When an exhibition is canceled or a play is closed, the meaning of art and its promise of freedom are called into question. The dispute over art quickly becomes a social conflict, and the boundaries between art, freedom, and ethics dissolve. What can we learn from this?

 

The evening invites discussion with regional actors and artistic contributions: In particular, local artists and institutions increasingly come into direct conflict with their environment and have to deal with a wide range of reactions to their art. How to deal with hostility in a tense socio-political climate? Can criticism of (un)intended provocation be made artistically productive, and how can the limits of artistic freedom be democratically contested?

 

Following the discussion with Thusndela Mercy and Pascal Merighi (directors of Tanz Station - Barmer Bahnhof) and several members of a newly founded network of artist-run spaces in North Rhine-Westphalia, deufert&plischke will show the artistic film documentation of their project Fountains, which deals with the taboo of leaking bodies.