What Theatermuseum does

The Freundeskreis des Theatermuseums der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf e.V. is a registered German non-profit association (eingetragener Verein, or e.V.) that provides financial and ideological support to the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf, a city-owned theater museum founded in 1938 and housed in the Hofgartenhaus since 1988. The association was established in 2020 and operates on a community-led model, recruiting active and passive members who want to promote cultural life in Düsseldorf. It is governed by a five-person Vorstand (chairwoman Sophie Sczepanek, deputy chairs Nina Korfmann and Ines Weller, secretary Christian Döpke, treasurer Philipp Korfmann) and supported by roughly 10 employees/volunteers.

The association's core offering is a tiered annual membership program: Einzelperson at €30/year, Paare und Familien at €50/year, and Personen unter 30 at €10/year. Members receive free entry to the Theatermuseum's own events, exclusive previews of exhibitions, cultural programming (music, dance, trips and excursions), and discounts on the Artcard. The organization also publishes the Szenenwechsel newsletter (issued as PDFs on its WordPress-based website) and maintains an Instagram channel (@freundeskreis_tmd) for member engagement. There is no proprietary technology platform; the offering is delivered through standard web, email, and social channels.

Commercially, the Freundeskreis is a subscription/dues-based membership organization with a single revenue stream (annual membership fees). It sells memberships directly through its website and via on-site conversion at the Hofgartenhaus, serving a regional Düsseldorf audience of cultural enthusiasts. There are no disclosed enterprise customers, institutional donors, or material secondary revenue lines, and total membership revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Theatermuseum

Legal name

Freundeskreis des Theatermuseums der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf e.V.

Website

https://freundeskreis-theatermuseum-dus.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Freundeskreis des Theatermuseums Düsseldorf e.V. is a German non-profit membership association that provides financial and programmatic support to the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf through tiered annual memberships, cultural events, and a newsletter, serving cultural enthusiasts in Düsseldorf.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum Support Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Museum membership association
• Cultural heritage support
• Theater museum nonprofit
• Performing arts patronage
• Cultural events programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership dues from individual, couple/family, and under-30 members provide recurring revenue to support the theater museum's operations and programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Freundeskreis des Theatermuseums der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf e.V. is a non-profit membership association that provides financial and ideological support to the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf. It sells three annual membership tiers (Einzelperson €30, Paare und Familien €50, Personen unter 30 €10) that grant free entry to TMD events, exclusive exhibition previews, cultural programming (music, dance, excursions), and discounts on the Artcard. The association also publishes the Szenenwechsel newsletter and organizes cultural events, trips, and excursions for its members.

Product overview

The Freundeskreis des Theatermuseums offers a membership-based service centered around supporting the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf. The organization provides three membership tiers (Einzelperson at 30€/year, Paare und Familien at 50€/year, and Personen unter 30 at 10€/year) that grant members free entry to museum events, exclusive previews of exhibitions, and discounts on the Artcard. The association also publishes the Szenenwechsel newsletter and organizes cultural events, trips, and excursions for members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Einzelperson Membership Individual annual membership at €30 per year, providing free entry to all Eigenveranstaltungen (in-house events) of the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf, exclusive previews of TMD events and exhibitions, and updates on the cultural landscape.
• Paare und Familien Membership Annual membership for couples and families at €50 per year, providing all membership benefits including free entry to Theatermuseum events and exclusive previews at a bundled rate.
• Personen unter 30 Membership Reduced-cost annual membership at €10 per year for individuals under 30 years old, offering free entry to Theatermuseum events and cultural engagement opportunities.
• Szenenwechsel Newsletter Regular newsletter publication providing updates on museum events, exhibitions, and the cultural activities of the Freundeskreis association for members and supporters.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• International Association of Theatre Museums / ITM: The International Association of Theatre Museums is a network of theater and performing arts museums worldwide, of which the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf is a likely member or peer institution. It is an ecosystem and standards-setting body rather than a competitor, but materially relevant for collaboration, exhibitions, and curatorial exchange.

Direct peers

• Freunde des Museums für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg: The Friends of the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg is a supporters' association for a German cultural institution, offering tiered memberships, exclusive event access, and curatorial programming. Its operating model and audience overlap with the Düsseldorf Freundeskreis.
• Gesellschaft der Freunde der Bayerischen Staatsoper: The Friends of the Bavarian State Opera is a German non-profit supporters' association for a major performing arts institution, offering tiered memberships, exclusive event access, and program insights. The membership model, mission, and donor-engagement mechanics are directly comparable to those of the Freundeskreis des Theatermuseums.
• Theatermuseum Wien: The Austrian Theatre Museum in Vienna is a national theater museum preserving performing arts heritage, with collections spanning stage design, scripts, and theater history. Its curatorial focus, audience type, and museum-and-friends-association structure closely mirror the Düsseldorf Theatermuseum model.
• Förderkreis Museum Ludwig Köln: The Förderkreis (supporters' circle) of Museum Ludwig in Cologne is a membership-based nonprofit that financially and ideationally supports a major German cultural institution. Its tiered membership, exclusive preview events, and patron programming closely parallel the Freundeskreis des Theatermuseums approach.
• Freundeskreis der Berliner Staatsoper Unter den Linden: The Friends of the Berlin State Opera is a supporters' association for a major German opera and performing arts institution, offering memberships with benefits such as event previews and cultural programming. It is a structural and operational peer for the Freundeskreis model applied to a performing arts institution.
• Deutsches Theatermuseum München: The German Theatre Museum in Munich is the most direct institutional peer — a museum dedicated to the history of theater and performing arts in Germany. Both organizations preserve theatrical heritage, maintain related archives, and serve cultural enthusiasts in major German cities, making their missions and audiences closely aligned.

Regional players

• Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf): The German Opera on the Rhine is Düsseldorf's main opera house and a fellow performing arts institution serving the same city audience. While not a museum, it competes for the same cultural-enthusiast donor base and member attention within Düsseldorf, making it a directly comparable regional player.

Emerging players

• Museum für Puppentheater (Magdeburg): The Magdeburg Puppet Theater Museum is a small German performing-arts-focused museum preserving stage heritage in a similar small-city setting. Its narrow thematic focus, family-friendly programming, and modest scale make it a comparable specialized peer in the German theater-museum landscape.

Broad incumbents

• Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI: The Cultural Circle of German Business is a large, established nonprofit supporting arts and culture across Germany through corporate sponsorships and programming. While operating at much greater scale and breadth, it shares the nonprofit cultural-promotion mission and competes for the same donor and corporate-sponsorship attention.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/freundeskreis_tmd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theatermuseum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Theatermuseum