Panel discussion Reappraising the Culture of Remembrance?

The Michael-Gaismair-Gesellschaft, the Künstler:innen Vereinigung Tirol and erinnern:at invited interested people to a panel discussion on the subject of Reappraising the Culture of Remembrance?

At Stadtteiltreff Wilten on 15 June 2023, the Michael-Gaismair-Gesellschaft, the Tiroler Künstler:innenschaft and erinnern:at hosted a panel discussion on the subject of Reappraising the Culture of Remembrance? Perspectives on current trends in dealing with the Nazi past in art and culture in Tyrol and beyond. Concept: Andrei Siclodi, editor of the ‘Visual Arts’ section of the Michael Gaismair Yearbook and director of Künstler:innenhaus Büchsenhausen / Tiroler Künstler:innenschaft.

The discussion with Wolfgang Brauneis (director of Kunstverein Nürnberg – Albrecht Dürer Gesellschaft), Heidi Schatzl (artist and researcher, Vienna) and Bettina Siegele, managing directress and curator of the Tiroler Künstler:innenschaft (Kunstpavillon, Neue Galerie, Interessenvertretung) was chaired by Benedikt Sauer (journalist, non-fiction author).

The debate was triggered by a series of disparate events in the art and cultural scene in Tyrol since March 2022, the common denominator being a cavalier approach to the legacy of National Socialism. The trivializing portrayal of co-name-giver Hans Klocker (illegal NSDAP member from 1933 and a judge during the Nazi era) at the newly opened Klocker Museum in Hall in Tirol; the state of Tyrol’s dealings with the art-in-architecture competition at the Landhaus (no project was realised), the Ernst Nepo exhibition in the Kesselhaus and its presentation in the media, and finally, discussion about the Gauder-Fest subject by artist Susanne Liner in various online media and on social media – these are notable ‘cases’ that demanded discussion.