In a joint statement entitled “Art needs freedom – democracy needs art”, we, the nationwide artists’ associations, clearly position ourselves against the cultural policy demands of the AfD Saxony-Anhalt for the upcoming state elections (subsumed under the term “new, patriotic cultural policy”) and reaffirm the importance of the fundamental principles of artistic freedom and cultural promotion in Germany.
As associations representing visual artists in Germany, we are therefore calling for this:
- The freedom of art must be guaranteed without restriction and must not be relativized by cultural policy control instruments.
- The non-state nature of public cultural funding and the independence of professional juries are key protective mechanisms and must be safeguarded.
- Public cultural institutions are places of pluralistic, open discourse that enable our democratic coexistence; they must not be made the object of political influence.
- An open democratic society is characterized by the fact that it can withstand contradictions and deal with grievances through public discourse and democratic processes.
The statement was written by the artists’ associations BBK Bundesverband, Deutscher Künstlerbund, IKG – Internationales Künstlergremium, Internationale Gesellschaft der Bildenden Künste (IGBK) and Verband der Gemeinschaften der Künstlerinnen und Kunstfördernden (GEDOK).