Ulrich Wegenast becomes new Managing Director of MODfestivals e.V.

Prof Ulrich Wegenast will be the new Managing Director of MODfestivals e.V. from September 2024. The Stuttgart-born cultural manager and art historian will take over the position from his wife, Ramona Wegenast, who will move to Oberammergau on 1 June 2024 to take over the management of the "Eigenbetrieb Oberammergau Kultur".

Ulrich Wegenast studied art history and history at the University of Stuttgart and cultural management at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin and has been involved in festival management since the beginning of his career. He initially founded and directed the "Stuttgarter Filmwinter - Festival for Expanded Media" before taking over the management of the "Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film" for almost 20 years. In the last two years, he was Dean of the Design Department at the Peter Behrens School of Arts at the Düsseldorf University of Art and Design.

Prof Dr Hans Jaskulsky, Chairman of the Board of MODfestivals, is delighted with the new appointment: "On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Appointments Committee has decided in favour of Prof Ulrich Wegenast as successor to the management of the festivals in Marktoberdorf. Wegenast has decades of diverse experience on the international cultural stage and is very familiar with all matters of a business, logistical, organisational and artistic nature. The fact that he is the husband of the previous Managing Director Ramona Wegenast guarantees an almost ideal, smooth transition in the office. The artistic directors, the board and the staff at the office are looking forward to welcoming the "new man" and wish him a happy hand and every success."

The "new man" is not really new to Marktoberdorf. He has already been involved in the cultural scene of the town and region with the founding and establishment of the film festival "TRICKBURG - Allgäu Animation & Games".

Ulrich Wegenast is looking forward to his future role "I am very much looking forward to my new, challenging task! MODfestivals e.V. - the International Chamber Choir Competition and Musica Sacra International - are two cultural and musical highlights that are rooted in Marktoberdorf and the Allgäu and radiate far beyond the region. It is important to maintain the high artistic quality of both festivals and to set new accents in attracting audiences through new formats, spaces and digitalisation."

Photo: Reiner Pfisterer