Through the newly established Cologne Cultural Fund, we are helping Cologne’s independent cultural scene to access new sources of funding, bring creative ideas to life and safeguard cultural diversity in the long term.
Culture brings our city to life. It creates spaces for people to come together, fosters dialogue and helps to strengthen social cohesion. At the same time, many people working in the cultural sector face major challenges: rising costs and limited financial resources often make it difficult to carry out important projects.
As a company with a history stretching back almost 100 years in Cologne, we feel a strong connection to our home city. For the REWE Group, Cologne is not just a business location, but the centre of many employees’ lives and a central part of our identity.
Cologne’s cultural diversity is an essential part of what makes the city so special. It thrives on creativity, openness and the commitment of numerous artists and cultural practitioners. Values such as diversity, respect and mutual understanding are also of great importance to the REWE Group. Driven by this conviction, we have established the Cologne Cultural Fund in collaboration with the City of Cologne and the Kölner Kulturrat e.V.
„Culture brings people together and makes Cologne a vibrant and diverse city. As a company with deep roots in Cologne, we want to play our part in safeguarding this strength of our city for the long term. Through the Cologne Culture Fund, we are bridging an important funding gap and laying the foundations for additional funding to flow into Cologne. In this way, we aim to enable more cultural projects. At the same time, this is an invitation to other companies to join us in supporting Cologne as a centre of culture. After all, the more partners who take on responsibility, the more we can achieve for the cultural diversity and future of our city.“Lionel Souque, CEO of the REWE Group
The fund is intended to provide support in areas where funding initiatives often stall: many promising projects meet the technical criteria for federal or European Union funding programmes, but are unable to raise the necessary own contribution. Through the Culture Fund, we aim to provide precisely this missing piece of the puzzle, thereby facilitating access to further funding.
The fund will be endowed with 100,000 euros at the outset. This is not merely a matter of direct financial support. Our aim is to attract additional funding for Cologne’s cultural scene, thereby enabling the realisation of further projects. In this way, every euro invested is intended to generate the greatest possible added value for Cologne as a centre of culture.
The independent arts scene makes an indispensable contribution to the city’s cultural development. It provides impetus, creates new perspectives and enriches the cultural landscape. Through the Cologne Cultural Fund, we aim to help strengthen this commitment in the long term.
At the same time, we see the fund as a catalyst for collective action. We would be delighted if, in line with our co-operative guiding principle – “What one person cannot achieve alone, many can achieve together” – further companies were to join this initiative. After all, promoting culture is a task that works best TOGETHER when different partners join forces.
For the REWE Group, the focus is not on our own visibility, but on the tangible benefits for the cultural scene and the people of Cologne. Our aim is to achieve sustainability and to actively support the city’s cultural diversity.
„Culture is a key factor in Cologne’s appeal as a place to live. It makes our city a great place to live, brings people and ideas together, and plays a major part in making Cologne such an attractive place. The fact that the REWE Group, as a Cologne-based company, is committed to culture in our city and is thereby opening up further funding opportunities is a strong demonstration of corporate social responsibility.“ Torsten Burmester, Mayor of the City of Cologne
one: Ms von Stein, why do you think the Cologne Cultural Fund is such an important driving force for Cologne?
Juana von Stein: What convinces me most about the Cultural Fund is its leverage effect. There are many excellent ideas in the independent arts scene. But sometimes, of all things, the required co-funding is missing – the very element needed to even apply for funding from the federal government or the EU. That is precisely where the Fund comes in. With relatively modest resources, we can enable significantly larger sums of funding to come to Cologne. In the best-case scenario, one euro contributed to the fund can turn into several euros for culture in Cologne. That is a very tangible and effective boost.
one: What role does the independent cultural scene play for our city?
Juana von Stein: The independent scene is part of Cologne’s cultural DNA. It is experimental, diverse, sometimes uncomfortable – and that is exactly what a vibrant cultural city needs. This is where new ideas, new formats and, often, international connections are forged. Much of what makes Cologne culturally exciting and distinctive originates in the independent scene. That is why we must ensure that good ideas do not fail due to a lack of financial leeway.
one: How do you view the collaboration between the City of Cologne, the Cologne Cultural Council and the REWE Group on this project?
Juana von Stein: What I particularly like about this collaboration is that each partner brings something different to the table. The City knows the cultural and funding landscape and contributes its specialist expertise. The Cologne Cultural Council acts as a bridge between the two sides and understands the needs of both very clearly. And the REWE Group, with its contribution of 100,000 euros, has provided the decisive impetus to turn a good idea into a concrete instrument. This shows what is possible when very different stakeholders take joint responsibility for Cologne.
one: What development opportunities do you see for Cologne as a cultural hub thanks to the Cologne Cultural Fund?
Juana von Stein: I hope that the fund will open doors – to funding programmes, to larger projects, but also to new collaborations and international partnerships. If we succeed in attracting additional federal and EU funding to Cologne, we will not only be strengthening the independent arts scene. The added value directly benefits the people of Cologne. After all, ultimately this results in new productions, events and cultural offerings that the public can experience and which enrich our city’s cultural diversity. The fund therefore creates opportunities for artists whilst also providing new cultural experiences for the people of Cologne. And, of course, it would be wonderful if the REWE Group’s commitment were to inspire other companies and foundations to get involved too, so that we can amplify this impact together.
one: Looking a few years into the future: what would you hope the Cologne Cultural Fund has achieved for Cologne?
Juana von Stein: My hope is that, one day, we’ll be able to say: ‘This fund has given rise to projects that wouldn’t otherwise have existed.’ That we’ve been able to bring many times the amount of funding invested back to Cologne, and that artists have been given opportunities that were previously beyond their reach. And I would hope that today’s launch has grown into a lasting alliance for culture in Cologne – with many partners working together to ensure that good ideas in this city do not fail due to a lack of funding.
Juana von Stein has been head of the City of Cologne’s Cultural Affairs Department since 2025. After completing her PhD in Romance Studies, she worked for the Goethe-Institut: initially on a
She has focused on cultural projects worldwide, and subsequently served as director of the Goethe-Institut in Bonn. Juana von Stein is 41 years old and lives with her family in the heart of Cologne.