Lecture by Friederike Sigler, moderated by Ingo Arend

Is this already fascism or still extreme conservatism? How does the politics of the New Right, or even a new fascism, express itself in art? The global rise of the New Right and the threats it poses to democracy and civil society once more raise the question of the characteristics of the corresponding aesthetic, and of how it should be dealt with. In her lecture, Friederike Sigler discusses exhibitions at (West) German art institutions that attempted to address the cultural practice of fascism, including shows at the nGbK. On this basis, she draws conclusions for current curatorial practice on the themes of fascism, Nazi aesthetics, and the aesthetic strategies of the New Right, and for the notion of an antifascist art history.

Friederike Sigler is an art historian and professor of contemporary art at the University of Vienna. Her research focuses on the reception of fascism in contemporary art; together with Kathrin Rottmann, Clara Hegemann, Jelka Schäfer, and Wim Zimmermann, she publishes on the relationship between art and the New Right at: leftarthistories.org. In 2022, she was awarded the Jutta Held Prize.

Ingo Arend is a critic based in Berlin. Between 2015 and 2023, he was on the supervisory board at nGbK. His work focuses on art and politics, global art, and the art and culture of Turkey. In 2024, he was a fellow at the Tarabya Cultural Academy in Istanbul.