IG Freie Theaterarbeit

What IG Freie Theaterarbeit does

IG Freie Theaterarbeit (IGFT) is an Austrian nonprofit association (Verein, ZVR 878992823) founded in 1988 and headquartered at Gumpendorfer Str. 63b, Vienna, serving as the national umbrella organization for independent theater, dance, performance, and circus professionals. Its core functions are sector representation and advocacy, free consulting services for members on social insurance, tax, and labor law matters, and the administration of the IG Netz social insurance subsidy program (established 1991), which is co-financed by the Austrian federal government (BMKÖS) and eight federal states. In 2024 the IG Netz program supported 106 employer organizations, 4,236 employment months, and 1,254 employees, with €807,434.80 in total subsidies paid out across federal and state co-financing in 2023.

The organization's product portfolio spans publications (gift magazine, since the mid-1990s), media (SPIELFLÄCHE podcast on Spotify), funding programs (ACT OUT international residency with BMEIA), digital tools (Kalkulationstool, IG Netz database at ig-netz.freietheater.at), education programs (Hands-On KI, Boot Camp, IG Werkstatt), and sector platforms (Proberaumplattform, Theaterspielplan.at, Zirkusinfo.at). Distribution is primarily direct-to-member through the WordPress-based freietheater.at website, a weekly Thursday newsletter, Instagram/Facebook channels, regional Bundesländertour visits, and events such as the annual Branchentreff (4th edition scheduled September 22, 2026). The IGFT also founded and hosts the European Association of Independent Performing Arts (EAIPA) and is a member of IETM, Culture Action Europe, Kulturrat Österreich, and vera*.

The business model is a hybrid association structure: recurring annual membership fees (pricing not publicly disclosed) provide the core revenue base, supplemented by event/workshop fees and €50 non-member consulting sessions, with the majority of operational capacity underwritten by public arts subsidies from federal and state governments. The team comprises approximately 6 core staff plus an extended structure of a Vorstand (board including Obfrau Veronika Glatzner), Geschäftsführerin Ulrike Kuner, Kassierin Bettina Schüle, Beratungsteam consultants, and Fachreferent:innen, with no parent company, external equity, or subsidiary structure.

Name

IG Freie Theaterarbeit

Legal name

Interessengemeinschaft Freie Theaterarbeit

Website

https://freietheater.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IG Freie Theaterarbeit is an Austrian nonprofit association founded in 1988, serving as the national umbrella body for independent theater, dance, performance, and circus professionals through membership services, advocacy, consulting, and the federally co-financed IG Netz social insurance subsidy program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from theater, dance, performance and circus professionals and groups. Members receive access to free consulting services, discounts on events, and other benefits.
2. Event and Workshop Fees: Fees for workshops and events. Events are free for members; non-members pay €50 per event/workshop. Revenue is minimal as most activities are free for members.
3. Consulting Services (Non-members): Individual consulting sessions without membership are available for €50 per session

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IG Freie Theaterarbeit (IGFT) is a Vienna-based nonprofit membership association founded in 1988 that serves Austria's independent performing arts community across theater, dance, performance, and circus. It delivers a portfolio of interconnected services including free member consulting on social insurance, labor law, and tax; the IG Netz social insurance subsidy program co-financed by federal and state governments; advocacy in cultural policy; publications such as the gift magazine and SPIELFL\u00c4CHE podcast; educational workshops and webinars; and networking events including regional tours and the annual Branchentreff.

Product overview

IG Freie Theaterarbeit (IGFT) is a membership-based network organization for independent theater, dance, performance, and circus professionals in Austria, established in 1988. Rather than a unified technology product, IGFT offers a portfolio of interconnected services, programs, and platforms: core membership with consulting and resources (Beratungen, Infoblätter, newsletter), publication and media (gift magazine, SPIELFLÄCHE podcast), funding programs (ACT OUT residency, IG Netz social security subsidies), digital tools (Kalkulationstool, IG Netz Datenbank), educational programs (Hands-On KI, BOOT CAMP, IG Werkstatt), event platforms (Proberaumplattform, Theaterspielplan.at, Zirkusinfo.at), and networking events (Field Trips, Bundesländertour). The organization primarily serves as a advocacy, support, and networking body rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mitgliedschaft (Membership Program) Annual membership program for independent performing arts professionals and organizations in Austria, providing access to free consulting, discounted events, workshops, publications, and the IG Netz subsidy program.
• Beratungen (Consulting Services) One-on-one consulting for members (free) and non-members (\u20ac50 per session) on social insurance, labor law, tax, and self-employment issues affecting artists. Delivered online, by phone, or in the Vienna office.
• IG Netz \u2013 SV-Zusch\u00fcsse (Social Insurance Subsidy Program) Subsidy program providing reimbursement of employer social insurance contributions for independent theater companies and groups in Austria. Co-financed by the Austrian federal government (BMK\u00d6S) and eight federal states.
• ACT OUT \u2013 Internationales Residency-F\u00f6rderprogramm

