15/10/2026
Düsseldorf Galleries Against the Appropriation of Art and Culture
We are deeply concerned to learn that the Düsseldorf branch of the AfD has invited the public to an event entitled “Cultural Policy from the Right!” featuring Matthias Helferich, a member of the German Bundestag, at the Heinrich Heine Institute on Bilker Straße on Monday, 26 October 2026. The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Prior to the event, a guided tour of Düsseldorf is planned to start at the Goethe Museum.
On its website, the draws connections to prominent figures in Düsseldorf’s cultural history, including Heinrich Heine and Joseph Beuys.
We, the Düsseldorf galleries, firmly oppose any attempt to appropriate the history and cultural heritage of our city for a partisan political agenda.
Art and culture belong to no political party.
Düsseldorf is a city whose cultural identity is shaped by openness, internationalism, pluralism, and the free exchange of diverse perspectives. Art emerges where boundaries are challenged and where people engage in dialogue, regardless of their origin, religion, skin colour, gender, or political views.
For this very reason, we reject any attempt to instrumentalise Düsseldorf’s artistic and cultural history in support of a political narrative that promotes social exclusion.
Engagement with art and culture must never serve to undermine fundamental democratic values or to retroactively appropriate historical figures in pursuit of a political agenda.
The Düsseldorf galleries stand for a culture that regards diversity not as a threat, but as a strength.
We stand for an urban community in which people of different backgrounds and convictions can live together as a matter of course and engage in open debate.
We therefore call on everyone:
Let us not allow Düsseldorf’s cultural history to become the political property of any one party.
Let us stand together in defence of the freedom of art and culture, the diversity of our city, and the fundamental democratic values of our society.
Düsseldorf’s cultural life thrives on its openness—a quality we must preserve.
Art is free. Culture is diverse. Düsseldorf remains open.
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