Friendly Reminder – Mail out with important deadlines and to-do lists for artists and cultural practitioners by Sparx

Migros Culture Percentage Sparx uses the «friendly reminder» to help you keep track of important deadlines and to‑dos. From budget planning and insurance to mental health, the friendly reminder regularly drops tips and reminders into your inbox and helps you get everything done on time and without stress.

Once a month, a friendly reminder is sent out. Each month is dedicated to a specific topic. The friendly reminder shares different tips, points out important tasks, and offers additional support.

Important: Only those who have registered will receive the friendly reminder!

What does this tool consist of?

Regular email updates with tips and tricks

 

Why is this tool needed?

To explain complex topics such as tax or finance in a simple and straightforward way.

 

What can this tool do?

It provides an overview and offers further support to artists and cultural practitioners with administrative and organisational tasks.

 

Who is this tool for?

Artists and cultural practitioners who wish to professionalise themselves.

Impressum

Authorship:
Migros Culture Percentage Sparx

Contact:
Lilli Megerle, lilli.megerle@mgb.ch

 

Published 15.5.2026

Diversity Finder – The Platform for Lived Diversity

Migros Culture Percentage’s Diversity Finder introduces contacts for social and cultural issues with biographical expertise in diversity topics. Associations, organisations, companies and public institutions may use the platform to find experts who can support them with projects and diversity-sensitive processes. They use their perspective to shape content and processes more effectively. There are currently nearly 30 experts on the Diversity Finder.  

What can this tool do?

The platform makes it easier for interested parties in associations, organisations, companies and public institutions to access experience and expertise on diversity issues. They use their perspective to shape content and processes more effectively.  For example: an organisation wants to strengthen diverse teams. It wants to take the starting positions and needs of all people in these teams into account, and the opportunities of the team members should be fairly distributed. An expert from the Diversity Finder can then support the sensitisation and further process.

What does this tool contain?

Nearly 30 experts introduce themselves with a personal profile on the Diversity Finder. Profiles can be filtered by topic, language and region. The profiles describe the focal points and personal references to the topic. Once you have found the right person for your project or process, you can contact them directly.

Why is this tool needed?

Some people in our society are barely visible: we learn little about them in newspapers, on the internet or on television. This includes, for example, people with a history of migration, people with disabilities and people who do not identify with their assigned gender. The Diversity Finder makes different realities of life more visible through the experts.

Who is the target audience?

The Diversity Finder is aimed at interested parties in associations, organisations, companies and public institutions who want to take diverse perspectives into account. The experts can support projects and accompany diversity-sensitive processes.

Impressum

Ownership: Migros Culture Percentage 

contact: info-soziales@mgb.ch

Social Affairs and Societal Issues | Migros Commitment 

 

Published 13.3.26

Open art+care Zooms: Online format for discussion and thematic input (DE/EN/FR)

The Open art+care Zooms are an open, moderated online format for the personal exchange of experiences relating to artistic work and care responsibilities. They take place monthly and are open to all interested people without registration. The German- or English-language Open art+care Zoom takes place on the first Monday of each month, and the French-language Zoom on the first Wednesday of the month.

The dates are published on the art+care website in the agenda; the Zoom link is shared in advance via the Signal group and the art+care newsletter.

Important:
The Open art+care Zooms are not recorded and their content is not published.

The focus is on exchange, mutual support and the joint development of strategies for combining care responsibilities and artistic practice. The discussions in a small, protected setting are intended as an important contribution to necessary changes in the cultural sector.

What does this tool consist of?

  • Monthly, moderated Zoom discussion rounds (openly accessible via access link)
  • Publication of dates and access links via the Signal group or newsletter
  • Sometimes with brief thematic input at the beginning of the Zoom session
  • Duration: 1 to 1.5 hours

What can this tool do?

  • Exchange experiences and provide mutual relief (the feeling of not being alone)
  • Jointly develop strategies for combining artistic activity and care responsibilities
  • Build alliances and networks and strengthen the care discourse in art and culture

Why is this tool needed?

Many people in the arts and culture sector experience overload, guilt, pressure to justify themselves and the feeling of constantly lagging behind. The format creates a safe space to share these experiences and develop empowering alliances, solution strategies and energy for change.

Who is this tool for?

The format is open to anyone who is interested. It is aimed in particular at people in the arts and culture sector who have care responsibilities or are interested in care, solidarity-based practices and structural change in the cultural sector.

