Who can afford to be critical?

To criticise is not simply to oppose. It is to care, to question and to imagine otherwise. It is a human act of complexity, a gesture of engagement with the world around us.

Criticism can be deeply personal shaped by identity, story and experience. But it can also be collective, a voice of shared anger or hope. In all its forms, critique inserts a message into an ongoing dialogue. These flows of thought are what shape our societies over time. But today, in a world facing cascading crises, the role of criticism is not just cultural, it is essential for survival.

In this era of metacrisis, climate collapse, social division, economic injustice, criticism becomes a moral responsibility. Those of us living in safety, in relative wealth and freedom, carry a particular burden. We are free to speak, and so we must. Because for many across the globe, critique is not a right, it is a risk. Voices are silenced by fear, poverty, violence and repression. To remain silent when one has the freedom to speak is not neutral, it is complicity.

This is especially true in artistic education and practice. Artists, researchers and students are often encouraged to explore, experiment and push boundaries. But too often, critique is reduced to a stylistic gesture, a rebellious aesthetic rather than a lived commitment. In comfortable institutions, the act of questioning power can be polished into performance. We must resist this. Artistic critique should not be a simulation of radicality, it should be rooted in responsibility. Maybe the act of critique needs to be critiqued in itself. Who are we to spend time debating theories when there are acute realities of destruction that demand action? Is there a new form of critique rising that can actively transform society by moving beyond words?

To criticize today is to protect the possibility of a livable future. It is to question the economic systems that degrade the planet, the political systems that suppress and the cultural systems that exclude and devalue. It is to pay attention to what is breaking and to who is being broken. It is to challenge the idea that "business as usual" is acceptable when so much is at stake.

Critique is not only about tearing things down. At its best, it is about making space for new ways of being, knowing and relating. It is about widening the field of vision, including what has been ignored or silenced. It is about hearing the critique that comes not just from other humans, but from the more-than-human world. The earth is giving us feedback. The ecosystems are responding. But are we listening to critique coming from voices we normally don’t hear?

For future generations to thrive, we must practice a form of criticism that is courageous, humble and deeply grounded in care. Not only for ourselves, but for those yet to come. To criticize today is unavoidable, it is an act of stewardship. It is a signal that we are paying attention, that we are awake and that we are willing to take responsibility. Yet, to criticize requires bravery and is often a vulnerable act. We need to take care of those who dare to go against normative systems, to go against economy and politics. And maybe it is in that care that education needs to be explored. How can voices that imagine different worlds stay both brave and safe? Perhaps we need artistic and creative skills to be valued differently and seen as powerful transformative abilities that are free enough to criticize usefully. 

Lecture held during “Where does the critical go?” Forum by Röhsska Museum of Design & Craft, HDK Valand and Gothenburg University.