institut is an independent registered association. Our projects and programs are not-for-profit and serve the public good. We want to facilitate projects which would not take place without us.
• Our target groups are Canadians across communities. Consequently, our cultural programs are generally delivered in English. Exceptions are special events for students and teachers of German.
• The Goethe-Institut is not a sponsor (on the contrary, we welcome sponsors!).
• Every partner, including the Goethe-Institut, should retain its identity vis-à-vis audiences and the public and be able to communicate this identity visibly in an appropriate manner (from its logo to joint PR).
• We are based in Toronto, but engage in selected strategic arts initiatives across Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, for example major multi-city touring opportunities.
• In addition to focusing on topics, information, and cultural content, we concentrate on creating sustainable relationships. We bring people together and contribute to the formation of global networks.
• The Goethe-Institut likes to work within the framework of Germany-related series or clusters (for example, “The Future of Cities" & or "Culture talks @ Goethe”). In this framework, the visibility of German artists or contributions from Germany in the Canadian context is central.
• We want to present the best and most exciting aspects of Germany's cultural life and global input today. Our close co-operation with our cultural advisory councils in Germany, our Munich head office and with the other Goethe-Institutes in North America and the world ensures that our programs are relevant and of a high quality.
• We do not have an in-house concert or screening hall, but we are happy to use our Goethe Space and classrooms for partner conferences, talks, and presentations.

We curate many of our own programs, with international artists and partners, as well as host arts programs by opening the Institute in downtown Toronto to cultural producers who have fostered trustered relationships with us.

Would you like to work with us? Do you have a project or an idea which could bring us together? Please contact us with your suggestions.
 

Partnerships

The Goethe-Institut Toronto is privileged to collaborate with the following Canadian and German institutions, whom we thank for their continued support: