Dhe decision of the Hamburg University of Fine Arts to provide guest professorships to two members of the Indonesian artist collective Ruangrupa does not even come as a surprise. It stands for the indifference of a politicized art and science business. As curators of Documenta 15, Ruangrupa attracted attention because of their proximity to the Israel boycott movement BDS. They often only half-heartedly distanced themselves from the anti-Semitic works of art shown in Kassel. They declined curatorial responsibility.
Now Reza Afisina and Iswanto Hartono from the Hamburg University are presented as DAAD guest professors. According to the university, the decision was made before the Documenta began. The payment of a total of more than 60,000 euros is partially covered by the German Academic Exchange Service, which reports to the Federal Foreign Office.
Ironically, the Foreign Office, which outwardly shows solidarity with Israel, promoted sympathizers of a movement that wants to destroy this state, an act of destruction that enjoys great sympathy in the art and post-colonial scientific community. The newly elected Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux is just one example among many. The President of the German-Israeli Society, Volker Beck, commented on Twitter: “Israel hatred is career-enhancing.” Hamburg’s Science Senator Katharina Fegebank wants to talk to the university about the guest professorships. The allegations of anti-Semitism weigh heavily. No open questions should remain in the room. Either the university or the artists must now take a stand.
