TO TELL THE TRUTH - Lectureseries part 1

On two Wednesday evenings in May, members of Witte de With’s programming team will set forth their ideas about cultural politics and the public role of Witte de With.

“The Danger of Mediocrity” by Nicolaus Schafhausen, director of Witte de With
Wednesday 18 May at 7 pm
”The Empty Center” by Monika Szewczyk, Witte de With’s Head of Publications
Wednesday 25 May at 7 pm

Location: Auditorium, Witte de With

THE DANGER OF MEDIOCRITY
by Nicolaus Schafhausen
Director of Witte de With

As debates around public funding for culture continue to rage, it has become clear that today we suffer from the absence of people engaged in the arts who are willing to speak up in defense of ideals. With a few exceptions, this lack particularly afflicts the visual arts and contemporary artists, whose often solitary practice is less suited to mass protest than the fields of theater and cinema. In a political atmosphere increasingly dominated by reactionary rhetoric, cultural institutions are under great pressure to be popular, to be liked, to appeal to the mythical ‘‘masses.’’ As his tenure as director of Witte de With draws to a close, Schafhausen’s talk will explore alternatives to this dangerously simplistic approach to culture and how they are relevant to institutions of contemporary art.

TO TELL THE TRUTH will continue in the autumn with lectures by the curatorial team: ‘‘What is right and what is left’’ by Juan A. Gaitán, ‘‘Upstairs, Downstairs’’ by Zoë Gray and ‘‘Please’’ by Anne-Claire Schmitz.

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