Program: Staying in dialogue! ADKV-Herzogenrath Forum, November 15 & 16, 2025

How are art associations and cultural actors responding to social polarization?

Art and culture are spaces for reflection, diversity, and freedom. But these spaces of freedom are coming under increasing pressure. In a society that is becoming politically polarized and in which democratic values are being questioned more and more openly, cultural institutions are increasingly caught in the crossfire of public conflicts.

Art associations in particular, traditionally places of open discourse and participation, are facing new challenges: How can independence be preserved when funding is being called into question? And how can we counter appropriation and strengthen each other?

The second ADKV-Herzogenrath Forum 2025 on November 15 and 16 in Leipzig will address precisely these questions. Under the title “Staying in Dialogue,” the forum will bring together representatives from art associations, exhibition venues, cultural policy, academia, and civil society to develop strategies for a resilient and solidarity-based cultural landscape. 

 

Art associations as places of democratic practice

Art associations are closely linked to civil society: they promote local discourse, experimental structures, and democratic developments. At the same time, many operate under precarious conditions—on a voluntary basis or with limited resources. It is precisely this vulnerability that makes protecting their work and their staff particularly important, especially in regions with fragile cultural infrastructure.  

Art associations often operate under difficult political and structural conditions, yet they are key players in cultural democracy. They create access to art beyond large metropolitan areas and promote social dialogue in direct contact with their communities. The forum in Leipzig, a traditional art location with a vibrant civil society, combines nationwide perspectives with local experiences.

The forum will kick off with the presentation of the ADKV Wulf Herzogenrath Prize for Volunteer Work. This year's prize goes to Klaus Fischer (Friends of Contemporary Art, Zwickau), who, with his association, has been creating space for critical art and debate in a challenging environment for decades. 

Program and highlights 

Saturday, November 15, starting at 4:30 p.m. in Halle 14

Speeches, discussion, and workshop held in German.
Questions vcan be translatetd from English to German. 

Kick-off with the presentation of the


ADKV-Wulf-Herzogenrath Prize for Volunteer Work to Klaus Fischer.


Followed by keynote speeches by


Nico Mokros (University of Bielefeld):
“The center under tension: Right-wing extremism and misanthropy as a cultural challenge”


Carl Schüppel (Progressive Center, Berlin):
“The Art of Democracy – How we can protect art and culture from anti-democratic influence”


The focus will be on the question of a current concept of democracy: How are populist and right-wing movements advancing into the social center, and what responsibility do art and culture bear in this process? Where do the potentials lie – but also the limits of their responsibility?

In the subsequent panel discussion,

Klaus Fischer (Friends of Contemporary Art Zwickau),

Ameli M. Klein (Kunstverein Ludwigshafen), 

Christiane Mennicke-Schwarz (Kunsthaus Dresden), and

Juliane Schickedanz (Kunsthalle Osnabrück) 

will discuss responsibility, scope for action, and the limits of contemporary cultural work.
The discussion will be moderated by Annekathrin Kohout, cultural scientist and author from Leipzig.  
The panel discussion is a format for exchange and is open to contributions.


 

Sunday, November 16, starting at 9:30 a.m. at the GfZK

A workshop on funding structures and the requirement for neutrality with contributions from

Antonia Lahmé (Federal Cultural Foundation) and

Berkan Kaya (Bucerius Law School, Hamburg)

moderated by Annekathrin Kohout,

addresses questions of independence from the state and autonomy in cultural funding, as well as current funding programs to strengthen the resilience of cultural institutions.


We want to open up spaces that promote exchange and discourse and in which new networks and alliances can grow. The ADKV-Herzogenrath Forum invites us to remain in dialogue in times of social polarization—about responsibility, solidarity, and the future of cultural work. It is part of a series of continuing education and dialogue formats that the ADKV has established with the support of the Wulf-Herzogenrath Foundation to strengthen art associations in their civil society and cultural policy work. Without the support of the Wulf-Herzogenrath Cultural Foundation, this format would not be financially viable. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the foundation for its commitment.  

Concept and implementation Forum 2025:
Lena v. Geyso, Kathatrina Klang, Ursula Schöndeling (Board ADKV) und Janett Doerr (managing director) 

Free admission – registration until November 2, 2025  at anmeldung [at] kunstvereine.de 

 

HALLE 14
Center for Contemporary Art
Leipzig er Baumwollspinnerei 
Spinnereistr. 7
D-04179 Leipzig

GfZK
Gallery for Contemporary Art 
Karl–Tauchnitz–Str. 9–11
D–04107 


Press contact:

Han Vogel 
Communications ADKV 
vogel [at] kunstvereine.de