For many years, the Cuban artist and activist Tania Bruguera, who currently lives in exile in the USA, has been campaigning for freedom of speech and against censorship in her performances and exhibitions. At the Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart in Berlin, Tania Bruguera's performance Where Your Ideas Become Civic Actions (100 Hours Reading “The Origins of Totalitarianism“) made headlines in early 2024. The reading of Hannah Arendt’s book was dis-rupted by protesters and stopped the following morning. Based on her experiences in Berlin and at documenta fifteen in Kassel, Tania Bruguera conceived the three-part project “The Condition of No“ for the Villa Stuck in Munich, examining the issue of censorship from different angles. Author and dramaturge Florian Malzacher and curator Roland Wenninger talk to Tania Bruguera about her experiences in very different contexts.
About the Program “Tania Bruguera – The Condition of No
Part III: Talks on Boycott, Censorship and Protest in Germany“:
The boundaries of freedom of speech and artistic freedom are currently under scrutiny. Cancellations, boycotts, censorship, behavioural clauses and protests are having a massive impact on the cultural sector, but talking about them is difficult. With this series, we invite experts from various disciplines to engage in intensive and candid discussions about very specific case studies in Germany: What happened? Why did it happen? And: What can we learn? “The Condition of No“ seeks to facilitate understanding, differentiation and communication in what is currently a precarious situation. It’s about creating a fear-free space in which people can talk.
Curated by Tania Bruguera, Florian Malzacher, Roland Wenninger
VS – Villa Stuck in cooperation with INSTAR and The Art of Assembly
The series of talks forms the third and final part of the project “Tania Bruguera – The Condition of No”, that examines the topic of “censorship” from different perspectives. After an exhibition with a focus on Cuba (September 5 - November 24, 2024) and a film festival with a focus on China (November 1 - 3, 2024), the series of discussions will focus on the situation in Germany. The project was conceived by Tania Bruguera for INSTAR and curated by Roland Wenninger.