Guerrilla der Aufklrung / Guerilla of Enlightenment

Over the years, there has always been evidence of artistic practice proving that artists raise their voices loudly and with powerful images. In the frame of four exhibitions, "Guerrilla of Enlightenment" critically examined current aspects of retrograde politics: anti-humanism, illiberal tendencies, anti-feminism and racism. Many of the around 50 artistic contributions draw attention to counter strategies and communicate values such as solidarity, co-determination, justice and diversity.The exhibition series documented in this volume was based on the conviction that artistic creation is capable of contributing to positive changes in society. "Culture has become a major bastion of democratic resistance," writes the journalist and author Can Dündar in the pamphlet "Tut was! / Bir sey yap!-Plädoyer für eine aktive Demokratie / Aktif demokrasi için çagri." Artists who are addressed in this way use their means to analyse political and social processes, to draw attention to little-noticed issues, to protest against undesirable developments, but also to present oppositional views and to promote liberal-democratic to domination-free thinking and acting.