This call has been translated from German. Proficiency in German is likely essential; please contact the employer if unsure.
Kampnagel Internationale Kulturfabrik GmbH is Seeking a Curator for the International Summer Festival
Location: Hamburg, Germany (Kampnagel)
Job type: Full-time; initially fixed-term for two years; contract under NV Bühne
Start date: 01 January 2026
Application deadline: 14 November 2025
About Kampnagel
Kampnagel is Germany’s largest independent venue and production center for contemporary performing arts, with approximately 180,000 visitors annually. It presents and produces an international, interdisciplinary program of theater, dance, performance, conferences, and concerts in the Kampnagel halls and at temporary venues throughout the city.
The International Summer Festival is Kampnagel’s largest event, presenting outstanding international productions from theater, dance, performance, music, and visual art at the intersection of avant-garde and pop culture for three weeks every August. It is one of the major interdisciplinary festivals for contemporary art in Europe.
For the team of the International Summer Festival, Kampnagel is looking for a full-time Curator (m/f/d) starting January 1st, 2026, initially for a fixed term of two years.
In this position, you will report to the Festival Director and be part of the curatorial team, which consists of the Artistic Director, the assistant, and project-based curators. You will work year-round on the conception and planning of the festival, as well as for three weeks in August on its execution. For Kampnagel’s renovation phase starting in autumn 2026, you will also share responsibility for planning the Summer Festival editions from 2027 to 2030 at other locations in the city with adapted concepts.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Conception and realization of the festival program in close cooperation with the Artistic Director regarding aesthetic, political, and discursive issues.
- Research, viewing, and selection of productions.
- National and international travel.
- Supervision of interns, serving as the contact person for the assistant, and active coordinating interface activities with other departments.
- Conception and moderation of accompanying program formats.
- Networking and maintaining relationships with artists, curators, foundations, and other summer festival partners.
- Acquiring third-party funding and writing grant applications and project reports.
- Editing the program booklet and other formats for announcing the festival program, and close collaboration with the communications department and freelancers.
- Advising artists on application, conceptual, and organizational questions, as well as the artistic supervision of productions on-site.
- Representing the International Summer Festival in local, national, and international networks.
Requirements:
- Relevant curatorial experience in the performing arts.
- Very well-structured and proactive working style.
- Very good knowledge of current discourses in contemporary art and diversity issues.
- Extensive knowledge of performance, contemporary theater, dance, music, and art.
- Good contacts with national and international cultural institutions and artists.
- Extensive knowledge of the Hamburg cultural landscape and institutions.
- Experience in and interest in conceiving artistic programs in public spaces.
- Confident powers of expression and grammatical text proficiency in German and English.
- Excellent diversity-sensitive team and communication skills.
- Good IT skills.
We they offer:
- Contract according to the NV Bühne collective agreement.
- Annual special payment.
- Additional pension plan (Bayerische Versorgungskammer).
- Working in a small, experienced team with flat hierarchies and short decision-making paths.
- Subsidy for the “Deutschlandticket” (HVV job ticket).
- Corporate fitness offer with HANSEFIT.
- Improved access to daycare places through our cooperation with the Stiftung Finkenau.
Diversifying our organization is important to us, which is why we are particularly pleased to receive applications from people who do not belong to the societal majority. Even if you do not meet every single requirement, we would like to encourage you to apply anyway. Perhaps you are exactly the person we are looking for.
How to Apply
Please send your application documents exclusively by email in a single PDF document to bewerbung@kampnagel.de.
Send application documents by November 14th, 2025.
Kampnagel Internationale Kulturfabrik GmbH
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