Streitraum: »Konfliktfeld Kunst – wie ernst ist es der Demokratie mit der Kunstfreiheit«

The art landscape in the Federal Republic is shaped by public institutions and funded by the state like almost no other. How free are cultural institutions or artists in that context? How quickly is their autonomy questioned when artworks provoke, when they are seen as impositions or offenses? How can artistic freedom unfold within the triangle of a democratic state, public cultural institutions, and publicly funded artists?

CHRISTOPH MÖLLERS (*1969) is Professor of Public Law and Legal Philosophy at Humboldt University of Berlin and will become Rector of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin in autumn 2026. His research focuses on German and European constitutional law and political theory. As a legal representative and expert advisor, he has also worked on issues related to militant democracy, artistic freedom, and academic freedom.

NILS WEINBERG (1996) is an associated researcher at the Chair of Public Law and Legal Philosophy at Humboldt University of Berlin and a legal trainee at the Kammergericht. He studied law in Berlin and London. In 2025, he completed his PhD at Humboldt University with a dissertation on anti-discrimination law.