Berlin Senate drops controversial "anti-discrimination clause" for arts funding

The Berlin Senate has dropped its requirement for cultural institutions to adhere to its controversial "anti-discrimination clause."

In a statement published today (January 22), the Department of Culture and Social Cohesion confirmed that the clause will "no longer be a requirement" for grant applications, due to concerns over its legality.

Introduced in December last year, the "anti-discrimination clause" required cultural institutions to subscribe to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism in order to receive arts funding, in line with the Berlin state's 2019 strategy to combat anti-semitism.

Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion, Joe Chialo added to the Department of Culture and Social Cohesion's statement, writing: “Without question: I will continue to work for the non-discriminatory development of Berlin culture.

"But I have to take seriously the legal and critical voices that saw the introduced clause as a restriction on freedom of art," the statement continues. "We need the debates now more than ever, and it’s time to act - there is no doubt about that for me. I demand this discourse and I will build on bipartisan cooperation."

The clause had been met with criticism from both German and International campaigners, with fears it would be used to curtail or censor demonstrations of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel's ongoing siege on Gaza; military action which is currently being investigated for allegations of genocide by the International Criminal Justice Court (ICJ).

Over 4,000 artists and culture sector workers signed a petition following the clause's introduction, demanding that the clause be removed or amended in order to prevent the destruction of "artistic freedom."

Meanwhile, Strike Germany - a movement calling on International artists to boycott German cultural institutions, in response to the German government's crackdown on pro-Palestine protests - had labelled the anti-discrimination clause as a "McCarthyist" policy, further restricting the "freedom of expression" in the country.

A number of DJs and artists had withdrawn their participation in this year's CTM festival as part of the Strike Germany movement, a position the festival had said it "respected," continuing in a statement that it "remains steadfast in our support of artistic freedom and dialogue."

The festival, which receives arts funding from the Berlin Senate of Culture, had shared its opposition to the anti-discrimination clause earlier this month, and in a statement released today (January 22), added that it "appreciated the decision," to remove the clause "which has come after serious concerns and worries had been voiced in recent weeks by many of Berlin’s cultural organisations, cultural workers, and artists, and that we shared and also expressed."

"We at CTM Festival confirm our commitment to engaging in dialogue and exchange, and to participating in processes of working towards strategies against discrimination in all its forms and interconnectedness, including but not limited to antisemitism, anti-muslim and anti-black racism, racism of all kinds, gender-based discrimination, and queer- and transphobia."

"We firmly believe that these strategies must be developed in collaboration with a broad range of experts, associations, affected communities, institutions, and the Berlin cultural administration. Such strategies should bring people together instead of dividing them, protect freedom of expression and artistic freedom, and credibly convey to cultural actors and artists everywhere that their artistic contributions are sought after and welcome in Berlin and Germany," the statement concludes.

CTM's curator Michail Stangl reacted to news of the Berlin Senate's removal of the clause on Twitter, writing: "Just in: the Berlin Senate is dropping the highly contested and completely counterproductive anti-discrimination clause. Good work everyone."

More details to follow.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter