She will thus join the two current Managing Directors, Andrea Pier and Stefan Schmidtke, until the end of the year, after which they are due to step down from their posts.

Josephine Hage has been involved in the European Capital of Culture process since 2020 and presented the BidBook II programme to the European jury. As curator of the flagship project ‘Makers, Business & Arts’ for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, she collaborated with numerous partners in the city of Chemnitz, the Capital of Culture region and across Europe. As part of the monitoring team, she reported to the European expert jury on progress in programme development and implementation.

From 1 January 2027, Josephine Hage will be the sole managing director of the organisation. She will thus be responsible for implementing the legacy strategy, in particular for the CtheUnseen Biennale, the further development of the volunteer programme, the micro-projects and collaborations between the city of Chemnitz and the region as part of the Purple Path. The appointment is for a term of three years.

Mayor Sven Schulze: “With Josephine Hage, from autumn onwards we are placing the management in the hands of an experienced cultural manager and a figure with excellent networks at local, national and European level. I value Josephine Hage as a committed and positive ambassador for our city and the region.”

Josephine Hage: “Chemnitz and the surrounding region have opened a new chapter in 2025. We have grown closer together on our journey towards this special year and have seen what we can achieve together. We will need this energy and trust in one another in the future too. Culture and creativity are the heartbeat that not only brings people together, but also ensures we remain visible in Europe.”

About
Josephine Hage was born in Weimar in 1982 and grew up there. She studied political science and philosophy at the University of Erfurt and the University of Essex (UK) and holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy.

She has initiated numerous projects to promote the cultural and creative industries at local, regional and EU level in her roles as a research assistant, project manager and controller. She is a certified EU project manager and fundraiser.

Since 2017, she has been working for Kreatives Sachsen in Chemnitz as a co-project manager. From 2023 to 2025, she served as curator of the flagship project ‘Makers, Business & Art’ for Chemnitz 2025 – European Capital of Culture at the Landesverband der Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft Sachsen e. V. (Saxony Association of Cultural and Creative Industries). Together with her team, she brought the German Tourism Award to Chemnitz for the first time for the ‘Maker-Advent’ initiative.