Why are You Creative? By Hermann Vaske

Why Are We Creative?

What makes an idea a good idea? What defines the genius of creative people?

For more than thirty years, filmmaker and author Hermann Vaske has posed these questions to some of the most influential writers, artists, scientists, activists and thinkers of our time. More than 1,000 have responded—some with handwritten notes or short statements, many with drawings or artefacts, some concise, others extensive, some deeply personal, others delightfully bizarre. The Rupertinum presents a selection of the funniest, most surprising and most thought-provoking responses from Hermann Vaske's unique collection.

We learn what sparks creativity—and how it enriches and advances our world. But we also discover creativity's inherent paradox: forces that suppress creative thinking—censorship, self-censorship, compromise or prohibition—often become the very conditions from which the most brilliant ideas emerge.

At its core, the exhibition asks a timely and fundamental question: Can we rely on our creativity—and remain hopeful in the face of the escalating existential crises of our planet?

Cinematic Encounters with the Most Creative Minds of Our Time

In the exhibition's audiovisual section, Hermann Vaske speaks with some of the greatest creative minds of our time: Marina Abramović, Vivienne Westwood, David Hockney, Georg Baselitz, Björk, Lilith Stangenberg, Blixa Bargeld, Jeff Koons, Zaha Hadid, Yoko Ono, Oliviero Toscani, Christo, Damien Hirst, Jim Jarmusch, Dennis Hopper, Harvey Keitel, Shirin Neshat, David Bowie and many more.

He asks them: What makes you creative? And what holds your creativity back? Their answers touch on spirituality, sex, money, fear, origin and ambition—as well as censorship, self-censorship, bureaucracy and compromise.

More often than not, it is precisely these obstacles that become the driving force behind creativity. Today, in a time of overlapping global crises, we need new ideas—and more creativity—than ever before. The exhibition presents creativity in all its forms: artistic, scientific and philosophical.

About Hermann Vaske

Hermann Vaske is a filmmaker, author and producer. As a director, he has worked with Dennis Hopper, Harvey Keitel and Marina Abramović; as a producer, with Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking and the Dalai Lama. His films have screened at the festivals of Venice, Cannes, Toronto and Palm Springs and won several awards, including the Grimme Prize and the Special Prize of the Venice Television Festival.

For more than 30 years, Hermann Vaske has asked the world's most creative minds the very same question: "Why Are You Creative?" This gave rise to his film series of the same name, with the following milestones to date:

• 2018 – Premiere of Why Are We Creative? at the Venice Film Festival
• 2021 – Why Are We Not Creative? at the Munich Film Festival
• 2023 – World premiere of Can Creativity Save the World? at the Munich Film Festival
• 2025 – International premiere of Creativo Paradiso: A Creative Renaissance at the Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt