CDU calls for a boycott of the exhibition “Children, listen up everyone!”, Kunsthalle Osnabrück has been showing the exhibition since June 15th.
The show provoked and triggered sharp criticism on the first day. The Kunsthalle Osnabrück has just opened its doors to visitors to the new exhibition program - and there is already protest.
The CDU called for a boycott of the exhibition. "The works are absolutely unacceptable in terms of both content and visuals," emphasized Marius Kreite, chairman of the CDU Osnabrück city council group. From his point of view, for example, one of the works propagates cannibalistic fantasies. “We cannot and do not want to accept that such grotesque and disturbing depictions are shown publicly under the name of art,” said the CDU politician.
The museum received support from the Greens/Volt city council faction. "The CDU's demand for the exhibition to be closed is absurd," said Green Party leader Volker Bajus. “We like to leave the aesthetic evaluation to others, but not the defense of artistic freedom,” said Bajus.
On June 15th the Kunsthalle opened the exhibition "Children, listen up everyone!". The exhibition includes solo exhibitions by Julia Miorin, Sophia Süßmilch, Wilhelm Klotzek, Ji Su Kang-Gatto and Liz Magic Laser. The exhibition, which runs until February, tackles topics as upbringing, education, generational conflicts and eternal childhood.
According to the museum, the exhibitions offer many cross-age installations that are suitable for children. But socially relevant content such as domestic violence, miscarriages and childlessness are also addressed. Before the opening, there was a warning from the Kunsthalle Osnabrück that some content could be provocative and not considered suitable for children.
The CDU is now calling on the museum to close the exhibition. “It is incomprehensible how such an exhibition could even be approved,” said CDU district chairwoman and member of the state parliament Verena Kämmerling. "Art can provoke, but it must also assume responsibility. A clear boundary has been crossed here."
The spokeswoman for the Kunsthalle Osnabrück said that they were aware that some topics could have a negative impact on people. For this reason, special preparations were made in advance. The Kunsthalle Osnabrück website shows that the exhibition and performance by Sophia Süßmilch, for example, could not be classified as suitable for children, which is why it is only recommended for visitors aged 16 and over. During the opening, at which the performers appeared naked, there was child care at a distance and a supporting awareness team.
Main Image :Sophia Süßmilch, Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in, 2024. Courtesy Sophia Süßmilch, Martinetz, Köln. Photo: Lee Everett Thieler
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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