Gesa Stedman introduces Post Kultur – a delivery box with cultural products to whet people’s appetite for post-pandemic cultural events.

Christmas in April – that’s what it felt like to get my first Post Kultur parcel. I had chosen the Hamburg package, as I felt homesick for the North during the pandemic. So far, 280 Hamburg boxes have been sent out, 70 Berlin boxes and the latest addition from Frankfurt am Main has seen 32 households receiving such a surprise parcel.

As many cultural producers, artists, musicians etc. are struggling because of the Covid-19 restrictions, Kathleen Alder, who works in cultural management, came up with this helpful idea: to collect music, postcards, original art works, books, essays, poetry, and free museum tickets to pack them into a stylish and sustainable cardboard box and send them out to culture-hungry recipients.

I listened to the north-German musician Catt, to a Nick Cave-Schubert crossover performance, read a book on sleeplessness, a short story, and an essay, studied a woodcut and look forward to visiting the Bucerius Kunstforum when it is allowed to travel and visit museums again.

Content of the Hamburg Kultur Post parcel

The Berlin and Frankfurt boxes are similar, with local cultural produce curated by Kathleen Alder and her team – a bit like an organic box.

The drawback: the price. You need a stable income like mine to afford 150 Euros for the single box, or 75 Euros for the quarterly subscription box.

Still, I love the idea as it made me spend hours with cultural issues, products, and performers whom I either didn’t know before, or which I would not have chosen myself. Not everything was to my taste but it’s a great way of expanding one’s horizons or finding ideas for birthday presents. And most important of all: it gives hope to artists and writers working in the cultural field that there are people who are in as much need of their creations as they are in need not only of financial support, but also audiences who respond to their work.

There is a children’s box for ages 6-10 and many more city boxes are being planned already with Leipzig, Munich, and Cologne announced for the coming weeks.

For people in remote parts of the country, for those for whom mobility is difficult this model will bring joy even after the pandemic, as it allows you to participate in cultural developments even though you may not be able to attend readings or performances in person, go to museums and galleries or visit unusual venues yourself.

For now, keeping singers, authors, projects, painters going by subscribing to Post Kultur during the pandemic isn’t the worst way of spending money – if you have any to spare, that is.

Link to the website of Post Kultur with details of subscription, up-coming boxes and FAQs:

https://post-kultur.com/ (last access 10 May 2021)

Link to an rbb feature about the delivery service:

https://www.rbb-online.de/rbbkultur/radio/programm/schema/sendungen/der_tag/archiv/20210407_1600/kultur_aktuell_1910.html (last access 10 May 2021)

Link to a radio report on Deutschlandfunk Kultur:

https://www.ardaudiothek.de//fazit-kultur-vom-tage/delivery-art-hamburger-postkultur-box-liefert-kultur-nach-hause/84601632 (last access 10 May 2021)