Expressive rather than comprehensive, this short reading list is an introduction to many of the themes found within Freedom of Movement: Municipal Art Acquisitions 2018. Exploring topics such as institutional racism, intersectional feminism, and the use of language in the cultural sector, this reading list features the work of writers, artists, academics, curators and philosophers.

“Exercising Freedom”: An Interview with
Judith Butler

University of California professor Judith Butler discusses precarity, freedom, the body, and public space
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A Conversation with Gloria Wekker

Professor Gloria Wekker talks about intersectionality and her landmark book White Innocence in this interview
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Professor Judith Butler
Professor Judith Butler
Film still from Kevin Jerome Everson's Tonsler Park (2017). 80", 16mm, b&w, sound. Copyright: Kevin Jerome Everson; Trilobite-Arts DAC; Picture Palace Pictures.
Film still from Kevin Jerome Everson's Tonsler Park (2017). 80", 16mm, b&w, sound. Copyright: Kevin Jerome Everson; Trilobite-Arts DAC; Picture Palace Pictures.

Angela Melitopoulos: “Timescapes. The Logic of the Sentence“

Artist Angela Melitopoulous on creating narrative logics to tell stories of the diaspora
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Centre for Material Culture: “Words Matter” 

A Netherlands-specific guide to terminology in the cultural sector
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GLAAD Media Reference Guide on Transgender Individuals

A glossary that clarifies terms referencing transgender people, written for journalists and the media
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Sara Ahmed: “Declarations of Whiteness: The Non-Performativity of Anti-Racism“

Scholar Sara Ahmed conducts a study of whiteness and institutional racism
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Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, “The Globalized Museum? Decanonization as Method: A Reflection in Three Acts” 

Curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung talks about diversifying the arts and the globalization of the art world
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For A Democratic Polarisation: How To Pull The Ground From Under Right-Wing Populism

Philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas discusses how to derail right-wing populism
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Please to view this video.

“Blackness and Nonperformance”

Theorist and writer Fred Moten speaks about performance, blackness, and freedom.

Julia Kristeva, “Stockholm: Going Beyond the Human Through Dance”

Philosopher Julia Kristeva writes about post-humanism and movement
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Maryam Monalisa Gharavi, “Postcard from the Internet”

A short but beautiful story about genealogy and the internet
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L.M. Sacasas, “Personal Panopticons”

A text tracing the omnipresence of surveillance in our daily lives
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Erika Balsom, “The Reality-Based Community”

Film studies scholar Erika Balsom on the relationship between the production of visual evidence, contemporary art, and documentary formats
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Image: Detail from Moonlight from the Room (2018) by Kang Hee Kim. Courtesy the artist.
Image: Detail from 'Moonlight from the Room' (2018) by Kang Hee Kim. Courtesy the artist.

Etel Adnan: “Enclosement”

Artist Etel Adnan on barriers, enclosures, globalization and human rights.
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Selina Thompson: “Five Gazes”

A personal essay by artist Selina Thompson about the black experience in museums, and about working in the arts.
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White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies

A text by feminist scholar Peggy McIntosh about recognizing her own white privilege
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Moving Toward the Ugly: A Politic Beyond Desirability

Writer Mia Mingus on the various ways to identify as disabled and queer, and the politics of ugliness
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