Time: June 4, 2025, 12:00–14:00
Venue: Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Fabianinkatu 24A, 3rd floor, Common Room
Increasing affective polarization, declining social trust, and the rise of populist and authoritarian leaders are challenging democracies around the world. Many people are losing faith in democratic values such as freedom, equality, justice, and human dignity. Public institutions, civil society organizations, and individual citizens are struggling to find ways to counter these developments. What role can the arts and artists play in revitalizing our democratic culture? Should art be self-consciously political to engage people with civic values? What can we learn from historical and contemporary examples of art’s role in the context of different cultures?
Professor Martha C. Nussbaum is one of the world's leading philosophers. The moral and political significance of art has been a central theme of her influential work for decades. Professor Nussbaum has explored the role of art in ancient Greek and Roman moral and political philosophy and extended her analyses to the pressing questions of contemporary societies. In this public event, Kai Alhanen, Director of the Dialogue Academy, will interview Nussbaum about the role of art in the current crisis of democracy. The audience will have the opportunity to participate in the dialogue.
The event is organized by Aretai Ltd. Dialogue Academy, the Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies, and the Open Democracy Network.