System Relevant?! - Art, Cultural Policy and Democracy

Under the title "System Relevant?! - Kunstschaffende, Kulturpolitik und Demokratie", a public workshop will take place at the traces Forschungsstation at Lutherplatz in Kassel on Saturday, 9 July 2022 from 2 to 6 p.m., in which artists, cultural politicians and academics will discuss the following topics with all interested parties:

"Creative! Precarious! - Systemically Relevant? - On the working conditions of artists and public policy".
"Art. Power. Democracy - What does art have to do with democratic resilience?"

The symposium is organised by Prof. Dr. Mi You (Art and Economies) and Prof. Dr. Sabine Ruß-Sattar (Comparative Politics) in cooperation with the documenta Institute and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Hessen.

Livestream:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82734317179

According to the coalition agreement of the "traffic light coalition", culture is to be anchored as a state objective. Hardly anyone disputes that culture is essential for a vital democracy and civil society. Art and culture are therefore "system-relevant" - as fields of action, they stand for the experience of meaning and creativity, for self-understanding and reinvention, for critical intervention and empowerment. Artistic participatory techniques of narration and collective imagination also create spaces in which a sense of community and participation can be developed, which is fundamental for democratic coexistence. Art is able to initiate an open dialogue between people from different walks of life. 

However, the possibility of such an exchange cannot be taken for granted; as an anchor point of civil society cohesion, it must be protected and strengthened by the political side. Against the backdrop of the covid pandemic, the importance of culture and art for the resilience of individuals, but also for democratic society, becomes particularly apparent. This contrasts with the precarious social situation of the people who work in this field. For the covid pandemic has/had serious consequences especially for the working and living situation of cultural workers.

In the context of the Kassel symposium, we ask what politics - beyond verbal appreciations - has done and is doing for those working in the arts during the pandemic. Does cultural policy in the city and the state correspond to the so often invoked importance of the arts for the German "cultural nation"? In a second phase, we will then look at what art has to do with resilient democracy and what experiences there are in this regard, especially also in the context of the documenta and its history.

All interested parties are invited to join us under the title "Systemrelevant?! - Art-makers, Cultural Policy and Democracy" at the traces Research Station on Lutherplatz in Kassel on Saturday, 9 July 2022 from 2 to 6 p.m. to discuss with art-makers, cultural policy-makers and academics.
First round of discussions 2 to 4 p.m.: "Creative! Precarious! - Systemically Relevant? - On the working conditions of artists and public policy".

Second round of discussion 4 to 6 p.m. "Art. Power. Democracy - What does art have to do with democratic resilience?"

Discussants:
Dagmar Schmidt (Federal Association of Visual Artists), Dr. Tobias Knoblich (President of the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft), Dr. Susanne Völker (Head of the Cultural Department of the City of Kassel), Michael Göbel (Artist, Kassel), Dr. Ekkehard Priller (Maecenata-Institut), Prof. Dr. Aida Bosch (cultural sociologist, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg), Jan van Esch (ZK/U CitizenSHIP), Max Winkler (Dynamo Windrad e.V.), Dr. Thomas Bündgen (Literaturhaus Nordhessen), Prof. Dr. Mi You (Art & Economies), Nick Prasse (political scientist), Prof. Dr. Ruß-Sattar (political scientist), Jan van Esch (ZK/U Citizenship)