EMOP Berlin x Akademie der Künste | was zwischen uns steht: Wohin driftet Europa? Wie Künstler*innen den Krisen der Gegenwart begegnen | Open Debate

In the organizer's words:

The European project is currently being challenged like never before: war has returned and the EU must reposition itself in a changed world. At the same time, right-wing nationalist and populist forces have gained the upper hand in many member states, are inscribing themselves in the European institutions and influencing the political agenda. Climate protection agreements and progressive migration policies are coming under massive pressure. We are observing the erosion of the idea of liberal democracy everywhere.

As part of the EMOP Berlin - European Month of Photography 2025

Politicians do not seem to have an answer to the pressing questions - such as how to deal with the war in Ukraine and how to restore and secure peace in Europe. How do artists, whose work was often driven by the desire for a better Europe, for further democratization, respond to this shift? What does it mean for those artists for whom Europe was an important reference for their work and a point of reference for critically reflecting developments in their home country?

Around a month after the German parliamentary elections and the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we would like to discuss with artists who have been committed to the project of European unification for many years and/or who are critical of the respective political systems in which they live from a European perspective. In the face of a fragmented public sphere, we also want to reflect on how artists can (still) describe reality with their means, such as photography and text - at a time when the claim to truth is challenged by the growing flood and reception of fake news as well as by the expectation to take difference and diversity into account.

The "EMOP Berlin - European Month of Photography" festival is particularly committed to the European idea. This is one of the reasons why EMOP Berlin and the Akademie der Künste are inviting artists to this discussion event, who operate within these ambivalences and pursue different strategies.

With Yevgenia Belorusets, Jonas Höschl, Eric Meier and Marina Naprushkina

Moderation: Maria Isserlis