(Publish date 1.8.2023)
Not only is the RedSapata cultural initiative and its Sonnenstein Loft growing and prospering, but the team is also growing! Today we are proud to introduce our new Managing Director, Bernadette Stiebitzhofer:
Bernadette Stiebitzhofer, MA BA, studied Transcultural Communication (Spanish and Turkish) before and during her bachelor's degree, during which she spent time abroad (Mexico, Finland, Turkey) and became increasingly interested in cultural phenomena. After completing her bachelor's degree in social work, she worked for several years in the field of asylum and migration: as a social pedagogue, in human rights education and as a project worker in integration projects, always focusing on the social, economic and cultural participation of people.
She always combines methods from the arts and culture with social and socio-political aspects: After working for several years as a drama teacher in sexual abuse prevention programmes, she specialised in theatre education with a focus on "Theatre of the Oppressed".
She accompanied the first round of the dance and theatre project 10+10 Brücken (en. 10+10 Bridges) - for people with and without refugee experience, initiated by RedSapata and awarded the Linz "City of Diversity" prize, among others, as a socio-pedagogical mentor. Since 2017, she has been leading and accompanying the project and is also involved in the theatre pedagogical development and staging of the content brought in by the participants.
In 2018, together with colleagues, she founded the Linz-based association Theater TamTam, which organises workshops on topics such as violence against women, digitalisation and human rights, climate justice, etc., as well as socio-critical plays such as "Wir sind aber da", "Cinderella - My Fairy Rights" and "Katzenjammer, adé!", which address socio-critical issues and make them accessible to a broad audience. Together with Ilona Roth, she is also co-initiator of the 1st Participatory Arts Panel, which took place in Linz in 2019. She is also involved in ent - Association for the Promotion of Art and Culture in Rural Areas in her home region.
Since 1 July 2023, she has been the managing director of the Art, Culture and Dance Initiative RedSapata and, together with her international team, is looking forward to supporting artists and providing a space, as well as welcoming numerous visitors to the diverse offers and opportunities at the Sonnenstein Loft!
