24 August 2020
European Alliance of Academies
Conference – Alliance – Manifesto: Meeting of the European cultural institutions from 8 to 10 October in Berlin
At the initiative invitation of the Akademie der Künste around 70 representatives of European art academies and cultural institutions are meeting for a hybrid conference to establish a "European Alliance of Academies".
Considering the current (cultural) political developments in Europe, which have been exacerbated by the Corona pandemic in some countries, the pressing question arises: What can we as European cultural institutions do together against nationalistic and racist appropriation? We are currently experiencing a cultural policy in Europe that only understands art and culture nationally. The autonomy and internationality of the academies, museums and cultural institutions are thus under threat.
The Akademie der Künste and its members feel a responsibility to stand up for a transnational alliance – a European alliance of academies – which advocates the freedom of art and can react in solidarity to political restrictions. In the alliance want to participate: The Royal Academy of Arts, Széchenyi Academy of Letters and Arts, L'Accademia dei Lincei, Real Academia Española, Académie Goncourt, but also Centre Pompidou, Onassis Cultural Center, Villa Decius and many others.
A joint manifesto to be published on 10 October defines options for action and the task of securing the European Union as a cultural project for the future. In this way, the Akademie der Künste contributes to commit for an open, solidary and democratic Europe.
The opening event on Thursday evening, 8 October 2020 with Academy President Jeanine Meerapfel, authors A.L. Kennedy and Robert Menasse and political scientist Basil Kerski, as well as the presentation of the manifesto on Saturday, 10 October, are open to the public. During the internal sessions, the speeches by Minister of State for Culture and the Media Prof. Monika Grütters, Prof. Bénédicte Savoy and Prof. Philipp Ther can be followed via livestream on Friday, 9 October.
Supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media under the German EU Council Presidency
European Alliance of Academies. A conference of European cultural institutions
8 to 10 October 2020, Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
www.allianceofacademies.eu (online from the beginning of September)
Press contact (on behalf of the Akademie der Künste)
Dorothea Walther | Tel. 030 7700 8798, box@dorotheawalther-pr.de