Concept & moderation:
art+care core team
contact@artandcare.org
artandcare.org

For Zoom link & updates:

art+care Newsletter

Signal group art+care Cosmos

published 23.03.2026

Working conditions for the costume industry

This tool is a reference document drawn up by Costumières & Cie to define fair, clear and respectful working conditions for the costume professions. It is the result of collective work by members of the association, based on their practical experience in the field.

Faced with practices that are often unclear, unequal or precarious, it proposes a common framework for recognising the artistic contribution, responsibilities and specific needs of costume designers and costume teams.

Conditions de travail – Costumières & Cie (FR)

This document is not a legal contract, but a tool for dialogue and professional positioning. It aims to strengthen recognition of the profession and support fairer collaboration in cultural productions.

Whom is this tool designed for?

It is primarily for costume designers and costume teams, but also companies, productions, cultural institutions, funding departments and partners wishing to work together in respectful and professional conditions.

What does this tool consist of?

This document contains detailed recommendations on the roles, missions, remuneration, material conditions and work organisation of professional costume designers. It lays down a common basis for approaching a mandate, from the design phase through to the end of a production’s operation.

What’s the purpose of this tool?

The members of Costumières & Cie have found that the working conditions offered vary greatly from one project to another, and do not always reflect the reality of the job. The lack of a shared framework makes professionals vulnerable and individual negotiations difficult. This tool meets a collective need for recognition.

What can this tool do?

It enables discussions on a shared basis, makes collective professional requirements visible, and supports a better understanding of costume work by employers, institutions and cultural partners.

Costumières & Cie – collective work resulting from a participative process with the members of the association’s committee

info@costumieres-et-cie.ch

www.costumieres-et-cie.ch

Published 19.03.2026

Kleintheater Luzern: «All Inclusive»  – A Box for More

As people without a disability perspective, how can we contribute to making access to society and culture more inclusive? Kleintheater Luzern is working hard to find an answer. As a first step, the theatre’s co-management, inclusion officer and an inclusive working group have developed the «All Inclusive» toolbox. It supports individuals, groups and institutions from the spheres of culture, school and public administration on their path to greater inclusion. The toolbox helps jump-start efforts to break down barriers. Inclusion starts everywhere. «All Inclusive» is practical, light-hearted and result-focused.

Here is more information about the Kleintheater Luzern project «Inclusive cultural sector» and the documentary film «Alle inklusive – ein Kleintheater will mehr».

What does this tool consist of?

The physical toolbox consists of 3 parts.

  • No Taboo: a word game teaching inclusion terminology.
  • Workshop: a guide to help teams develop concrete measures.
  • Bits and Pieces: a website offering exercises, insights and important links on the topic of inclusion.

 

Who is this tool for?

«All Inclusive» is aimed at non-disabled individuals, groups and institutions from culture, schools or public administration.

Why is this tool needed?

«All Inclusive» poses key questions and invites us to answer them together:

  • What does inclusion mean in this context?
  • What knowledge is already available, what do we still need to learn?
  • What goals do we want to achieve and what challenges do we face in the process?
  • What motivates us to keep going and what support do we need?

 

What can this tool do?

«All Inclusive» makes people aware of barriers and empowers them to start breaking them down.

Tags

#inclusion
#culture
#inclusive
#society game
#workshop
#workshop
#theatre
#disability
#small theatreluzern
#barriers

Impressum

Kleintheater Luzern www.kleintheater.ch

Fabienne Mathis, Janine Bürkli

Publisher: Der gesunde Menschenversand GmbH, menschenversand.ch

«All Inclusive» was developed in collaboration with the Competence Centre for Diversity, Disability, and Inclusion (CCDI) at the University of St.Gallen amongst others. It has been tested by Theater Neumarkt Zurich, Theater Stadelhofen, the Lucerne Museums, Kunstmuseum Luzern and the ThiK Theater im Kornhaus Baden.

Documentary film on the transcontinental collaboration of GROUP50:50

In November 2023, the members of GROUP50:50 met in Berlin for a week to reflect on their collaboration and, in particular, on the process of creating the post-documentary musical theatre «The Ghosts are Returning». The group consists of artists from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Switzerland and Germany. They thematise colonial crimes and neo-colonial mechanisms of exploitation in their work. Half of the positions are always filled by people from the DR Congo, the other half is made up of members from Germany or Switzerland.

What kind of tool is it?

The reflection process was documented in short interviews with the participants. These were edited into a ten-minute film that gives viewers an insight into the advantages and pitfalls of transcontinental cooperation. It also explores how the week of reflection unfolded. A central theme of the week of reflection was collaboration within an asymmetrical distribution of resources, which remains clearly apparent even when the group demographics (in this case, consisting of Congolese and European members) are balanced.

