On the theme of cultural censorship in Berlin, dif wanted to share two pieces. Firstly, extracts taken from a report in Mixmag, read the full piece here, and secondly an artist statement by Mareike Strelitz for their piece S o S — Sound of Stille.
Feel free to reach out if you have questions or have been censured via info @ dif-ev .org or the (anonymous) contact form. At dif, we believe in free honest artistic expression, and we are open to discuss this sensitive subject to find ways forward for the Berlin cultural scene to keep on flourishing.
“Stifled voices of Berlin’s creative community: cultural workers in Berlin face censorship, cancelled gigs and lost arts funding for showing solidarity with Palestine.
Many of us in Berlin have lost work opportunities, faced silencing, and had to play diplomat instead of just playing music. While creative freedom used to be Berlin’s international calling card, curatorial practices and community organising are now shrouded in censorship and stifled by legal ramifications (Nicky Böhm of Refuge Worldwide).
It is baffling how many Palestinians and allies have been systematically silenced, cancelled, and criminalised, and how even our anti-Zionist Jewish friends have been called anti-Semite by white Germans when standing for a free Palestine; it it is important not to cancel each other out and instead support each other because there are different ways to manoeuvre this struggle (musician Ahmed Eid).
Many wonder why cultural workers generally, and especially musicians, feel we must stand in solidarity with Palestine even when it means losing our job and sometimes our safety. Many of us hope that our beliefs in intersectional humane values, the influx of foreign talent, and the eye of the international public opinion will help Berlin and Germany out of their racist habits. We cannot keep business as usual and accept to be silenced on such an important issue for us, for the people of Palestine and all others suffering under colonisation, and for the beating heart of humankind – which is what music is all about.”
_______________________
“I am a white German person and I think it is my task and responsibility to give space back to the many silenced and withdrawn voices.
[…] Despite the great value of artistic freedom, politicians will never be free to take action against racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination and all other forms of misanthropy. This field of tension is made up of many different voices, opinions and views. Cancellations of suspected exhibitions, readings and cultural events are on the rise, and accusations of anti-Semitism without substance or evidence are increasingly being directed at people who are supposedly not part of white Germany. Not only left-wing Jewish and/or Israeli people, Arab, Muslim and, most radically, Palestinian voices are increasingly excluded from the discourse. […] Other artists are withdrawing themselves in protest and solidarity because they are unable to represent the positions of foundations, cultural institutions and museums and are questioning them.
[…] Those affected are rarely listened to, the diversity of opinions is boiled down to a uniform mash. Democratic participation is a fundamental right in Germany, and the civil discord over current issues is almost unbearable.”
View the S o S — Sound of Stille artworks on instagram.com/m_____e_s______z