Akademie Talk: Kulturkampf?
4 Nov 2025, 7 pm
With Annett Meiritz, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Wolfgang Ullrich, Manos Tsangaris, Anh-Linh Ngo
- Location:
Pariser Platz, Plenary Hall - Wheelchair accessibleElevatorHearing assistance
- Date:
4 Nov 2025 - Time:
7 pm - Price:EUR 7.50 (Reduced: EUR 5)
- Languages: German
- Save appointment
The historic Kulturkampf (Cultural struggle) of the 19th century was about the question of power between the state and the church. Today, the term means something else: the polarisation of modern societies concerning identities, lifestyles and affiliations. Conflict is no longer understood as a search for the better argument, but as a struggle for interpretative authority. Whoever controls language controls the dispute. Terms such as ‘cancel culture,’ ‘language ban’ or ‘gender coercion’ shift perceptions the moment they are uttered. They create camps that no longer seek to convince, but only to defeat.
The Akademie Talk asks whether one should engage in the culture war or refuse to participate. Should one fight with one’s own means or withdraw from the logic of slogans and memes? What can art achieve in such a situation – and should it even want to achieve anything?
Welcome:
Manos Tsangaris, President of the Akademie der Künste and composer
In discussion:
Annett Meiritz, correspondent for foreign and security policy at Handelsblatt
Sasha Marianna Salzmann, author and curator
Wolfgang Ullrich, art historian and author
Anh-Linh Ngo, Vice-President of the Akademie der Künste and architectural publicist
An event in the context of “Widerstand der Ästhetik” (Resistance of Aesthetics)
At a time when the narrative styles of social media, short clips, fake news and AI are becoming a political power factor, a resistant, ultimately enlightening aesthetic is becoming a duty. However, it often unfolds its power precisely when it is not overtly political. How can resistance then succeed? The Akademie is devoting a series of events to this question.