European Alliance of Academies
„The Power of Art: Defending a Transnational Understanding of European Culture“ (December 2021)
The second conference of the European Alliance of Academies (2 — 3 December 2021) focused on artistic cooperation - and how it can be used for a European understanding of art and culture. In three public discussions, the participants dealt with the influence of nationalistic approaches in cultural policy and their impact on artistic work as well as on the autonomy of cultural institutions. In internal meetings, they discussed how the alliance can better network in the analogue and digital space and take action against political restrictions.
Thanks to the intensive cooperation with the partner Círculo de Bellas Artes, the event could be held with the participation of the Spanish Minister of Culture Miquel Iceta, the regional Minister of Culture Marta Rivera de la Cruz, the German Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain H.E. Wolfgang Dold, as well as active members of the Academy of Arts and the European Alliance of Academies, among others. Liesbeth Bik, Christos Carras, Jean-François Chougnet, Manuel Gutierréz Aragón, Wolfgang Kaleck, Juan Miguel Hernández León, Jeanine Meerapfel, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Dominika Kasprowicz, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Norbert Palz, Jurko Prochasko, Aleš Šteger, Cécile Wajsbrot. Musical contribution by Zambra Barroca
Livestreams of the events can be viewed here:
The Power of Art - European Alliance of Academies
Jeanine Meerapfel
Marta Peirano, Cécile Wajsbrot, Liesbeth Bik, Norbert Palz
Elvira Dyangani Ose
Valerio Rocco Lozano, Juan Miguel Hernández León, Marta Riviera de la Cruz, H.E. Wolfgang Dold, Jeanine Meerapfel
Musical contribution by Zambra Barroca
An event of the European Alliance of Academies initiated and organised by Akademie der Künste and Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid; in cooperation with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Madrid. Supported by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and Region Madrid. Media partner: Radio 3
„Battle with the Empty Sky: Language, Nationalism and Freedom of Art in Early 21st-Century Europe“ (October 2021)
The European Alliance of Academies launched a series of events on the freedom of the arts in Budapest with a public discussion
involving authors from all over Europe and with workshops for students and in close cooperation with Society of Hungarian Authors.
Under the title "Battle with the Empty Sky: Language, nationalism and freedom of art in early 21st-century Europe", Academy member and writer Robert Menasse, Hungarian author László Márton and Hungarian literary critic Anna Gács examined the interaction between language, society and politics: How are language and literature affected when politics moves in a populist, nationalist or other radical direction? The British poet Daljit Nagra moderated.
© Akademie der Künste
In preceding workshops with the authors Luc Devoldere (Belgium), Sophie Collins (London) and László Martón (Budapest), different aspects of the topic were discussed on a European level: Which terms are reinterpreted by politics? What vocabulary do we need to describe future challenges? What possibilities are there for authors to become socio-politically active without neglecting their linguistic aesthetics?
The event was an expression of the solidarity of the European Alliance of Academies with the Society of Hungarian Authors. In December 2020, the latter had vehemently defended itself against anti-Semitic statements by Szilárd Demeter, director of Budapest's Petöfi Literary Museum. Various Alliance institutions - Royal Society of Literature, Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature and German Academy for Language and Literature - then joined forces to bring more public attention to the issue.
Ferenc Czinki welcomes on 29 Oct 2021
Video message from Jeanine Meerapfel, 29 Oct 2021
Daljit Nagra, Robert Menasse, Anna Gács, László Marton, 29 Oct 2021
Luc Devoldere, Sophie Collins, 29 Oct 2021
Workshop with László Marton, 29 Oct 2021
Workshop with Luc Devoldere, 29 Oct 2021
„Artistic Freedom in Europe – Mission (In)Complete!?“ (May 2021)
On the occasion of the European Union's Europe Day on 9 May, the European Alliance of Academies is lodging a complaint with the UN Special Rapporteur on Culture, Karima Bennoune, and launching an online petition to the European Parliament.
Together with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the alliance is calling for the violations of artistic freedom in Hungary to be opposed with the legal instruments available and for the legal framework to be enforced to protect the independence of cultural institutions and cultural workers wherever it is threatened.
© Akademie der Künste
In an accompanying online event, the procedure is discussed with key players in the cultural and the political spheres in Europe. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas opens the discussion with a welcome address. Sabine Verheyen, Chair of the Committee on Culture in the European Parliament, comments on the situation. Alliance members from Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Slovenia and Germany present their proposals for action.
The event is sponsored by the Federal Foreign Office and the Society of Friends of the Akademie der Künste.
On the Origin of the Alliance: For the Freedom of Art in Europe
At the invitation from the Akademie der Künste, around 70 representatives of European art academies and cultural institutions gathered for a hybrid conference to initiate a "European Alliance of Academies" in October 2020. The institutions involved come from almost every country in the European Union as well as Norway and Great Britain and they stand up for the freedom of art in Europe.
Jeanine Meerapfel, Akademie der Künste, 8 Oct 2020
Robert Menasse, Akademie der Künste, 8 Oct 2020
Basil Kerski, Akademie der Künste, 8 Oct 2020
A. L. Kennedy, Akademie der Künste, 8 Oct 2020
AoA Impro Group with Floros Floridis et al.
Akademie der Künste, 9 Oct 2020
Akademie der Künste, 9 Oct 2020
Robert Menasse and Minister of State Prof. Monika Grütters
Akademie der Künste, 9 Oct 2020
The joint manifesto sets out the mission of securing the European Union as a cultural project for the future. New forms of cooperation has been established that guarantee mutual support whenever there is a threat of political restrictions or the freedom of art is at risk.
Opening event, 8 Oct 2020
Video © Akademie der Künste. Foto © Marcus Lieberenz/bildbuehne.de
Contributions by Academy President Jeanine Meerapfel, writers Robert Menasse and A. L. Kennedy and publicist Basil Kerski as well as agreeting by Minister of State Prof. Monika Grütters and perspective views of Europe by art historian Bénédicte Savoy and contemporary historian Philipp Ther.
Supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of the German EU Council Presidency 2020.
More information, videos and documents:
www.allianceofacademies.eu