Nele Hertling

Nele Hertling was born in Berlin and studied Philosophy and Theatre Sciences studies at Humboldt University, Berlin.

Working for the Academy of Arts, Berlin, from 1962, she has founded regular programs of innovative art in the city, such as Pantomime-Musik-Tanz-Theater in 1970 and the Tanz im August festival in 1988. She assumed the Vice Presidency of the Academy from 2006 until 2015. She was the General Manager of Berlin - European Capital of Culture in 1988. One year later, she reactivated the Hebbel-Theatre in Berlin, and acted as its Artistic Director until 2003. From 2003 to 2007, she was the Head of the Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD. 

Hertling is considered the grande dame of the established German Freies Theater (free theatre).

She is a founder and member of many international associations devoted to the support and promotion of art, including the I.E.T.M. (Informal European Theatre Meeting), Theorem, Gulliver Clearing House in Amsterdam and the European House of Culture. Since 1995, she has been a member of the "Franco-German Cultural Council" (President since 2001), the Goethe-Institute's Performing Arts Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes. She is a co-founder of the initiative "A Soul for Europe" and a member of its strategy group.