Culture and CSR
When we at Volkswagen support culture and the arts today, then we are taking responsibility for tomorrow. Because the future is being shaped when creativity unfolds. As a global and socially responsible company, we translate this belief into numerous projects which we strengthen in the frame of long-term partnerships and sustainable collaborations with artists, cultural visionaries and internationally leading institutions. With our help, an even larger audience gets in touch with creative works and ideas. And we firmly support cultural education programmes enabling people to understand the power of art and inspiring them to act creatively.
Press releases
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Volkswagen helps South Africa in the battle against Covid-19
Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has donated protective equipment to clinic employees to the provincial health ministry to better equip health care facilities in Nelson Mandela Bay to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the company and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) set up a laboratory for molecular virology within 18 days and optimized the processes there to increase test capacities. -
Cultural Initiative 'Volkswagen ART4ALL' Is Honored with Significant Award
During the digital meeting of the Working Group for Cultural Sponsoring (AKF – Arbeitskreis Kultursponsoring) within the Association of Arts and Culture of the German Economy at the Federation of German Industries (Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI e.V.) taking place this evening, Volkswagen will receive the AKF-Award for the format 'Volkswagen ART4ALL', honoring its successful and invaluable role in cultural engagement. Since April 2018, Volkswagen and Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin have not only been offering free admission between 4 and 8 pm every first Thursday of a month, but also enhanced by various artistic programs, workshops and guided tours, inviting everybody to participate in the cultural world. Starting in January 2020, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg has joined the format and offers its visitors free admission between 4 and 9 pm every last Wednesday of a month. -
Volkswagen remembers end of war 75 years ago: a day of liberation and warning
With a minute’s silence at its Wolfsburg plant, Volkswagen is today remembering the end of the Second World War in Europe on May 8,1945. On behalf of the company and its workforce, Arne Meiswinkel, Head of Group HR Policy and Steering, Bernd Osterloh, Group Works Council Chairman, and Plant Manager Dr. Stefan Loth laid white roses on the stone of remembrance for the victims of forced labor at the former Volkswagenwerk GmbH. -
Together with its cultural partners Volkswagen is striking out into new creative online channels
Due to the corona crisis Volkswagen and its cultural partners have changed joint real-world events into digital formats. The respective second joint issues of the new online editions of Volkswagen ART4ALL together with the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg and Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin have since moved to the Facebook and Instagram channels of the partners. -
Corona pandemic: Volkswagen donates one million euros for immediate aid and emergency relief in refugee camps
The Volkswagen Group is donating one million euros for immediate aid and emergency relief for refugees in Syria, Turkey and Greece menaced by the corona pandemic. The funds will be given to the German Red Cross (DRK), which is organizing and implementing support locally together with the national Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations. -
Volkswagen shows pioneering rural mobility study as contribution to major exhibition in New York
Volkswagen is delighted to show an e-mobility project developed by Volkswagen Group Innovation and Volkswagen Group South Africa. A study of an electric tractor developed in and for Africa to facilitate small-scale agriculture and to increase the productivity of subsistence farmers while also improving power supply and mobility in sub-Saharan Africa. This study is shown for the first time within the exhibition Countryside, The Future at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. -
Holocaust Remembrance Day - Volkswagen remembers the victims of National Socialism and the liberation of Auschwitz 75 years ago
Today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Volkswagen remembered the millions of people who were deported, consigned to forced labor, persecuted and murdered during the National Socialist dictatorship. At the invitation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site, HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian took part in the international commemoration event in Poland together with Christoph Heubner, Vice-President of the International Auschwitz Committee. Guests attending the commemoration events at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg included Sharon Nazarian, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President, International Affairs of the US human rights organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from New York, and Rabbi Dr. Yakov Yosef Harety from the Jewish Orthodox community in Wolfsburg. -
Volkswagen donates $2.5 million to Australian bush fire relief and recovery
