The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna generally seeks to avoid cancel culture. It undertakes to address controversies and cancel calls with a transparent and constructive response. This decision-making guideline stipulates the establishment of a response committee and an advisory board as well as setting rules for how decisions are reached and communicated.
In June 2024, the Council of the Republic issued the Vienna Declaration, the constitution of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna, which comprises ten rules. Rule 6 stipulates:
‘Debate instead of backroom diplomacy. The Free Republic of Vienna will develop plain processes and public formats that can be called on in case of controversies and when demands are raised to exclude guests or cancel artistic projects.’
A task force to implement this rule was set up in late 2024. They were tasked with developing a transparent decision-making process for situations in which demands are voiced to exclude persons from the programme or to strike parts of the programme, or when artists who have been invited refuse to participate unless other artists are excluded.
The task force included Monika Mokre, Leila Offinassinga and Philipp Rauch as representatives of the Council of the Republic as well as Leonora Scheib, Joachim Kapuy and Judith Staudinger from the Vienna Festival team. Barbara Staudinger, the director of the Jewish Museum Vienna, joined them as an expert for an advisory session.
With increasing frequency, institutions are faced with demands to cancel events or persons. Such demands are made from different sides and aim to thwart public attention for particular stances, persons or groups of persons.
The Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna considers itself radical in both an aesthetic and a political sense. It initiates public debates and assumes explicit positions as it participates in them. The aim is to give room to a range of perspectives and broaden the perception of different artistic and social practices.
It is therefore a particular challenge when the Vienna Festival is called upon to cancel events or disinvite participants. An explicit rejection of hegemonial and often invisible forms of exclusion should not trigger new forms of exclusion, regardless of the political auspices under which they are called for. At the same time, the Vienna Festival wants to open up a space in which
people of different origins, classes, different genders and with a range of needs can develop and present themselves, as members of the production or as members of the audience. This calls for a degree of sensitivity that might make it necessary to surrender (implicitly or explicitly) exclusionary positions.
The Vienna Festival also acts within a context that it only has limited powers to shape. This includes in particular statutory stipulations, but also political rules as well as requirements for financing and collaboration with partners. In addition, we have to consider contractual obligations that may cause financial issues in cases of cancellation. Although invitations to (and possibly disinvitations from) the Vienna Festival are determined by aesthetic, ethical and political considerations, it is still necessary to bear in mind pragmatic considerations, not least because they might impact the entire programme or even the continued existence of the Festival.
The process that is proposed in this guideline is based on these considerations. It assumes that cancelling ought to be avoided as a matter of principle and should only occur where all other avenues of addressing a conflict have been exhausted or appear futile.
Potential alternatives to cancellation include internal efforts at conflict resolution, public debates that juxtapose the positions with each other instead of silencing one of them, as well as possibly undertaking adaptations to instead of removing parts of the programme.
Any decision to disinvite artists or remove parts of the programme is guided first and foremost by the principles and goals of the Vienna Festival. The context of the festival and its requirements are considered next. Any violation of the law is definitely a red line that the Vienna Festival must not cross. Potential damage to the Festival and its future must also be considered. Such considerations therefore affect new or updated insights that come to the fore after the programme has been decided with regard to invited artists or parts of the programme.
All calls to cancel an event or artist must be examined carefully. Both this examination process and its result must be presented in a transparent manner. The following guideline suggests how this process may unfold.
The Decision-Making Process
Step 1: Calling up the response committee
The response committee comprises the artistic direction, the management, the press speaker and the responsible dramaturge.
All members of the response committee will be informed immediately of any demand that an artist or a part of the programme be cancelled or whenever artists announce that they will withdraw unless other artists or parts of the programme are cancelled.
The response committee will subsequently discuss the process to follow. The artistic direction and the management decide about further steps; the dramaturgy department offers advice from an artistic viewpoint and with regard to the effect on artistic stakeholders; the press speaker advises with regard to the expected impact in public. Together, the response committee considers the effects of the decision.
At any time in the course of the process, the response committee may decide to include other persons who are considered necessary or helpful to address the given controversy.
The response committee’s discussions will address questions regarding the specific case that is up for debate and will position the situation on an escalation scale to assess the potential success of various possible solutions.
Questions:
- Who is making the call, what is their motivation?
- Is dialogue possible?
- What needs to be considered from an ethical viewpoint?
- What needs to be considered regarding damage limitation or legitimation?
- How public is the situation; what public effect is to be expected? Can or should a public debate be avoided?
- Is it to be expected that the cancelling or refusal to cancel triggers internal tensions or conflicts?
