In recent times, conversations I’m having with fellow art workers tend to spiral into fantasies of escaping the art institutions. A far-right government has taken power in the Netherlands a few months ago, and everyone expects a crackdown on counter-hegemonic culture. In anticipation of the blows to come, cultural institutions have already started self-censoring and repressing, for instance, pro-Palestine organizing. This fits into a general image of institutions prioritizing their continued existence over any other value (no matter the ubiquity of ‘ecological awareness’, ‘diversity’, ‘fair practice’, and other social justice buzzwords). Is it time to abandon the ship?
