(Without art and culture, everything is calm)
Volleyball players cheer, soccer players slip in, women and men weave their way into the bobsleigh for the chase through the ice channel – all on a media-rich stage for their club or country. And where are the actors of the scene? Nothing, the city councils meet in the theater – the audience stays at the door and the theater people improvise well even with the “take out” theater and still find themselves in a deep crisis of meaning because the crucial exchange of energy is missing. That is why we support their demands.
AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) holds its congress party with more than 600 people in a hall, musicians * are not even allowed on stage with a small ensemble and we are not allowed in a concert hall as enthusiastic music listeners. Who breathes differently here – meanwhile there are now scientific studies on the corresponding droplet aerosols and how to capture them. It’s the unequal treatment that takes your breath away!
Downtown, consumption temples are open for Black Friday and Christmas shopping – yes, with notable losses for retail compared to the previous year and compared to the abundance of supply – because people are not negligent in the majority. Today, libraries and educational institutions are still forced to close – isn’t that a denial of state-controlled education? Cinemas with sophisticated hygiene concepts and an audience that could and will enjoy intellectual stimulation must close indefinitely. We need you now and especially after the pandemic – which is why we are defending ourselves against total deletions in the cultural space with you!
Politicians primarily choose economic and health measures, including tax cuts, but criminally neglect (those who create) culture – the Greens are no exception. We accept reasonable restrictions, but of course, there is more than just “enjoying your free time”! It is “public health” in a holistic sense.
The media continue to report on the RKI(Robert Koch Institut) and the resolutions and rules of political representatives – as if there was hardly anything else in the world. Only a few alternative media counter it. Artists and creatives of all kinds are constantly reinventing themselves with wonderful alternatives and in the meantime, we are sitting in front of the TV to soak up a little culture.
The lawyers successfully challenge the demonstration bans, leaving the limitation of damages to the police. Courts approve in-person conferences. With this difficult balance between “individual freedoms” and “common good”… where are the defenders of culture? Quite simply also in incapacitated civil society.
Corona Aid sends our children and grandchildren into a debt trap of dramatic proportions, we are driven into inflation and into new struggles to distribute vaccines and aid. Nest eggs turn performers into supplicants instead of letting them go about their business to the delight of many and sometimes even with a cathartic effect.
So carry on as always or “it’s just a matter of perspective” as Schleich caricatures so well?
Exactly: some are calling for an armistice and others gleefully sell weapons and start wars.
Money or life? Hands in the air!! For culture !!
Translation by Lulith V., from the voluntary Pressenza translation team. We are looking for volunteers!