Volkswagen has today announced the donation of AUD$2.5 million to aid in the relief and recovery of the catastrophic bush fires that continue to burn in eastern and southern Australia. -
75th anniversary of the liberation – International Auschwitz Committee and Volkswagen remember Holocaust victims
On Monday, January 27, the liberation of Auschwitz 75 years ago will be commemorated throughout the world. During these days, the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC) and Volkswagen will be holding commemorative events in remembrance of the millions of people who were deported, consigned to forced labor, persecuted and murdered during the Nazi dictatorship. On Monday, HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian will be laying a wreath for the victims of National Socialism on the stone of remembrance at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant. In the afternoon, Kilian will be taking part in the international commemoration event in Poland. -
Volkswagen Group Refugee Aid: Package of measures helps 5,000 people in need
In Wolfsburg today, Frank Witter, Group Board Member for Finance and IT and Volkswagen Group Refugee Aid sponsor, welcomed the participants of the third intake under the “Train-ing Perspectives for Refugees” project. They will take part in an entry-level qualification program at Volkswagen tailored specifically to their requirements that includes an intensive language course and practical and theoretical vocational preparation as well as an internship at the company where they are training. -
Volkswagen ART4ALL – opening the world of art and culture for everyone
Like every first Thursday of the month and most recently on January 2, visitors to Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart in Berlin have benefited from a special opportunity: thanks to the 22nd edition of Volkswagen ART4ALL they enjoyed free admission to the internationally renowned contemporary art museum between the hours of 4 and 8 pm. These well-attended monthly exhibition days are supplemented by an individually curated cultural program as well as guided tours and workshops. The feedback coming from visitors of all age groups and backgrounds have been positive throughout. -
20 years of Place of Remembrance: permanent exhibition investigates early history of Volkswagen and Nazi forced Labor
This December, the “Place of Remembrance of Forced Labor in the Volkswagen Factory” reaches its 20th anniversary. The historic exhibition explores the early history of Volkswagen and forced labor during the Nazi dictatorship. The permanent exhibition in a former air raid shelter of the present Volkswagen plant at Wolfsburg is visited by about 3,500 people each year. Guests from across the globe not only come from the Volkswagen Group but also from other companies, schools and universities. They are guided through the exhibition by members of the Volkswagen Heritage team. To register for a tour, potential visitors only need to send an email to history@volkswagen.de. -
Volkswagen presents Sara Frenkel Award for Respect, Tolerance and Moral Courage to young citizens for the first time
Volkswagen today presented the Sara Frenkel Award for Respect, Tolerance and Moral Courage for the first time. The winners come from Wolfsburg, including young people from the Carl Hahn and Anne-Marie Tausch Vocational Colleges as well as young shop stewards from Volkswagen and a project team of the Aids-Hilfe charity. They received the awards for ideas to strengthen respect and tolerance in society and initiatives to oppose violence and racism with moral courage. -
Change of perspective: exhibition "People on the Run" shows the view of those affected
On 21 and 22 October, the Missio Truck of the International Catholic Missionswerk e.V. will be visiting the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg at the invitation of the Volkswagen Group Flüchtlingshilfe. On board is the multimedia exhibition "People on the Run", in which visitors can relive the dangers and problems of a forced flight. -
Volkswagen Group joins the Tent Partnership for Refugees - a global business network mobilizing companies to support refugees around the world
The Volkswagen Group has today joined the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent), a global business network which mobilizes companies around the world to support refugees. As well as encouraging companies to make commitments to help refugees, Tent also shares best practice and companies’ experiences to support the economic integration of refugees. To date, the companies in the network have helped over 200,000 refugees in 34 countries. -
Europe’s largest internet and digital society conference in the U.S.: Volkswagen supports re:publica in Detroit
From discussions to workshops and cultural events, re:publica Detroit offers with the support of Volkswagen many opportunities to explore facets of digital society. Sequencer Tour brings re:publica into five U.S. cities, representing a milestone project of “Wunderbar Together” – “Deutschlandjahr USA”, the Year of German-American friendship. -
Volkswagen supports exhibition marking the presentation of the renowned art award “Kaiserring Goslar” to Barbara Kruger