The short film, which consists of excerpts from the interviews, aims to encourage
other groups to address the entanglements between personal and structural conflicts that can occur in heterogeneous groups. Unravelling these misunderstandings, inequalities and injuries takes courage and time. By sharing their – sometimes very personal – insights, GROUP50:50 wishes to highlight that these negotiation processes are worth the effort.

Impressum

Authorship: GROUP50:50
Cinematography & editing: Franck Moka, Joseph Kasau,
Voiceover & surtitles: Luca Maier

GROUP50:50

Published 13.3.2026

art+care Newsletter – Visibility of current topics and activities of the community

The art+care newsletter is a collaborative publication format that brings visibility to topics, actors, and activities within the community. It is published monthly and serves as a curatorial tool for the network, bringing together discourses on care, art, and solidarity practices and offering different perspectives. This format provides a publicly accessible platform for networks, projects, and resources.

Most of the content shared in the newsletter comes from the multilingual Signal groups of the art+care community, where all chat members can contribute.

The tool shows that a newsletter can be used not only as an information channel but also as a participatory knowledge archive. Such a newsletter can support communities in continuously promoting visibility, exchange, and networking.

Newsletter subscription

What does this tool consist of?

Updates on art+care activities and current contributions from the entire community (called art+care Cosmos)

Why is this tool needed?

Strengthening the care discourse and interdisciplinary exchange in art and culture

What can this tool do?

Creating visibility and knowledge transfer

Who is this tool for?

A newsletter for anyone interested in contributions and formats related to the topic of art and care work

Concept & editing:
art+care core team

Content:
Contributions from members of the Signal groups (art+care Cosmos)

Contact:
contact@artandcare.org

Website:
artandcare.org

Newsletter registration

Signal Group (art+care Cosmos)

Published 05.03.2026

SPARK THE FLAME! – art+care Meet-up format to adopt

SPARK THE FLAME! is an adaptive event format by art+care that combines artistic practice and care work in an open, supportive setting. The focus is on lighting a fire together – as a collective action in physical space and as an experience of shared attention, care and community.

The format creates a accessible setting for exchange, resonance and collective presence. Participants and organisers are equally understood as actors; the act of being together becomes a collective artistic practice.

As a ready-to-use setting, SPARK THE FLAME! can be independently adapted and implemented by individuals, initiatives or institutions – from studio gardens to festivals, in a wide variety of contexts. It is not the size of the event that matters, but the quality of the encounter.

art+care provides the handout ‘How to SPARK THE FLAME!’ to anyone interested in hosting SPARK THE FLAME!

What does this tool consist of?

An adaptive, consciously simple event format with a clear, open structure: a fire (real or symbolic) forms the centrepiece, complemented by moderated exchange, optional artistic contributions and a host checklist for independent implementation. Simplicity is part of the concept.

What can this tool do?

  • Create community and spaces for resonance
  • Initiate new perspectives and collaborations
  • Make participation tangible as an artistic practice
  • Activate discourses on art and care
  • Enable inclusive, intergenerational encounters
  • People with care responsibilities

Why is this tool needed?

Care work in the arts and culture sector often remains invisible. At the same time, there is a lack of low-threshold, solidarity-based meeting places and corresponding structures.

The format focuses on bringing together people of all generations. Through joint action and being together, people who do not feel addressed by or are excluded from conventional art and culture formats due to their care situations also enter into relationships with each other.

SPARK THE FLAME! promotes participation: all those present become active contributors and are equally understood as actors in the event. Afterwards, they can explicitly identify their involvement as artistic participation (e.g. in their own artistic CV). The gathering itself becomes a collective artistic performance.

Who is this tool for?

  • Cultural creators with care responsibilities
  • Artists and cultural workers
  • Institutions, festivals, and initiatives
  • Communities that want to strengthen practices of solidarity
  • People of all generations who are interested in the topics of art and care

Published 05.03.2026

Disrupting Harm in Dance

This is an online self-directed course put together by Whistle in collaboration with multiple experts – Crip Movement Lab, The Dance Union, J Bouey, and OFEN Co-Arts – in the dance field. They offer information and tools for dancers, performers, and adjacent professionals to work together while feeling safe, connected, and empowered.

Whistle is an international platform founded by Frances Chiaverini and Robyn Doty in 2017 which aims to confront gender-based harm in dance workspaces along with other forms of discrimination and abuse. Their current offerings include resources and referrals that support a holistic support system for change-making in dance culture.

