Why Germany is an international lecture series addressing the crackdown on free speech in Germany and beyond. Within Germany, some of the most effective actors in the intimidation of Palestinians and their allies over recent months have been cultural venues, art schools and universities. The hostility towards advocacy for Palestinian lives has surpassed recent escalations across Europe or the USA: the lockstep is more thorough, the language more hateful, the measures more extreme. With the help of historical perspectives and specific case studies of German art schools and universities, this series addresses the eclipse of free speech and its ramifications for local cultural landscapes, but also for neighbors and allies – not to mention for Palestine itself. These weekly lectures are co-hosted by a network of institutions that grows over time. By means of a rolling program, it creates a space for creative, informed and considered expression. Importantly, the series will move beyond critique alone, to propose strategies for the future: which languages, alliances, policies and support systems might ensure a measure of autonomy in the longer term?
Join us online on Tuesday 14 May (6pm CET) for a lecture by Hanan Toukan and Tirdad Zolghadr.
This lecture is part of a wider series of online lectures series in collaboration with:
• Tuesday 7 May at 6pm (CET): lecture by Nadija Samour, hosted by OMAM Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
• Tuesday 14 May at 6pm (CET): lecture by Hanan Toukan and Tirdad Zolghadr, hosted by de Appel
• Tuesday 21 May at 6pm (CET): lecture by Noor Nefgotodien & Ulrike Kistner, hosted by University of Witwatersrand (Wits) Johannesburg, South Africa
• Tuesday 28 May at 5pm (CET): lecture by Sami Khatib, hosted by The Academy of Fine Art at Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Norway (event link)
• Tuesday 4 June at 6pm (CET): lecture by Marwa Arsenios, hosted by Masters of Transdisciplinarity in the Arts at Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland (event link)
• Tuesday 11 June: lecturer TBA, hosted by Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, Sweden
• Tuesday 18 June: lecturer TBA, hosted by Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom
• Tuesday 25 June: lecturer TBA, hosted by Ashkal Alwan, Beirut, Lebanon
The Zoom link, as well as more lectures from partner institutions, will be announced soon on this page. If you'd like tor receive the link in your mail, please click the button below.
Hanan Toukan is Professor of Middle East Studies at Bard College Berlin.
Tirdad Zolghadr is a curator and writer. Published writing includes fiction, art criticism and curatorial research, e.g. REALTY: Beyond the Traditional Blueprints of Art & Gentrification (Hatje Cantz 2022). Curating includes biennial settings as well as long-term collective initiatives. Current teaching engagements include the Rijksakademie Amsterdam. Most recently, Zolghadr was Guest Professor at the postgraduate program of the University of the Arts Berlin.