- Is the situation being instrumentalised for political goals?
- Is there pressure from media or politics?
- Is pressure being exerted on the decision-makers?
- Are important stakeholders involved?
- What financial or legal consequences would cancelling or refusing to cancel cause?
- Does the situation affect cooperation partners and do they need to be involved?
Escalation Scale:
- Readiness to talk
- Limitability of the conflict
- Strong reactions are expected or already there (externally or internally)
- Effects on other artists or parts of the programme to be expected
- Pressure being exerted on the artistic direction
- Pressure being exerted on the entire institution
- Overall artistic programme jeopardised
- Future of the Vienna Festival jeopardised
As the conflict advances on the escalation scale, it becomes more expedient to call up the advisory board.
If the advisory board is called up, the supervisory board also has to be informed.
Communication
The artistic direction and the management will determine the communication strategy, usually choosing to communicate using the same channels as those on which the Vienna Festival was originally contacted (in person, via particular media). If an immediate decision cannot be taken, information about the next steps will be provided.
If anyone from the response committee cannot respond immediately, their substitute will be called up.
Records will be kept of all response committee discussions in order to render the process transparent.
Step 2: Calling up the advisory board
If the response committee decides to include the advisory board, they will be called up immediately. The choice of persons on that board depends on the given case but will include the following:
- Members of the programme advisory board (in fulfilment of Rule 1 of the Vienna Declaration, the programme advisory board includes local and international experts)
- Council members from the cancel culture task force (if they are unable to attend, other council members)
- External experts (if that seems expedient to the response committee and/or the advisory board)
The advisory board is entitled to take decisions as soon as it comprises three persons or more. The members are obliged to non-disclosure.
The response committee will work out explicit questions to be addressed to the board and will issue information about the mandate and the process. The advisory board will be provided with all information they deem relevant upon demand (this may, e.g., refer to the overall programme, the contractual situation, legal considerations).
The advisory board will arrive at a recommendation for the artistic direction and the management by majority decision (voice, not vote). They will provide answers to the questions together with their recommendation in writing. If desired, they may also include a minority opinion. Usually the recommendation of the advisory board serves to guide the communication of the decision.
Once the advisory board has been assembled, they have 24 hours to answer the questions. Records will be kept of all advisory board discussions in order to render the process transparent.
Step 3: Decision
The recommendations of the advisory board will be discussed in the response committee. All decisions (ranging from a potential exclusion to publicity work) will be taken by the artistic direction and the management.
Communication
The decision will be communicated no later than twelve hours after the recommendations of the advisory board have been received.
If it is necessary to provide information and announce the response process before the decision is taken, subsequent information about the decision will be announced and substantiated to the same stakeholders.
If the advisory board is called up, their reasoning is included in that announcement. If the decision taken by the artistic direction and the management does not concur with the recommendations of the advisory board, reasons will be provided.
Communication Strategy
It might be necessary to communicate with various stakeholders – this depends on the degree of publicity around the conflict. The following considerations guide the decision about who will be informed of what and at what time:
- If the cancel call was not issued publicly: Immediate reaction to those who made the call: either an immediate, substantiated rejection or the start of a dialogue; information to everyone who received the cancel call.
- If the cancel call was issued publicly: Immediate public reaction via the same channel: either an immediate, substantiated rejection or the announcement of the response process; possibly separate information to the team, the owner (City of Vienna), other funding bodies, collaboration partners and sponsors.
- If there is an internal controversy: Artistic direction communicates with the team, clarifying responsibilities and everybody’s role in the conflict.
- If there is a public controversy: Information to the team, the owner (City of Vienna), other funding bodies, collaboration partners and sponsors. This will be followed by a public reaction (providing information on the response process or the decision).
The response committee will support the artistic direction and the management in the communication process throughout. In particular, they will heed the following:
- Roles in the communication process: Who is in dialogue with those who are stirring up the conflict? Who is the contact person for those whose exclusion is being demanded and who is looking after them?
- PR questions: When and how will the debates and considerations be made public? In what form and via which channels will the decision be communicated?
- Internal communication: The response committee is obliged to inform the staff. Fundamental considerations and the processes that are implemented will be communicated in a transparent manner in order to facilitate the ability to speak.
Time Plan
All steps will be taken without delay.
The response committee will come together immediately upon receipt of the cancel call.
If any member of the response committee is unable to respond immediately, their substitute will be called up. Once the advisory board has been assembled, they have 24 hours to answer the questions. The decision will be communicated no more than twelve hours later. This ensures that it is possible to issue a reaction within two days of the cancel call being issued.
