Panel discussion: Preserving spaces II

»Räume halten« (Preserving spaces) is a new discourse format that responds to the growing influence of (right-wing) reactionary positions on the art and cultural landscape. At its heart lies the question of how spaces for art, critical thinking and a progressive conception of culture can be defended, asserted and reimagined. These spaces are an essential prerequisite for continuing to enable diverse aesthetic experiences, participation and engagement, as well as critical and complex discourse.

The second instalment of the discussion series, entitled »Class and Conflicts«, examines the links between class affiliation, the potential for conflict and the capacity for dialogue amidst the tensions of cultural battles over interpretation. Culture has long since become a central arena: right-wing actors are increasingly appropriating cultural and class-political concepts strategically for the purposes of shaping right-wing ideology. How do we counter this appropriation within the family, in the neighbourhood, within the arts scene and in society? What connections exist between the right-wing culture war and class? What role do educational and cultural infrastructures play in democratic participation, and how do we, as artists and cultural practitioners, respond to these developments? What dialogues are we prepared to engage in, and with whom?

The discussion will feature theatre director, performance artist and visual artist Julian Hetzel, whose work »Three Times Left Is Right« is being staged as part of the asphalt programme; author and playwright Sasha Marianna Salzmann; author Olivier David, who most recently published a manifesto calling for the unification of left-wing cultural practitioners in the »nd«; and the managing director of the progressive cultural centre zakk Düsseldorf, Kristin Schwierz. The event will be moderated by the dramaturg, theatre educator and lecturer Leonie Ute Maria Adam, who also devised the concept for the discussion series. She is also the dramaturg for the production »Tage aus Glas« (Days made of glass), which will premiere during the asphalt Festival in 2026.

The »Räume halten« series brings together cultural practitioners, artists, cultural venues and thinkers to counter the growing influence of right-wing and reactionary actors and to develop strategies for defending cultural spaces and interpretative authority. The discussion series is designed as a travelling format and will continue at other festivals in the independent arts scene in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the aim of furthering the discourse on spaces, interpretative authority, art and culture. The third instalment is planned to take place during the FAVORITEN Festival in Dortmund (1–11 October 2026). The first instalment took place on 13 June 2026 as part of the Impulse Festival.

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