Kölner Jazzkonferenz e.V.
The Kölner Jazzkonferenz e. V. represents the interests of independent artists, institutions, and organizations working in the field of jazz and improvised music. Cultural diversity is a foundation of a vibrant democracy: it opens up new perspectives, fosters social participation, and creates understanding through education and encounter.
The members of the Kölner Jazzkonferenz are professional musicians and cultural practitioners working in the field of jazz and improvised music. They share a commitment to preserving and strengthening the independent cultural scene.
The independent cultural scene includes all independently producing artists, institutions, and structures operating under independent bodies. It is an essential component of cultural diversity.
Cultural diversity is a foundation of a vibrant democracy: it opens up new perspectives, promotes social participation, and fosters understanding through education and encounters.
Goals:
- To foster communication among individual actors in Cologne’s independent jazz and improvised music scene, as well as among its various groups and organizational structures.
- To create the necessary infrastructure and thereby enhance the cultural appeal of the city of Cologne.
- To support, organize, and implement projects and initiatives that present the diversity of Cologne’s jazz and improvised music scene to the public.
- To collaborate with tax-privileged institutions (e.g. NGOs and NPOs) that promote and disseminate music, such as government agencies and administrations, agencies, foundations, publishers, and public-law institutions.
The Kölner Jazzkonferenz (KJK) was founded in October 2015 following an initiative by Reiner Michalke (Stadtgarten), Hans Martin Müller (LOFT), and Prof. Dieter Manderscheid (HfMT Köln). Initially, it brought together the interests of those involved in the organizational work surrounding jazz and improvised music.
From the outset, the KJK aimed to serve as a legitimate point of contact for policymakers, to consolidate and represent the demands of the jazz and improvised music scene to political decision-makers and the Cologne Cultural Office, and to strengthen the media presence of jazz and improvised music in Cologne.
The founding spokespersons of the Kölner Jazzkonferenz were Lisa Burgwinkel, Hans Martin Müller, and Prof. Dieter Manderscheid. After the KJK also opened its membership to musicians, new spokespersons were elected in autumn 2016: Svenja Doeinck, Janning Trumann, and Dr. Urs Benedikt Müller.
In summer 2017, the KJK adopted its first set of bylaws. One year later, in summer 2018, the association Kölner Jazzkonferenz e.V. was founded, incorporating the members of the KJK advocacy group.
The current board of the association consists of Florian Herzog, Victor Gelling, Athina Kontou, and Joscha Oetz.
Contact: vorstand@koelnerjazzkonferenz.de
Former spokespersons of the Kölner Jazzkonferenz advocacy group (2015–2018) and board members of the association “Kölner Jazzkonferenz e.V.”:
Lisa Burgwinkel (2015–2016)
Dieter Manderscheid (2015–2016)
Hans Martin Müller (2015–2016)
Svenja Doeinck (2015–2018)
Theresia Philipp (2018–2021)
Janning Trumann (2018–2022)
Dr. Urs Benedikt Müller (2018–2022)
Mareike Wiening (2022–2024)