Who is this course for?

The course’s content is first and foremost for dancers.

Dancers, dance teachers, choreographers, directors, rehearsal directors and assistants, and any people working in dance administration and production might all benefit from elements of these resources.

Tags

#dance community
#faire practice
#make change
#empower
#speak up

What does this curriculum consist of?

This curriculum offers a wide range of tools, online courses, videos, talks, worksheets, workshop materials as well as all contacts of international expert contributors.

Crip Movement Lab

  • a critical methodology for practicing, teaching, and creating dance accessibly and inclusively

The Dance Union

  • Dismantling White Supremacy

J Bouey

  • Somatic Astrology for Dancers Guide

OFEN Co-Arts Platform

  • Embodying Anti-Capitalist Process
  • Levelling Hierarchy in Dance
  • Support and Universal Access
  • Speaking Up as an Act of Care

Whistle

  • Messy Talks: A Discussion Toolkit
  • Boundaries and Consent: A Worksheet
  • Working with Consent
  • When Considering Touch (for Teachers, Choreographers)
  • On publicly asking, “Who doesn’t pay?”
  • Practical Tips for Talking to a Journalist [About Your Abuse]
  • Signs of an Emotionally Abusive Choreographer
  • Providing (Self) Care
  • Writing an Impact Statement
  • When Considering Accountability
  • CARA’s Model of Accountability: A Worksheet

Why are these resources needed?

Dance culture is dysfunctional. It’s built on promoting and rewarding dance subordination and submission. It can strip dancers of their autonomy and intuition, and it can displace their own sense of value for narrow ideals of discipline, perfection, and virtuosity. There is a staggering lack of support at an institutional level for dancers experiencing abuse.

Download / Link

All resources are available in English.

disruptingdance.com

Download the Workbook as PDF

What can these resources do?

These resources can be used to help workers in institutions better support dance artists via believability, implementing private complaint processes, and building nutritive environments with wellbeing in mind.

Impressum

Whistle

disruptingdance.com

whistlewhileyouwork.art

Note: These resources are free of charge for individual dancers. If this course is being applied at an institutional level, a donation should be considered to Whistle and/or to the individual collaborators involved in the making of the course. Whistle strongly recommends finding the contributors online or in real life, checking out their respective catalogs of works – and booking and hiring them!

Talking Diversity

In its communications, the Schauspielhaus Zürich takes care to use language that is sensitive towards and critical of all discrimination. Schauspielhaus employees and ensemble members have compiled a glossary of basic terms to make sure that the audience knows what certain words mean.

What does this tool comprise?

This glossary is a collection of terms with explanations. The terms presented here are explicitly not definitions. They are not set in stone for all eternity.

Some come from the US-American language region and have not yet found a German equivalent. The terms are often dependent on the local social contexts in which they are used, and their meanings shift in use.

They provide a temporary snapshot of our time, as we all know how quickly social conditions can change.

Tags

#glossary
#diversity
#inclusivelanguage #schauspielhaus.ch
#talkingdiversity

What can this glossary contribute to?

This glossary raises awareness of non-discriminatory language.

Non-discriminatory language helps us to differentiate while counteracting stereotyping and violent ascriptions of others.

It allows all individuals to speak for themselves and in their own words, embracing their personal affiliations.

Who is this tool for?

This glossary is for everyone. The terms are intended to encourage us to see language not as a constraint but a creative tool that enables us to help shape the world actively and autonomously.

Why is this glossary important?

Language is a fluid tool. It reflects social processes; sometimes, it can even drive change. By making yourself aware of discrimination and altering your speech accordingly, you can help

  • overcome centuries-old systems of power and violence that affect society as a whole,
  • avoid belittling vulnerable people and
  • give greater visibility to marginalised groups.

Marginalised people are underrepresented not only linguistically but also in the media, politics and culture, and their voices struggle to find a platform and attention.

Download

The glossary is available in German and English:

Impressum

Text references:
The texts in this glossary are taken from various sources, which we would like to name and thank: Diversity Arts Culture, diversity-arts-culture.berlin; Diversum – Verein für rassismuskritisches Denken, www.verein-diversum.ch and the glossary in Evein Obulor & Rosamag (eds.): Schwarz wird großgeschrieben, 2021. Some of the texts are original contributions to this publication.

Redaction:
Fadrina Arpagaus, Yuvviki Dioh, Miriam Ibrahim, Laura Kaufmann, Laiya Sievi

Published by: Schauspielhaus Zürich AG Zeltweg 5, 8032 Zurich