Press Release:
Strengthening European cohesion through art and culture, Second Conference of the European Alliance of Academies

Madrid, 2/3 December 2021
Conference – Workshops – Projects
Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, livestream broadcast

Far-right parties throughout Europe have discovered art and culture as a political
war zone to further polarise society and assert national borders. The European
Alliance of Academies is convinced that transnational artistic cooperation is one of
the best ways of combating these tendencies.
The focus of the Second Conference of the European Alliance of Academies is to
address the potential of artistic cooperation. The key question is: How can we
better network in analogue and digital spaces and counteract political restrictions?
To this end, the participants deal with different nationalistic approaches in cultural
policy and their influence on cultural institutions and thus on the freedom of art in
Europe.

Jeanine Meerapfel, President of the Akademie der Künste and initiator of the
European Alliance of Academies: “If individual states in Europe withdraw into the
national sphere with their cultural policy, we shall react by forging artistic,
transnational alliances. We shall support each other and stand together in
solidarity to protect freedom of opinion and artistic freedom. That is our
contribution to shaping a democratic, social and just Europe. Together, we – the
65 academies of the arts and cultural institutions of Europe – are a powerful
alliance.”

Juan Miguel Hernández León, President of the Círculo de Bellas Artes: “The
current situation in Europe requires firm determination in many regards: politically,
economically, socially and culturally. The world of culture plays a fundamental role
in defending the values that define and unite us: solidarity, diversity, freedom of
expression and artistic freedom. These are under threat in some countries on our
continent. The European Alliance of Academies is an important instrument for
developing measures to combat these threats and implementing them in practice.

With Liesbeth Bik, Christos Carras, Jean-François Chougnet, Manuel Gutierréz
Aragón, Wolfgang Kaleck, Juan Miguel Hernández León, Jeanine Meerapfel,
Antonio Muñoz Molina, Dominika Kasprowicz, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Norbert Palz,
Jurko Prochasko, Aleš Šteger, Cécile Wajsbrot and Miquel Iceta, Spanish Minister
for Culture and Sport, H.E. Wolfgang Dold, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of
Germany to the Kingdom of Spain and Marta Rivera de la Cruz, Minister for
Culture and Tourism Madrid, among others. Musical contribution by Zambra
Barroca

The public programme will be broadcast as a livestream at
www.allianceofacademies.eu.

A European Alliance of Academies event initiated and organised by the Akademie
der Künste and Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid; in cooperation with the
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Madrid. Funded by the German
Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the Madrid Region, and supported
by the German Embassy in Madrid. Media partner Radio 3

You can download this press release here.