Art creates a space to change the world
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Hamburg Declaration of the Many (PDF)
List of the first signatories from Hamburg (as of 09.11.18 9 a.m.) (PDF)
In Germany, we are not above things, but on a soil from which the greatest state crimes in human history were committed. In this country, art has already been defamed as degenerate and culture has been misused for propaganda purposes across the board. Millions of people were murdered or went into exile, including many artists. As cultural practitioners in Germany, we therefore bear a special responsibility.
Today, we see art and cultural institutions as open spaces that belong to many. Our society is a pluralistic assembly. Many different interests come together and are often found in the in-between. Democracy must be renegotiated on a daily basis - but always under one condition: it is about everyone, about each individual as a being of many possibilities!
Right-wing populism, which attacks cultural institutions as actors in this social vision, is hostile to the art of the many. Right-wing and nationalist groups and parties disrupt events, want to interfere with performance schedules, polemicize against the freedom of art and work towards a renationalization of culture.
Their contemptuous treatment of refugees, committed cultural workers and all those who think differently reveals how they intend to deal with society as soon as the balance of power changes in their favor. Racism, discrimination and exclusion are part of everyday life. The extreme right is a symptom of this. This alliance not only wants to combat the symptoms, but also have a profound effect. We are therefore confronting our own structures and putting them up for negotiation. We have to open up art and cultural spaces as well as our society so that we really become many! As signatories of Hamburg's theaters, art and cultural institutions and their interest groups, we are countering these attempts with a clear stance. Solidarity instead of privileges. It's about everyone. Art remains free!