Start of the Year Reception 2026
In dialogue for a strong democracy: on 22 January 2026, the Berlin University of the Arts held its first annual start-of-year event. In their contributions, Harald Christ (entrepreneur, politician, supervisory board member and benefactor) and Dr Volker Wissing (former Federal Minister) emphasised a shared conviction, as did Dr Ina Czyborra (Berlin Senator for Science, Health and Care) and Prof. Dr Markus Hilgert (President of the Berlin University of the Arts) in their welcoming addresses: ‘Art and democracy are natural allies.’ This was accompanied by an urgent appeal for civic engagement in challenging times. Artistic contributions came from the colleges of music, performing arts, the Jazz Institute Berlin and the college fine arts.