European Alliance of Academies

"The Freedom of Art in Times of War and Crisis" (December 2022)

From 15 to 16 December 2022, 42 members of the European Alliance of Academies from 19 different countries came together at the Akademie der Künste to discuss the restrictions that war and crisis have placed on artistic freedom. Numerous actors from the realms of art and culture commented on their experiences.

In his online message of greeting, Victor Sydorenko, President of the Ukrainian National Academy of the Arts, appealed for solidarity between arts and cultural institutions in Europe and invoked the possibilities of cooperation. The Ukrainian Academy was recently admitted to the European Alliance of Academies, with a large majority voting in favour.

Following his expulsion from the Ukrainian Film Academy, filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa, a member of the Akademie der Künste, warned against "replacing one form of propaganda with another". Hanna Bilobrova, co-director of the documentary Mariupolis 2 and fiancée of the murdered documentary filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravičius, showed film clips illustrating the absurdity of the war, the destruction and anguish it brings and the lives lived behind the headlines. Bilobrova took the film footage from Mariupol to Lithuania so she could finish the film after the death of her partner.

The internal working sessions included reports from artists and cultural workers from Poland and Hungary who have to contend with financial constraints and restrictions imposed by the government on the content of their work. The conference came to a unanimous decision to support the institutions concerned, be it through projects involving transnational cooperation or through local actions that generate positive publicity. A newly developed and jointly adopted agenda defines the future activities of the Alliance.

Responding to the question of what politically engaged art means, filmmaker Andres Veiel made the case in the closing discussion that doubts, contradictions and ambiguities should be tolerated in the process of artistic creation. Composer Iris ter Schiphorst called on the art academies represented at the conference to create space for debate between artists and members of civil society as a means to address inequalities and set in motion the much-needed transformation of society. The writers Cécile Wajsbrot and A. L. Kennedy used the power of their art to describe the global situation: their words had a profound effect on the audience. The video messages from Minister of State for Culture and the Media Claudia Roth and UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Alexandra Xanthaki highlighted the importance of the European alliance and pledged their continued support for it.

The newly developed digital platform LOOM – Interweaving the Arts in Europe will allow artistic interventions to take a stance on socio-political issues and facilitate artistic cooperation between members of the European Alliance of Academies. Further artistic projects resulting from the cooperation between the Alliance institutions are to follow.

You can find the livestream of the public programme here.

"LOOM – Interweaving the Arts in Europe" (October 2022)

The European Alliance of Academies launches LOOM – Interweaving the Arts in Europe, a digital platform for artistic cooperation among the institutions and artists of the network, providing possible answers to current social and cultural questions. LOOM is a digital space for the cause of freedom in the arts – a space in which artistic positions are juxtaposed with current political challenges. It aims at creating a digital territory that transcends the local reach of artists and institutions and "weaves" artistic practices in Europe, across borders, into a colourful tapestry.

"Contested Histories, Shared Futures" (June 2022)

The third conference of the European Alliance of Academies (28/29 June 2022) took place in cooperation with the Akademie van Kunsten in Amsterdam and focused on the question of how historical events influence art institutions, artistic practice and cultural goods in public space.

In the public programme, artists, cultural practitioners and representatives of institutions from all over Europe dealt with the effects on artistic and cultural practice by means of concrete examples and discussed approaches to overcoming one-sided levels of meaning. In the internal working sessions, the Alliance partners discussed how to continue the joint cooperation.

With this conference, the European Alliance of Academies is emphasising the necessity to re-evaluate narratives and own practices of action - in order to be able to meet the future challenges of European societies. She is hereby responding to a debate that is becoming increasingly controversial and politically.

With contributions by Liesbeth Bik, Vasyl Cherepanyn, Charles Esche, RAAAF Rietveld Architecture Art Affordances, Andreja Kulunčić, Jeanine Meerapfel, Amina Menia, Joanna Rajkowska, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Paul Spies, Aleš Šteger, et al.

The livestream of the third conference is available here.

„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

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.

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