Postscript: Where Society Meets – The Akademie der Künste and its Gesellschaft der Freunde (Society of Friends)
Rainer Esser

There are days when the world seems to weigh heavier than usual – as if its full weight were resting on our shoulders. We are constantly bombarded by news of crises, conflicts and seismic upheavals. What only yesterday seemed to be self-evident has now begun to unravel. Many choose the path of withdrawal, retreating within their own four walls and into digital echo chambers, where they encounter minimal dissent and ample affirmation. Psychologist Stefan Grünewald has described this phenomenon as “silodarity” – a silo mentality that sees people increasingly isolating themselves within the safety of their own world view. But how is our democracy to survive if social cohesion is eroded and solidarity becomes the exception rather than the rule?

The more fragmented the public space becomes, the more we need places where we as a society can meet and engage with each other.

The Akademie der Künste is such a place. Bringing together more than 400 artists from a wide range of disciplines, it offers spaces where different and divergent perspectives can coexist. Because art leaves no one unmoved. It is perplexing, opens up horizons and enables access to experiences beyond our own. To visit the Akademie der Künste is to encounter a diversity of voices, challenging us to question our own point of view and renegotiate what it is we have in common.

Ever since its founding, the Akademie der Künste has embodied the values that are essential to any democratic society: freedom, diversity and openness. And the Akademie never ceases to remind us how indispensable these principles are. For democracy thrives on its ability to tolerate opposing viewpoints and facilitate a productive discourse on those very differences. This kind of exchange happens at many levels at the Akademie, from the dialogue that unfolds between art and society to the personal encounters that take place here.

For these spaces to continue to exist and thrive, they require people who are committed to their support. The Society of Friends of the Akademie der Künste plays a key role in this. It enables exhibitions, events, programmes to nurture young talent and archive projects that would otherwise not be possible without private funding. And it brings people together: members can experience art in direct exchange with the artists, can gain exclusive insight and become part of a network dedicated to fostering both art and societal dialogue.

If you yearn – as I do – for genuine encounters and lively exchange, then we cordially invite you to become a friend of the Akademie der Künste.

At a time when the silo mentality is making public space increasingly blinkered, the Akademie der Künste and its Society of Friends offer a counter-model. A model that holds open doors which in many places are at risk of being closed. A model that reinforces our ability to listen to one another, to tolerate disagreement and to grasp diversity not as a threat but as a valuable resource.

Your involvement in the Society of Friends makes an important contribution – in support of the Akademie and in the interests of art and an open, democratic society.

Translated by Peter Rigney

Rainer Esser is deputy chairman of the Board of the Society of Friends of the Akademie der Künste.