We’re Doing This Together – Restructuring Hamburg’s Independent Performing Arts Festival 2027–2029
Starting with the 2027/28 season, Hamburg’s Independent Performing Arts Festival is undergoing a structural transformation, welcoming new artistic leadership and a new name. Naomi Kelechi Odhiambo and The Schmidt will take over as the new co-directors of the “Freie Szene Festival – Performing Arts Hamburg” for the next three editions.
Both have curated festivals and event formats, initiated international collaborations, worked on and behind the stage, built communities, and created new spaces for connection and exchange. Their artistic practices consistently move beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, bringing together theatre, performance, dance, film, music, club culture, and urban culture.
For their first festival edition, taking place from April 12–18, 2027, across various locations in Hamburg, the new leadership duo will focus on a combination of artistic presentations, encounters, and artistic development. A key priority will be strengthening the festival’s identity and increasing the visibility of Hamburg’s independent artists.
Naomi Kelechi Odhiambo and The Schmidt are part of a broader process of restructuring the festival. The Bündnis für Festivals der Freien Tanz- und Theaterschaffenden Hamburgs e.V. (Alliance for Festivals of Independent Dance and Theatre Artists in Hamburg), which has organized the festival since 2015 under its previous names Hauptsache Frei and Fringify, has expanded to sixteen member organizations, including professional associations, venues, and networks representing Hamburg’s independent performing arts scene.
This restructuring is significant both structurally and in terms of cultural policy. At a time when independent arts and culture are facing increasing pressure and scrutiny, Hamburg’s independent performing arts scene is choosing community, solidarity, and mutual support. The scene stands united, and the festival serves as its flagship platform.
At the same time, one thing remains clear for the Freie Szene Festival: Stable and comprehensive financial support for the independent performing arts is an essential foundation for creativity, artistic impact, continuity, and the development of lasting relationships with audiences.
Statement from the Festival Directors
As the new co-directors, we are very excited to bring fresh perspectives to the festival and further develop it with the support of the Alliance and the newly established festival committee.
Our goal is to strengthen the festival’s identity and give Hamburg’s independent performing arts scene, with its diverse artistic voices, practices, and approaches, an even stronger presence both within the city and beyond.
At the heart of our vision are the people in front of, on, and behind the stages, current artistic developments, and the creation of new connections between artists, audiences, communities, and institutions.
Statement from the Selection Committee
The selection committee unanimously chose Naomi Kelechi Odhiambo and The Schmidt as the festival’s new artistic leadership team.
Together, they bring extensive experience in festival curation, community engagement, arts education, outreach, and communication.
Their vision is to celebrate and showcase the multifaceted, interdisciplinary work of the independent performing arts scene while recognizing the diverse perspectives and needs of the people both on stage and behind the scenes.
The new leadership team impressed the selection committee with their deep knowledge of Hamburg’s independent arts scene, their sensitivity in engaging diverse audiences, and their sustainable approach to festival development.
In particular, their plans to actively involve artists in the festival and create multiple opportunities for visibility will enrich not only the festival itself but the entire independent performing arts community.
We are confident that they will create a festival offering artists and audiences alike a wide range of exciting opportunities to connect, exchange ideas, and celebrate together!
Current Members of the Alliance for Festivals of Independent Dance and Theatre Artists in Hamburg
Dachverband freie darstellende Künste e.V. (DfdK), Verein für aktuelle Musik Hamburg (vamh), Arbeitskreis Hamburger Puppen- und Figurentheater (AHAP e.V.), Kindertheaterszene Hamburg e.V. (KITSZ), Hamburger Sprechwerk, LICHTHOF Theater, monsun.theater, Stimme X e.V., Kampnagel, K3, Kulturstruktur e.V., Probebühne im Gängeviertel e.V., flachsland – Hamburger Puppentheater, Hajusom e.V., Interkulturelles Forum, HoheLuftschiff – Kindertheater.
Short Biographies of the Artistic Directors
Naomi Kelechi Odhiambo
Naomi Kelechi Odhiambo is a Hamburg-based director, writer, actor, and curator. Her work spans theatre, film, and interdisciplinary artistic practices, encompassing both independent artistic productions and collaborative processes.
With her theatre production DINGE, DIE WIR NICHT SAGEN (Kampnagel, 2023), she developed a distinctive artistic language combining emotional depth, ensemble-based work, and hybrid forms of performance.
Together with Jasmin Luu and Maximilian Mundt, she wrote and directed the short film Invisible Night, which received the CineStar Award at the Nordic Film Days in 2023.
As a writer and actor in the series SCHWARZE FRÜCHTE, she won the German Series Award at the Televisionale festival in 2025.
From 2020 to 2024, she was co-curator of the performance festival Queer B-cademy at Kampnagel.
Her curatorial practice operates locally and internationally at the intersections of urban culture, Afro-diasporic perspectives, and contemporary art. International projects and fellowships have taken her to Cameroon, Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, Parma, and the United States.
In 2025, she received the Raus! Nur raus! research fellowship from Literaturhaus Hamburg, as well as a working grant from the German Literature Fund for her second theatre play.
In 2026, she served as Creative Producer for the campaign SCHWARZES LEBEN IN HAMBURG (Black Life in Hamburg), implemented by MOSAIQ e.V. and funded by Hamburg’s Ministry of Social Affairs.
Since 2026, she has also served as the second alternate member of the Media Council of the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein Media Authority (MA HSH).
The Schmidt
The Schmidt (she/they/them) is a Hamburg-based multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, and photographer.
Schmidt graduated in 2014 with a B.A. in Dance from the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts, supported by a scholarship from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. From 2014 to 2019, they worked with the German National Youth Ballet (Bundesjugendballett) and the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier.
As the founder and “Mother” of the House of Brownies, Schmidt develops artistic and curatorial formats at the intersections of performance, dance, ballroom and club culture, and queer community engagement.
In 2021, Schmidt’s artistic work received funding from the Ferdinand Möller Foundation. In 2024/25, the House of Brownies was awarded emerging artist and project funding from Hamburg’s Ministry of Culture and Media in cooperation with Kampnagel Hamburg.
The House of Brownies is also a recipient of a Bucerius Fellowship from the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS.
Since 2025, Schmidt has developed choreographic works for the CDSH – Contemporary Dance School Hamburg.
Also since 2025, Schmidt has co-directed KLUB 1, a BIPoC-only youth theatre club at Hamburg’s Thalia Theater, together with Naomi Kelechi Odhiambo.
Since 2026, Schmidt has served as a jury member for Hamburg’s Projektfonds Kultur & Schule (Culture & Schools Project Fund).
