Culture
The Art World Should Focus on Lasting Structural Change
/s3/static.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/14151004/160926CUL_2034206209_gates2.jpg)
Art critic Hans den Hartog Jager argues that while the Western art world frequently discusses how art can improve society, it fails to address its own deep-seated structural inequalities. He highlights significant disparities in wealth distribution, noting that museum directors and managers enjoy high salaries with secure contracts, whereas artists—the core of the industry—face low, unstable incomes and often act as financial burdens on budgets. The article points out that women and artists of color remain underrepresented in collections, and individuals from lower social classes struggle to enter the field due to norms dominated by the white Western middle class. Furthermore, Jager questions the hypocrisy of institutions that present critical exhibitions yet maintain ties to monarchy and government subsidies without critically examining their own histories or ideological foundations.
Ozetta summarises; the reporting is the newsroom's