„A contribution to the discourses defining how we live“: A large range of artworks from the renowned conceptual artist Barbara Kruger will be on view at the Mönchehaus Museum in Goslar, Germany, from 21 September 2019 to 26 January 2020. Volkswagen supports the retrospective which follows the presentation of the Kaiserring Goslar to the artist turning her into a winner of one of the most important international prizes for modern art. The partnership represents an important part of Volkswagen’s commitment to invite a large audience to explore culture in the region. -
2019 Beetle Sunshine Tour: a sea of lights at the Volkswagen icons’ summer festival
The 15th Beetle Sunshine Tour – an event attracting more Beetle, New Beetles and Type 1s than anywhere else in the world – will start in Travemünde, near Lübeck at the Baltic Sea, on Friday 16 August. Around 500 vehicles have registered to take part this time around. The highlight this year is a “sea of Beetle lights”, where hundreds of these popular Volkswagen models will come together with light chains on Saturday evening. Some of the most beautiful examples will be presented at the same time as a “Beetle light chain” on the promenade in Travemünde. -
For diversity: Volkswagen with own truck at CSD parade in Berlin
This year, Volkswagen is taking part in Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Berlin for the first time with its own truck at the CSD parade– and thus taking a clear stance in support of diversity and against discrimination. Volkswagen employees and the Group’s Diversity Management have founded the “We Drive Proud” LGBT* and friends network that not only represents the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, inter* and queer people: it also intends to help shape cultural change in the company. -
Volkswagen sponsors International Weimar Cultural Symposium implemented by the Goethe-Institut
For the second time, Volkswagen is supporting the Weimar Cultural Symposium of the Goethe-Institut, which will be attended by more than 300 participants from all over the world. Intellectuals, artists, scientists and decision-makers will be debating major upheavals of our time in many areas of society. Volkswagen is actively contributing to this debate and so emphasizing how the company invests in creating a livable future. -
Exhibition opening in Berlin: Volkswagen supports "Andreas Mühe. Mischpoche"
2019, Titled "Mischpoche", Andreas Mühe will present his latest series of works in Berlin, centered around photographic family portraits. In these images Mühe joins together the living and dead members of his highly diverse artistic family. Those members that were no longer alive were replicated as stunningly lifelike sculptures in a complex and intensive production process arranged by Mühe. Volkswagen helped to realize this exhibition as part of its ongoing support of Nationalgalerie, thereby also lending support to Andreas Mühe´s internationally renowned body of work. -
Volkswagen and Karajan Music Tech Conference unveil deconstructed trumpet
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the key topic of the Karajan Music Tech Conference hosted in Salzburg by the Eliette and Herbert von Karajan Institute with the support of Volkswagen. With this partnership, the Group builds upon the success of the previous conference and facilitates a new international expert meeting as well as a presentation of innovative technologies in the world of music. -
Volkswagen and Nationalgalerie add two further years to their partnership
Volkswagen and Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin have agreed on a two-year extension of their partnership. By aiming to provide the largest possible audience with chances to engage with culture, the collaboration helps society to strengthen cultural education efforts. Originally launched in 2013, the alliance has made Volkswagen a significant supporter of the Nationalgalerie, one of Europe’s leading museum institutions covering with its internationally renowned collection the evolution of art from 1800 until today. Works from the collection are on view in five museums: Alte Nationalgalerie, Hamburger Bahnhof, Neue Nationalgalerie, Museum Berggruen and Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg. -
German President receives Holocaust survivor and Volkswagen apprentices at Schloss Bellevue
At the invitation of the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC), four apprentices from Volkswagen yesterday accompanied Leon Schwarzbaum, a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz extermination camp, to a reception given by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The 98-year-old from Berlin honored the German head of state with the “B” statuette. With this statuette, Auschwitz survivors and the IAC honor women and men who stand up for democracy, tolerance and human dignity and keep remembrance of Auschwitz alive. Last year, the budding Volkswagen specialists had helped to maintain and preserve the Memorial Site at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. -
Holocaust Remembrance Day - Volkswagen remembers victims of National Socialist persecution of the Jews, racial hatred and forced labor
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Volkswagen remembered the victims of National Socialism at its Wolfsburg plant. -
Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg – wreath-laying and film “Bei uns nichts Neues”
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Sunday, January 27, 2019 Volkswagen is commemorating the victims of murder, persecution and forced labor during the National Socialist dictatorship with a remembrance event at the Wolfsburg plant. -
Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019: Volkswagen employees commemorate victims of murder, persecution and forced labor
Over the next few days, the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC) and Volkswagen are commemorating the victims of murder, persecution and forced labor during the National Socialist dictatorship at remembrance events. Apprentices from Volkswagen’s plants at Dresden, Emden and Wolfsburg are also taking part in the events. -
VOLKSWAGEN ART 4 ALL initiative receives „Corporate Art Award“
Volkswagen‘s Cultural Engagement has been honored with the „Corporate Art Award” in Brussels. The prize was presented yesterday as part of the “Art Patrons of the XXI. Century” festivities in the European Parliament. The program’s founder and curator Luca Desiata from pptART®/LUISS Business School, representing the jury, acknowledged the role of the company, which “provides a large public with access to the arts and culture through VOLKSWAGEN ART 4 ALL”. -
The new season begins for Volkswagen Sunday Sessions at MoMA PS1 in New York
MoMA PS1 kicked off the new season of VW Sunday Sessions with the performance "Pendulum Music: An Arrangement for Four Performers and Geodesic Dome" by Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste on 21 October. This series supported by Volkswagen Group of America will now be entering its seventh year and offers a variety of encounters with contemporary performance and media art. -
Volkswagen Supports the Kaiserring Award Winner Exhibition in Goslar for the Fourth Year
This Saturday, the artist Wolfgang Tillmans is going to be awarded with the Kaiserring at the Kaiserpfalz in Goslar. In its statement, the international award jury emphasizes the quality of Tillmans’ body of work and his ability to creatively address social challenges. The ceremony further kicks off the award winner exhibition featuring many of Tillmans’ worldwide acclaimed artworks and supported by Volkswagen. -
Five Years of Partnership: Volkswagen Group of America and The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1
Volkswagen Group of America looks back at five years of collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and MoMA PS1 in New York. Since 2011, the company has supported nearly 40 projects, thus underscoring its role as one of the most important supporters of the international efforts of the museum.
Stories
From the Trabi to the ID.3
Bernd Perfölz knows them all. And does so intimately: the Trabant, the Polo, the Golf, the Golf Variant, the Passat – and now the ID.3. The reason is that the technical expert at the Volkswagen plant Zwickau started his apprenticeship as a communications technician at VEB Sachsenring Zwickau in 1972 when he was 17. A journey through time.
Virtuoso dynamic painting
Katharina Gross’ stunning exhibition at the “Hamburger Bahnhof” in Berlin is part of Volkswagen’s partnership with the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
“Diversity is a strong competitive advantage”
On Christopher Street Day (CSD), the LGBTIQ* movement has been campaigning for tolerance and against discrimination for more than 40 years. This year, the demonstration will take place as an online event under the motto “Pride Live” in light of the corona pandemic. In an interview, Elke Heitmüller, Head of Diversity Management, and Thore Masekowitz, LGBTIQ* and friends network spokesperson, talk about Volkswagen’s involvement in the CSD movement and the importance of diversity within the company.
Young reporters at the Karajan Music Tech Conference: "And suddenly you're online"
For the Karajan Music Tech Conference, the Karajan Institute, with the support of Volkswagen, organised a workshop with JungeReporter, which gave prospective editors insights into journalistic working techniques. The workshop and conference took place entirely online.
75th Anniversary: Volkswagen Remembers the Liberation of Auschwitz
Volkswagen Group commemorates the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp with a wreath-laying ceremony and exhibition in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
“The Volkswagen brand? Super strong and fresh”
Jürgen Stackmann, Sales and Marketing board member for Volkswagen Passenger Cars, on perceptible changes at Volkswagen, why he stands up for the brand and what he is most looking forward at the IAA in September. The interview:
“We have to stay on the ball permanently”
When it comes to cultural change, Volkswagen Group also focuses on diversity – and starts with managers. A special program within the Volkswagen Group is designed to sensitize employees to the topic and ensure that they live diversity within the company. Elke Heitmüller, Head of Diversity Management at the Volkswagen Group, explains what is important here.
When the Touareg tows a house
Living on nine square meters. Italian architect Leonardo Di Chiara tours Europe in his “aVOID” tiny house with a Touareg as his traveling companion.
In the town of emperors and artists
With its support for culture, Volkswagen helps to give millions of people access to art and culture. In the town of Goslar, on the northern end of the Harz mountains, the company backs an unusual project.
