Preview
Issue 2/2025
“To tie down”, ‘to strengthen’ or even ‘to stick together’ – these are the original meanings of the word ‘solidarity’, which has now become a universal term. Every day, there are expressions of solidarity from a wide range of social actors with this or that concern, often far removed from the reality of their own lives. You could almost think that we are living in a time with a high affinity for solidarity – and yet the stale aftertaste remains that a largely meaningless signifier is sometimes used here. Or to put it another way: that there is a phrase of solidarity here without anything concrete and substantive at stake other than demonstrating one's own righteousness. Artistic practices are also increasingly indulging in political solidarity – if not in terms of the work itself, then often in terms of (cultural) institutions, which often enough leads to unfortunate accusations of partisanship. Art that wants to show solidarity should rather limit itself to reflecting on and shaping its very own means, is an argument often put forward in this regard.
But how could a sustainable idea of solidarity be created that connects art and non-art, social actors across all social classes and cultural boundaries? What about the concept of “transformational” solidarity that is not content with rhetorical lip service but focuses on the transformative power of planetary interdependence? And can the idea of an “imperfect”, only partially successful solidarity, which does not even pretend to support a particular cause one hundred percent, perhaps help here? Questions like these form the starting point of the Solidarities issue, which brings together practical and theoretical approaches with a view to a profound, multi-perspective discussion of the concept that gives the issue its title.
Date of Publication: 16 June 2025