Critiques and Disruptions of Power in the Arts

It is now commonly acknowledged that we live in times in which radical global injustices continue unabated. Also in the cultural field, the structural divide along lines of discrimination, sexism, racism, classism, ableism etc. has become even stronger and more evident, connected to an alarming decrease in social justice in many societies. But at the same time, we are also experiencing a phenomenon of growing solidarity that, with a critical eye towards power, is putting up resistance to these drastic and growing inequalities and searching for different ways in which to handle established practices.

The presentation will be committed both voicing critiques of power in the field of arts and culture as well as to discussing “ways to do it otherwise” while understanding processes of power and inequality as inherently interwoven. It will also be discussed how power laden social and cultural institutions govern how things are handled in the cultural field as and which strategies of solidarity challenge such hegemonic institutions of power in the arts. Collaborative counter-strategies such as solidarity, empowerment and participation are outlined as ways to deal with global social injustice without falling into simple dichotomies. The presented strategies for instance expose asymmetries of power, break out of the status quo, contemplate one’s own positions and encourage shifts of perspectives, or make visible hitherto underrepresented perspectives. It will be reflected about the extent to which artistic expressions are politically significant and what they can achieve, for example in a post-conflict setting. Possibilities for rethinking concepts of art and ideas of quality will be discussed in order to make musical and performative practices understandable as social practice. Finally, it will be asked whether or not global and local art worlds can also be rethought through the joint development of social platforms of solidarity.