Seventy percent

The conversation in the series I Beg to Differ and with the title We Need to TalkThe conference was set up as an initial impetus to further discussions about transgressive behavior and the safeguarding of a safe working environment in the visual arts world. This was in response to the discussion that erupted in late October about crimes of vice and violence in the art world. During the online discussion, Freek Walther, the confidant, spoke, among others. He works for mores.online, an organization that until recently was a great unknown in the art world.

With that seventy percent rate in mind, it is not at all surprising that people can continue their transgressive behavior for years. Not only in the art world, in all worlds. After all, we are all human. The art world wonders about and is ashamed of its inability to offer a safe world, but unfortunately the art world is no exception in a world in which we all live and which we all shape together.

Nevertheless, it is very important that there is now a lot of thought and a lot of discussion about what we need to do to make the art world safer. With the search for a solution in "one's own little world" it begins. Feverishly people are thinking about how we can move forward. Should we make protocols, and if so, what do we base them on, is it even a good idea to make protocols and if not, what do we do? How can we ensure that everyone within the art world is offered a safe place? Good that this is being worked on now, a little crazy that it didn't happen sooner.

Vice and violent crimes unfortunately take place all over the world and for as long as humans have existed. But we prefer to think of ourselves as civilized people. Civilization shows itself, among other things, by being able to keep our animal urges in check. One of those animal urges is to freeze, to look away (seventy percent). Let us examine together and individually how we can unlearn this ingrained behavior, so that ultimately there is no more room for violence. In our own small art world, but certainly also in our large world outside it. So that we can continue to look each other in the eye, so that we constantly know what we are doing, so that there will be no more victims, either directly or indirectly.