The theme of the annual Paradiso Debate, held Sept. 1 in Amsterdam, was "the common denominator. What do creators and institutions in the cultural sector have in common? Where does solidarity lie? "Where there is scarcity, solidarity comes under pressure" said Anne Breure, co-chair of Kunsten '92 in introducing the debate. What helps is to look for the common denominator, for possibilities that can contribute to solutions, new perspectives. What always helps is the creativity of artists and what is needed for that is space, creative space.
"Where there is scarcity, solidarity comes under pressure"
More and more politicians worldwide see that space, the space in which artists use imagination to shape a different, a better world, as a threat. Not as a threat to the well-being of the world, but as a threat to their own position. After all, it is largely their own position that populist politicians are concerned with. Art is a sanctuary and populist politics does not benefit from such a sanctuary. For populist politicians, art is a threat to their position. It is not for nothing that Jonas Staal, in his lecture during the Paradis debate, called for a struggle against the normalization of populist politics, against normalization of Wilders' ideas.
Art is a sanctuary and populist politics does not benefit from such a sanctuary
In his impassioned speech, Jonas Staal explained that Article 1 of our Constitution is an "unrealized document. The article Wilders wanted to remove from the Constitution. The article which reads as follows: "All who are in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal cases. Discrimination because of religion, belief, political affiliation, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or on any other ground is not permitted."
Steel called the power of makers the power of imagination: makers can make visible the shocking truths that shape our world, to show the true nature of politics. Makers should unite collectively to realize Article 1. For, he said, "without an essential democratic system, we cannot produce an essential democratic culture either."
In his lecture, Jonas Staal called for a fight against normalization of Wilders' ideas
In other words, democracy is a structural condition for the production of culture. This is why he called for transforming the cultural venues into a democratic line of defense: "If the ruling power no longer defends the constitution then we have a collective duty to do so."
You can watch the Paradiso debate here, including Jonas Staal's lecture.
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