Why Art in Democracy?
What is democracy? Why has the European Union embraced democratic values? The European Parliament’s Contemporary Art Collection includes a significant number of art pieces that may help address these questions, and let us have an insight into how democracy has been interpreted by visual artists from different countries of the continent.
The selected artworks can be defined as critical and personal visions of each one of the featured artists, who have taken clear positions in favour of defending democracy through their production. They contribute to reinforcing awareness of the need to stand up for democratic freedoms, pointing towards the duty to remain alert and participatory in processes as decisive as the European elections. In this context, they remind us that European citizens also have a role to play in defending democracy by voting in the upcoming European elections in June 2024.
In addition, the exhibition narrative aims to provide valuable perspectives on key aspects that any healthy democracy require, such as the respect of its rules of game and a necessary political engagement from society. Apart from other relevant issues that involve challenges and pose a test for our democratic values, like the relationship between citizens and institutions, the role of mass media in providing clear and reliable information, the limits of the States’ power in the face of citizens’ private lives and initiatives, or migratory and transboundary movements.
Some important trends in contemporary art cast a reflective and critical eye on the social and political realities of the modern world, often with a dose of irony, sarcasm, scepticism or bitterness. In this sense, they are strongly characterised by the intellectual, ethical and, in some cases, openly political commitment embraced by so many artists in the 20th and 21st century.
Art can often take a critical view that penetrates and transcends the straightforward appearance of our daily lives to reveal facets of it that often go unnoticed, highlight inconvenient truths and raise ethical and historical issues. This is art intended to warn and advise, lucidly comment and be thought provoking.
Art is a powerful tool for communicating and generating awareness about different problems, since it allows expression in ways that written or oral languages do not. Art has the ability to move and connect. It has the ability to awaken thoughts and ideas, and be the starting point for civic dialogue, for deeper conversations about what is relevant to the community, and for breaking through the polarization around some issues.
In the current panorama of the visual arts there are trends with names such as Artivism, Engaged Art, Community Art, Ecological Art, etc., which understand the function of art as a weapon of protest, as an expression of issues and problems of a political nature, therefore susceptible to be debated in democracy.
Art then becomes a means of communication and a political tool focused on change and the transformation of society: a language that transcends the academic and museum world to move on to other areas and reach a broader audience. Such was one of the ambitions that, under different strategies and objectives, encouraged the emergence of several of the artistic avant-gardes of the 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism or later on Conceptual Art. There have not been many artistic initiatives, articulated in collectives or movements, that have adopted the word “democracy” in their name. A case in which the term was used, incorporating it into the name of an artistic collective, occurred in 1974 with the formation of the group “Artists for Democracy”, which pursued: “a clear and emphatic aim: to express solidarity with international political struggles. The experimental artistic practices adopted by the group constituted not only new ways of making art, but also alternative methods for expressing political thought and manifesting political acts. (…) Artists for Democracy enacted solidarity as a creative political act”.
It should not be forgotten that the artworks that make up this exhibition, like many others featured in collections and exhibitions throughout Europe, have been born largely from the possibility that a democratic society offers to individuals of freely expressing their opinion and thoughts through diverse means. One of these communication channels is the artistic one, linked to the development of intelligence and critical thinking, as recognized by the European Parliament:
“The promotion of European cultural diversity and of the awareness of common roots is based on the freedom of artistic expression, the capability and competences of artists and cultural operators, the existence of flourishing and resilient cultural and creative sectors in the public and private domain and their ability to create, innovate and produce their works and distribute them to a large and diverse European audience.
“Whereas Europe represents an immense richness of cultural, social, linguistic and religious diversity; whereas, in this context, the shared values that hold together our societies, such as freedom, social justice, equality and non-discrimination, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, tolerance and solidarity, are crucial for Europe’s future; (…) Emphasizes the rich contribution of European artistic production to cultural diversity and the role it thus plays in spreading the values of the EU and exhorting European citizens to develop critical thinking (…)”.
1. European Union. The project of European construction. Democracy and its rules of the game
2. Civic and political engagement
3. The relationship of citizens with public administration and justice
4. Risks and dangers for democracy
6. Democracy and urban transformations
