Art and Politics in Films

The political dimension of art – with the tensions that arise when engaging with phenomena like the rules of the art market, sponsoring or looted art – is the topic of a film series hosted in the 2023 summer semester by the Institute for European Art History of Heidelberg University in cooperation with the GLORIA cinema. Entitled “Art and Politics in Films”, with academic contributions from organisers Prof. Dr Henry Keazor and Dr Alexandra Vinzenz, the series combines the screening of selected films with a short introduction and a discussion afterwards with the audience. The four events are intended to appeal to the broad public, in particular.

The first event on 10 May 2023, moderated by Henry Keazor, is Laura Poitras’ documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (2022), which gives insights into the interplay of art, political activism and sponsorship. The film tells the story of US photographer Nan Goldin, who organises protests against cooperation between museums and the Sackler pharmaceutical company, regarded as bearing a share of responsibility for the opioid crisis in the United States. On 31 May 2023, on the basis of Lars Kraume’s historical film “Der vermessene Mensch” (2023), Alexandra Vinzenz will introduce the current debates on looted colonial art and the related political issues around the returning of cultural objects. On 21 June 2023, Henry Keazor will talk about the repercussions of the Arab Spring on the Egyptian street art scene. The starting point will be Marco Wilms’ documentary “Art War” from 2014. Concluding the series on 12 July 2023, Alexandra Vinzenz will comment on Ruben Östlund’s film “The Square” (2017), which is about social inequalities in the context of the art scene in Stockholm.