About us
Los Angeles

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. We promote and foster international cultural cooperation. The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles operates on a partnership basis. 

For individual projects, as for longer-term joint ventures, we connect with stakeholders in the cultural scene – institutions, organizations, companies, people in and from Southern California and Arizona, Germany, and other countries (in particular our European neighbors). Often a project involves several partners working together. The Goethe-Institut organizes its programs proactively, on a long-term, sustainable basis.

It is of special importance to us to jointly develop ideas and create a dialogue between the stakeholder from the outset. Events and projects achieve their best results when they are planned cooperatively, starting with the original idea and proceeding via engaged discussions on the different formats and types of events, on the selection of artists and speakers, to the financing, scheduling, and organization.We can then benefit from shared workloads and implementing projects together. Consequently, all parties interested in working with us should contact us as early as possible (about one year in advance) so that mutual interests, content development and internal processes can be taken into account.

The Goethe-Institut cannot make financial contributions to projects which have already been planned without our participation.

Criteria that guide us:

• The Goethe-Institut actively curates programs and is not a foundation or a funding body. We do not have a formal application process. 
• Our projects and programs are not-for-profit and serve the public good. We want to facilitate projects which would not take place without us. 
• Our target groups are citizens of the United States. Consequently, our programs are generally in English. The exceptions are special events for students and teachers of German. 
• The Goethe-Institut is not a sponsor (on the contrary, we welcome sponsors!). 
• Every partner, including the Goethe-Institut, should retain its identity vis-à-vis audiences and the public and be able to communicate this identity visibly in an appropriate manner (from its logo to collaborative PR).
• We are based in Los Angeles and our mandate covers Southern California and Arizona. 
• In addition to topics, information, and cultural content, we are concentrating on creating sustainable relationships. We bring people together and contribute to the formation of international networks. 
• The Goethe-Institut favors coherent programs or topical clusters and series. 
• We want to present the best and most exciting aspects of Germany's cultural life today. Our close co-operation with the cultural experts in our Munich head office and with the other Goethe-Institutes in North America ensures that our programs are relevant and of a high quality.

Would you like to work with us? Do you have a project or an idea which could bring us together? Please contact us with your suggestions.

All events, unless otherwise noted, are in English and open to the public.
Dates and format of the events may be subject to change.

We are looking forward to your visit and thank you for your interest in the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.