The UK’s museums are facing a culture war, writes Amah-Rose Abrams, one that threatens artistic expression and museum autonomy.
As an actual war continues to take a devastating human toll in Europe, the United Kingdom’s cultural institutions are facing their own insidious “culture war” with different stakes—ones that could have a devastating impact on artistic expression and museum autonomy.
This January, four protesters in Bristol were acquitted for their role in toppling a controversial statue of the British slaver and philanthropist Edward Colston during a Black Lives Matter protest in the city in June 2020. Powerful images from the event drew global attention to the question of how we should deal with historic tributes in our public spaces when their present day context has drastically changed. Dubbed “the statue debate” it has divided the public with, on one side, those who believe the figures celebrated in our built environment should reflect contemporary values, and, on the other, a more conservative “anti-woke” faction that fears a slippery slope that will lead to the erasure of history.
So far, this debate has largely unfolded in the media, but the trial of the Colston Four is not the only example of it entering a court room. A controversial law—dubbed the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill—is currently passing through parliament, which would increase sentences for monument damage and peaceful protest...Keep reading on artnet.
As an actual war continues to take a devastating human toll in Europe, the United Kingdom’s cultural institutions are facing their own insidious “culture war” with different stakes—ones that could have a devastating impact on artistic expression and museum autonomy.
This January, four protesters in Bristol were acquitted for their role in toppling a controversial statue of the British slaver and philanthropist Edward Colston during a Black Lives Matter protest in the city in June 2020. Powerful images from the event drew global attention to the question of how we should deal with historic tributes in our public spaces when their present day context has drastically changed. Dubbed “the statue debate” it has divided the public with, on one side, those who believe the figures celebrated in our built environment should reflect contemporary values, and, on the other, a more conservative “anti-woke” faction that fears a slippery slope that will lead to the erasure of history.
So far, this debate has largely unfolded in the media, but the trial of the Colston Four is not the only example of it entering a court room. A controversial law—dubbed the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill—is currently passing through parliament, which would increase sentences for monument damage and peaceful protest...Keep reading on artnet.