Cultural Work and Artistic Creation in an Authoritarian Environment

Freedom of opinion and freedom of press are not to be taken for granted. Around the world one can observe shrinking spaces available to cultural and media creators, and discrimination and violence against minorities are all too common in many places. How can culture, how can cultural work respond to this?

The discussion will focus on questions of artistic freedom, international solidarity and institutional responsibility: What scope do cultural creators have when surveillance and political co-optation shape everyday life? How can one talk and write about societal repression in the past or present? What role should institutions play in such contexts? And at a global level: what function does culture have, both within a country and beyond its borders?

A reflection with Katrina Tuvera, Sergei Lebedev, and Johannes Ebert. Moderated by Vivian Perkovic.

• Katrina Tuvera, author, lives in Manila. In 2025 her novel “The Collaborators” was published in German by Wagenbach.
• Sergei Lebedev, author, lives in Potsdam. Since 2013, numerous works of his have been published in German by S. Fischer Verlag.
• Johannes Ebert, Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut, previously directed the institutes in Kyiv, Moscow, and Cairo.
• Vivian Perkovic has been part of the moderation team of the 3sat program “Kulturzeit” since 2017.

Following the panel discussion, the publishers Wagenbach and S. Fischer will host a book signing with the two authors, Katrina Tuvera and Sergei Lebedev, from 12:00 to 12:30 in the Networking Area directly opposite the Centre Stage.