Zentrum für Kulturforschung (ZfKf) (www.kulturforschung.de)

The German Centre for Cultural Research ("Zentrum für Kulturforschung") was founded as an independent research institute in 1972. It conducts interdisciplinary, mainly empirical research, provides documentation, organises monitoring, evaluation or consultancy services in various fields of cultural policy and the media. Major activities of the ZfKf during the last 30 years have been to conduct:

1. Empirical surveys of arts professions, including legal and social aspects; 
2. Studies and advisory tasks regarding cultural infrastructure and development of the arts and "culture industries" at (inter)national and regional levels; 
3. International comparative studies of arts and media policies and funding;
4.  Studies on education and training (incl. concepts for arts administration);
5.  Conceptual support for foundations, artists' associations, research bodies;
6.  Surveys on the participation of the public in cultural life;
7.  Applied anthropological research and cross-cultural studies.

During the 1970's, the most important project was the The Artists' Survey ("Künstler-Report") which was conducted on behalf of the German Ministry of Labour (BMA), following a demand of the Federal Parliament. The findings of the "Artists' Report", together with additional ZfKf-research on legal questions and lobbying on behalf of the artists, greatly contributed to the creation of a special artists' insurance programme in Germany. During the 1980's, the ZfKf published international comparative studies on cultural policies and arts funding and introduced co-operation for "arts management" in Germany.

During the 1990's and in early 2000, the ZfKf conducted several culture industries studies (e.g. the Culture Industries Reports for several Länder-Governments).

The ZfKf is recognised as a pioneer institution in the development of studies and reports on the status of women in arts and media professions, both in Germany and wider Europe. It is the inventor of the "Pyramid of Success" now being applied to understand the status of women working in different sectors of cultural life. The main in-depth studies carried out by the ZfKf on the issue of women in the arts and media are: Frauen in Kultur und Medienbetrieb I (1987); Frauen in Kultur und Medienbetrieb II (1995); Frauen in Kultur und Medienbetrieb III (2001); Trotz Fleiß - keinen Preis? (1994, updated 2001).

Publications on Women in the Arts and Media

Wiesand, A. in co-operation with Fohrbeck., K. and Trommer, T., Frauen im Kultur- und Medienbetrieb I. Bonn, 1987.

Brinkmann, A., Mann, B., Wiesand, A., Frauen im Kultur- und Medienbetrieb II. ARCultMedia, Bonn, 1995.

Zentrum für Kulturforschung (ed.), Frauen im Kultur- und Medienbetrieb III. Fakten zu Berufssituation und Qualifizierung. ARCultMedia, Bonn, 2001.

Brinkmann, A., Brünglinghaus, I., Keuchel, S., Wiesand, A., Trotz Fleiß - keinen Preis? Frauen in der individuellen Künstlerförderung 1986-1994. ARCultMedia, Bonn, 1994.

Keuchel, S., Brinkmann, A., Wiesand, A., Trotz Fleiß - keinen Preis? Frauen in der individuellen Künstlerförderung II. ARCultMedia, Bonn, 2001.