Die Grenzen der Freiheit

Poems are forbidden and painted over, events cancelled, artists vetted for their sympathies – the need to reach an emphatic understanding about artistic freedom is more urgent than ever. Article 5, Paragraph 3 of the German Constitution states that “art and scholarship, research and teaching shall be free” – nevertheless, in practice arts institutions are increasingly coming up against boundaries: particularly those caused by escalation through social media. Self-censorship too has become an issue again when inviting artists in Germany. In how far do assessments of artistic freedom collide with those of rule of law?

A broad-based forum will address the legal and political conditions that provide a framework for artistic production, the culture of contemporary debate and how to deal with pressure and restrictive guidelines. It will start by focussing on the current situation in Germany but the discussion will be expanded with reference to selected examples from other countries. The symposium will take place in Bochum from 10 –12 Sept 2020 and is a co-operation between Ruhrtriennale, Urbane Künste Ruhr, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Hartware MedienKunstVerein (HMKV) Dortmund and Ruhr-University Bochum.

Program

The entire programme and information on the registration procedure will be announced in June.