After two years of hardship, the Murnau Culture Week 2022 will finally take place live and in color again. And this year's program has it all: from music to theater and film to art, there's a lot on offer. The chairman of the Murnau Cultural Advisory Board, Heribert Riesenhuber, knows what the central theme of this year's culture week is and what highlights there are.

From May 13th to 22nd, the numerous cultural associations and organizations in Murnau will have the opportunity to present their work to visitors and other interested parties. This popular event was initiated by the associations represented on the Cultural Advisory Board, the municipality of Murnau, and the Tourist Information Office. "The Culture Week is more than just a platform for artists and cultural professionals," explains Heribert Riesenhuber, Chairman of the Cultural Advisory Board. "It's a fantastic opportunity to collectively raise awareness of art and culture in Murnau ." The lively exchange among participants ultimately contributes to experiencing Murnau as the vibrant cultural hub it is.

Language as the central theme of the Murnau Culture Week

The theme of language runs like a common thread through this year's Murnau Culture Week program. The diverse approaches of the cultural practitioners make it particularly exciting. "Everyone connects something different with the topic, because language is open to so many interpretations," explains Riesenhuber, a versatile artist himself who enjoys incorporating words, images, and sound into his work. He personally believes that language and our way of communicating have changed dramatically in recent years: "Especially through digital communication, our linguistic behavior and repertoire have both expanded and restricted considerably."

Whether dialect or foreign language, speechlessness or imagery – the clubs, musicians and artists of the culture week address the topic of language in a variety of ways. The Murnau Chamber Orchestra and the performing choirs use music as a form of language. The visual artists from the Murnauer Kunstverein, the Tusculum artists' association and the Malzirkel96, on the other hand, let their pictures do the talking.

The culture week in Murnau offers many highlights

Right at the opening of the cultural week in Murnau, visitors can expect a “body language” highlight. “Since the topic is language, I really wanted a performance for the opening that didn’t involve conventional language,” reveals Riesenhuber. The Uffinger professional clown Denis Fink certainly does justice to this with his pantomime performance. Comedian Peter Spielbauer’s solo play also “plays” with language. Sometimes linguistic terms are taken literally, sometimes questioned and sometimes twisted.

The Bavarian dialect and the language region around Murnau also play a role in the culture week. The Murnau historical association invited the speaker and language artist Thomas Bernhard for the lecture “Host Mi?”. And at their choir concert, Staffelseechor and Choir Cantamus show that language goes around the world and touches the soul.

As chairman of the Murnau Cultural Association, Heribert Riesenhuber is always enthusiastic about how many great events and offers come from Murnau. “Behind the scenes you can just tell that everyone is very committed and involved,” he states. In addition, awareness of the cultural week in Murnau has increased. “It is becoming more and more clear that the cultural week is a unit. The focus is on the feeling for each other and the exchange between clubs.”