We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with Slovenian artist Maja Smrekar, who is pursuing legal action against the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) for unauthorized use of her artwork, defamation, and incitement of public hostility.

In the run-up to Slovenia’s 10 May 2025 referendum on pension reforms for awarded artists, SDS intensified its decade-long cultural war—branding contemporary art as “degenerate” and exploiting Smrekar’s internationally recognized K-9 Topology: Hybrid Family project to provoke moral panic. Between 20 February and 15 March 2025, the SDS saturated dozens of Slovenian towns with inflammatory billboards displaying a decontextualized image of Smrekar breastfeeding a dog—taken without her knowledge or consent—alongside the slogan: “Change for the people, prestige for the elite.”

This was not critique—it was political weaponization of art. For the past four months, the campaign has been unleashing a wave of targeted harassment against Smrekar: coordinated social media abuse, sustained attacks by right-wing media and broadcasters, threatening phone calls to the artist and her family, hostile graffiti in public spaces, condemnation from the Roman Catholic Church.

These tactics are not isolated. Since 2018, SDS leader Janez Janša has repeatedly referred to modern art as “degenerate”—an unmistakable echo of Nazi-era propaganda that denounced Entartete Kunst (“degenerate art”) to justify censorship and persecution. Maja Smrekar, recipient of the Golden Nica from Ars Electronica and Slovenia’s Prešeren Foundation Award, among others, is internationally acclaimed for her artistic practice that critically explores biopolitics, ecofeminism, posthumanism, and societal issues. Her legal action is not just a personal stand—it is a fight for the integrity of art itself.

This case exemplifies a growing global trend: authoritarian populists attacking culture to silence dissent, distort public narratives, and control the imagination of society.

THIS PETITION IS A CALL FOR ACTION:

We call on artists, philosophers, researchers, journalists, cultural institutions, and political representatives to support Maja Smrekar in her legal pursuit.

We urge international media and civil society organizations to expose and condemn this political abuse of art.

We demand respect for freedom of expression, creative autonomy, and human dignity.

We declare: Art is not propaganda. Artists are not scapegoats.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Sign this petition to show your support

Share it widely with your networks

Donate to the legal defense fund [https://artkinship.org/]

Forward this letter to press, institutions, and public officials

In solidarity with Maja, we are laying the foundation for a broader platform to support artists facing political persecution around the world—because we believe art must remain a space for reflection, dissent, and truth. Stand with us. Defend artistic freedom.