The Millerntor Gallery, a beloved art and culture festival held annually at FC St. Pauli's stadium in Hamburg, Germany, is facing an uncertain future as organizers warn that this year's event may have been the last. Despite attracting around 17,000 visitors each year, the festival is struggling with severe financial difficulties after losing crucial funding support.
Since its debut in 2011, the festival has been jointly organized by the development policy non-profit organization Viva con Agua and FC St. Pauli, focusing on water and hygiene issues. The event has become a cornerstone of Hamburg's cultural scene and serves as the artistic flagship of Viva con Agua, which has successfully marketed tap water as an urban lifestyle product. During the four-day festival, the significance of water as a valuable resource is highlighted through art, music, workshops, and guided tours, with all donations and proceeds supporting global WASH projects (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in countries like Uganda and South Africa.
This year's festival, held from July 10-13 under the theme "Art creates Water," drew thousands of visitors to the stadium at Heiligengeistfeld. The event featured 30 musicians including Mine, Betterov, and Kafvka, as well as author and climate activist Luisa Neubauer. Visual artists transformed the stadium's concourse walls and the entrances to the main and south stands into exhibition spaces, showcasing more than 100 local and international artists' works, most in street art style.
Agnes Fritz, event organizer and managing director of Viva con Agua Arts, explained that funding for this year's festival had already been cut in December, followed by the cancellation of additional projects and financial support in spring. "From that point on, the financial emergency of the event was already foreseeable," Fritz said, noting that the threat of insolvency was also looming. "Accordingly, we then first became loud about it."
The festival finances itself through ticket sales, donations, sponsors, and the sale of exhibited artworks, though Fritz notes that revenues are unpredictable. Artists decide for themselves what portion of their artwork's selling price they want to donate to water projects. "It can't be that in precarious times for the art and culture scene, we still demand something for free," Fritz said, emphasizing the festival's commitment to supporting the art community. To maximize donations, organizers use a rotating exhibition concept where each sold artwork is replaced with a new one.
Government support for the cultural festival remains limited, typically covering only individual exhibitions. This year, support was provided for a project on menstruation. While the festival was part of the official European Football Championship program in 2024, the art association cannot count on high funding amounts from the cultural authority. Public funding is usually tied to strict deadlines that organizers cannot accommodate due to their venue constraints. "We always have to wait for football," Fritz explained, as FC St. Pauli's stadium needs for training, relegation, or practice games often cannot be planned months in advance.
FC St. Pauli has remained cautious in its response to the crisis. Club president Oke Göttlich was unavailable for interviews, and a press spokesperson indicated that the issue is not currently considered urgent, with the club wanting to first examine how things could proceed. However, Fritz remains optimistic about receiving financial or organizational support from the Bundesliga club, referencing a joint press conference held shortly before the Millerntor Gallery where the club's leadership signaled willingness to discuss and provide support.
The cultural authority has also indicated readiness for discussions, according to Fritz, who hopes for funding that takes into account the club's planning circumstances. She mentioned advice from an acquaintance in Hamburg's cultural sector that cries for help from the scene are usually only acknowledged when picked up by the press. The festival's ability to celebrate its 16th anniversary next year now depends entirely on public and financial support, with many employees and numerous volunteers who help curate and shape the stage and art programs potentially affected by a possible festival hiatus.
