March 13–15, 2026

Language
Friday, March 13, 2026
German and English, accompanied by AI-assisted translation
Saturday, March 14, 2026
German and English with simultaneous translation (German–English / English–German)

Registration: Anne Volk, volk@wkv-stuttgart.de

The subject of this interdisciplinary symposium is the question of freedom of art, science, and expression in Germany and other liberal democracies. It was prompted by the observation that critical spaces of discourse and action are increasingly narrowing regarding certain topics. The event clearly distances itself from right-wing populist positions that view discrimination—whether in the form of racism, sexism, or anti-Semitism—as a quasi-natural right to freedom. The concept of freedom itself is examined from a critical philosophical, feminist, and anti-colonial perspective. 

In the run-up to the symposium, the German-Israeli Society (DIG) Stuttgart addressed an open letter to representatives of the city, demanding the withdrawal of funding. Without any basis, it accuses the event of "anti-Israel propaganda" and defames the participants—including Jewish researchers—as "anti-Semitic agents."

The WKV strongly rejects these accusations. Neither the event nor its contributors nor the WKV represent, promote, or relativize anti-Semitism. On the contrary.

The Cultural Office of the City of Stuttgart reviewed the final concept of the symposium once again and ultimately withdrew its funding. It justified this step with technical objections. It did not follow the DIG's accusations, but it did follow its demand to withdraw financial support for the project.

In response, the WKV launched a fundraising campaign, which quickly covered the shortfall. (1)

These events underscore the relevance of the symposium and the issues it addresses. Recent debates in Germany about state intervention in cultural institutions and events—such as the Berlinale, the Bookstore Prize, or the Düsseldorf Art Academy—also show that political pressure on freedom of art, science, and expression in Germany has increased and that this needs to be discussed. Not least, the many donors have expressed the necessity of this debate. 

We hope that this symposium will send a signal to cultural policymakers to engage in this discussion in close and open exchange with institutions, organizations, and actors from the arts, academia, and society. 

The planned symposium is prompted by growing concern about the freedom, independence, and free spaces for art, science, and society in Germany and other liberal democracies. 

We would like to discuss the contexts and implications of these concerns, as well as possible strategies for dealing with them, on a transdisciplinary level: that is, within and between the discourses of philosophy, political science, law, and cultural studies.

Modern concepts of freedom and autonomy emerged with European Enlightenment, whose not only emancipatory but also sexist, racist, classist, and colonial entanglements have been the subject of transdisciplinary research and theory since a while. Freedom and independence are not fixed social conditions but rather ones that must be constantly contested. 

The symposium takes these questions as its starting point. It furthermore reflects the observation that critical spaces for discourse and action on certain topics in Germany—particularly in debates about the German concept of “Staatsräson” (raison d'état), but also with regard to climate activism and anti-right-wing-extremism activism—are increasingly narrowing.

At the same time the symposium expressly distances itself from right-wing populist positions that attempt to legitimize discrimination—whether in the form of racism, sexism, or anti-Semitism—as a supposed “natural” right to freedom. Discrimination is not a right.

The growing political and state influence on art, science, and society in Germany is currently less based on legal grounds but more on the threat (and practice) of withdrawing public funding and publicly funded spaces, as well as revoking legal statuses, ranging from non-profit recognition to residency rights (2). 

These developments, together with experiences of sometimes enormous pressure exerted by both traditional and social media, increasingly lead to self-censorship and censorship.(3) Organizations and institutions often pass on their experience of pressure: they disinvite people—or don't invite them in the first place—scrutinize biographies and social media posts, withdraw awards, terminate employment contracts, or refrain from hiring. They demand clear commitments and retractions. In the worst case, representatives of institutions that insist on their autonomous status are extremely targeted politically.(4) 

The symposium aims to examine the background and consequences of these developments from different perspectives. They will also be discussed in the context of the global rise of authoritarian, right-wing populist, and extreme right-wing forces that are primarily directed against freedom of art, culture, science, and migration.

At the same time, we want to talk about the structures and relevance of various newly formed networks, platforms, and initiatives that are committed to sustain and empower open and pluralistic spaces for discourse, such as the Alliance for Critical and Solidarity Science (KriSol) (5), the Association of Palestinian and Jewish Academics (PJA) (6), or Diaspora Alliance (7).  

The central question of the symposium is how freedom, autonomy and free spaces of action—including their limits and contradictions—can be discussed in an open, controversial, diverse and at the same time discrimination-sensitive manner. 

What ethical, political, and legal foundations and methods are relevant here? How can and should institutions and civil society position themselves in this regard? 

An event organized by
Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart

Curated by
Iris Dressler, Hans D. Christ

On-site offerings
Awareness person
Drinks, snacks
Saturday: A limited number of lunches can be purchased on site

Admission
Donation-based

Footnotes

1 See: https://www.wkv-stuttgart.de/en/program/2026/veranstaltungen/donations

2 The German Bundestag's resolution "Never again is now..." (2024) explicitly blames migrants "from North Africa and the Middle East" for an "alarming level" of anti-Semitism in Germany. See: https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2024/kw45-de-juedisches-leben-1027708.

3 The Archive of Silence lists nearly 200 cases in Germany.

4 See: https://taz.de/Einladung-palaestinensischer-Kuenstlerin/!6150741

5 https://krisol-wissenschaft.org

6 https://pja-verein.de

7 https://diasporaalliance.co