This article first appeared in Monopol Magazin.
What can cultural institutions do as nationalism, authoritarian politics and social division gain ground? At ›Empowering Europe: Culture as a Bridge for Sustainable Societies‹, a talk hosted by Monopol magazine and the E.ON Foundation during Berlin Art Week, Polish curator Anda Rottenberg, the Goethe-Institut’s new Secretary-General Gitte Zschoch and E.ON Foundation Managing Director Stephan Muschick discussed the role of culture in a Europe under pressure. Monopol Editor-in-Chief Elke Buhr moderated the conversation.
Rottenberg described how she connected Warsaw’s Zachęta National Gallery of Art with the international art world after the end of the Cold War—and later lost her position following a political scandal over a work by Maurizio Cattelan. Artistic freedom, she said, always comes at a price. Her simple rule for institutions under political pressure: »Don’t become slaves.« Zschoch explained why cultural ties should not be cut even with countries governed by repressive regimes: art, culture and language can create spaces where people are able to speak and think more freely.
Manifesta 16 in the Ruhr region offered another example of the importance of European networks. Supported by the E.ON Foundation, the biennial includes Rottenberg among its curators. Despite all its conflicts, Europe remains »the best place to live on Earth«, Zschoch said. Muschick argued that the answer to nationalism and isolationism is not less Europe, but a stronger case for a shared Europe.
The Monopol talk ›Empowering Europe: Culture as a Bridge for Sustainable Societies‹ was held as part of Berlin Art Week in partnership with the E.ON Foundation. Watch the full conversation on YouTube or here: