On Tuesday a bomb threat closed the Moderna Museet in Stockholm after the anti-racist polemic against the Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
Last Sunday, during the opening of an exhibition, the Minister was invited to cut an artist’s cake representing the bust of a nude black woman. As suggested by the instructions she started from the clitoris, in order to emphasize problem of female genital mutilation. The artist, Makode Linde, with his face painted black, simulated the suffering of women screaming at each slice. The pictures and videos have been spread around the world and the African-Swedish Association deemed the show “racist” and that Liljeroth should resign for participating in a “tasteless, racist spectacle.”. In particular, it bothered the funny atmosphere of the performance, which would have insulted the women’s pain. “I was invited to speak at World Art Day about the freedom of art and its right to provoke,” the minister said in a statement to The Associated Press. “And then they wanted me to cut into the cake. I don’t review art, but I can very well understand that this whole situation was misunderstood.” After searching the museum, the bomb wasn’t found and it was incluear if it was related to the exhibition at the art museum although the tension remains.
