Save Kinowelt Hall, Gallery & Library @ Goethe-Institut Toronto

We the undersigned are urging the Goethe-Institut to reconsider theirrecent decision to close the Goethe-Institut Toronto cinema, galleryand library effective 30 June 2007.

This is a community response. As a community we have not had the opportunity to express our opinion about such a grave loss. We did not have time to contact the director or anyone else at the Goethe-Institut as it seems it was a unilateral decision with no community consultation. There was a press release that did not circulate (it is very difficult to find buried on the website; it was only made a available at the Goethe the week of April 9th with no attention drawn to it), we can assure you had we been aware of this sooner, you would have heard from hundreds, perhaps thousands of us who are affected by this decision.

We the undersigned feel that the Goethe's decision to close the cultural facilities that are currently available in Toronto is a serious and short-sighted error. It is important to continue the relationships culturally and otherwise that have been started in stable countries such as Canada. We believe this is the underpinning of the Goethe-Institut and what you can use as an example for future institutions.

We will not sit idly by while another vital cultural venue in Toronto is closed. The Kinowelt Hall, Gallery and Library have been the source of important cultural presentations and collaborations for many years. The potential loss of this venue will not be accepted.

Toronto needs a multitude of spaces such as this, but in recent years we have lost far too many.

This petition and community response is an urging to the Director of the Goethe-Institut Toronto the Regional Director for North America in New York and the Directors and the head office of the Goethe-Institut in Munich, Germany to keep this venue open.

Please visit http://savekinowelt.blogspot.com for more information on how you can join this effort and current updates.