Quantifiable outcome

• In 2024: 106 employer organizations supported, 4,236 employment months subsidized, €216,397.77 in state co-financing, total of 1,254 employees benefiting (718 women, 534 men, 2 diverse)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• EAIPA (European Association of Independent Performing Arts)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGFT founded and hosts EAIPA, the European Association of Independent Performing Arts. EAIPA connects independent performing arts organizations across Europe and organizes events and advocacy at the EU level. IGFT continues to host the EAIPA office.
• Culture Action EuropeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGFT is a member of Culture Action Europe, a European network for cultural policy advocacy and exchange.
• IETMminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGFT is a member of IETM (International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts), a global network for contemporary performing arts.
• vera* Vertrauensstelle Kunst und KulturminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGFT is a member of the trust office for art and culture in Austria, which provides support services for the cultural sector.
• BMEIA - Auslandskultur (Austrian Foreign Ministry Cultural Department)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA) partners with IGFT on the ACT OUT international residency and streaming program, providing funding for Austrian artists to perform and exhibit abroad.
• WUK (Wiener Künstler:innenhaus)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGFT holds events at WUK venue and co-organizes programs with WUK's performing arts spaces. WUK provides venue for networking events and workshops.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Bundesvereinigung Soziokultureller Zentren: German federal association for sociocultural centers and the independent cultural scene. Regional peer because it plays the same national-umbrella advocacy and resource role for Germany's independent cultural sector that IGFT plays for Austria, even though it does not directly compete in IGFT's geography.
• Fonds Darstellende Künste (Germany): German federal fund that supports the independent performing arts sector through grants, programs and advocacy. Regional peer because it is the German counterpart to IGFT's IG Netz-style subsidy regime — same sector, same public-funding-and-distribution function, but operating in a different national context.

Direct peers

• IETM (International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts): Brussels-based international network for contemporary performing arts, of which IGFT is a member. It is the closest global analog to IGFT in mission — advocacy, networking, information exchange and policy representation for the independent contemporary performing arts sector — and operates at the pan-European level that IGFT accesses through its EAIPA leadership.
• EAIPA (European Association of Independent Performing Arts): European-level umbrella association for independent performing arts that IGFT itself founded and hosts. EAIPA is a direct organizational peer: same constituency (independent performing arts professionals), same core services (advocacy, networking, EU-level representation), but operating at the supranational level.
• EDERED (European Dance Employers network): European network of dance employers and producers focused on improving working conditions for independent dance artists — closely aligned with IGFT's IG Netz subsidy program and consulting services, which target exactly this employment-and-social-insurance problem for dance and performance employers.
• Dance/USA: National service organization for the US professional dance field, providing advocacy, research and resources to independent dance professionals. Direct peer because its mission, member-driven governance, and advocacy-for-independent-artists model closely mirrors IGFT's role for Austrian dance and performance.
• Culture Action Europe: Largest European cultural-policy network and IGFT membership organization. Comparable as a peer because it operates the same advocacy-and-policy-representation model for the wider cultural sector that IGFT runs at the Austrian independent performing arts level.
• Performing Arts Alliance (US): US-based coalition of national performing arts service organizations that advocates to federal policymakers on behalf of the sector. Highly comparable as a peer because it plays the same federal/national advocacy role for performing arts that IGFT plays at the Austrian level.
• Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP): US membership organization representing performing arts professionals, presenters, managers and agents, with an annual conference that serves as a sector convening point. Comparable as a peer because it combines membership services, professional development and convening in the same way IGFT does through Beratungen, Boot Camp and Branchentreff.
• Assitej International: International association of performing arts for children and young people, structured as a global network of national centers. Direct peer because it shares IGFT's network-association form, membership model, and mission to represent and support a performing-arts constituency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ig.freietheaterarbeit
• Instagraminstagram.com/ig_freietheaterarbeit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ig-freie-theaterarbeit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IG Freie Theaterarbeit