Düsseldorf Galleries Sign Open Letter Against Far-Right Political Party’s Attempts to ‘Co-Opt’ Joseph Beuys

More than 30 galleries based in Düsseldorf, Germany, signed an open letter last week that called out the far-right Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) party for its attempts to “instrumentalize Düsseldorf’s art and cultural history to serve a political narrative that promotes social exclusion.”

Published on October 15 and initiated by Daniela Horn, the founder of Van Horn gallery, the letter centers around an event that was initially set to be staged at the city’s Heinrich Heine Institute on October 26. That event, titled “Culture Policy from the Right!,” will no longer happen at its intended venue, however, because of what Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called “organizational reasons,” citing a Düsseldorf city official.

The letter says that, on the AfD’s website, the party mentions the poet Heinrich Heine and the artist Joseph Beuys, two figures central to Düsseldorf’s history. “We, the galleries of Düsseldorf, firmly oppose this attempt to co-opt the history and cultural heritage of our city for a partisan political agenda,” the letter reads, referring to the AfD’s attempts to dredge up new interest in Germany’s past in the hope of returning to it. “Art and culture do not belong to any political party.”

“Düsseldorf’s culture thrives on its openness—an openness that must be preserved,” the letter concludes.

It was signed by a range of Düsseldorf galleries known far beyond the city, including Galerie Konrad Fischer, Ruttkowski;68, and Sies + Höke.

The letter was also followed by a second one from Cologne galleries, with its signatories including Galerie Gisela Capitain, Drei, and Galerie Nagel Draxler. “By adding our signatures, we—as galleries based in Cologne—support this initiative out of solidarity with our colleagues in Düsseldorf. Together, across the Rhineland, we stand up for the freedom of art and culture, cultural diversity, and fundamental democratic values,” the Cologne galleries’ letter states.