The Swedish Minister of Culture, Lena Adelsohn Lijeroth, has become the focal point of a controversy in which she has been accused of racism. There have been calls for her resignation. It all began when the Minister participated in an art installation at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet as part of World Art Day on April 15th. As part of the event, which was intended to call attention to the issue of female circumcision, the minister began carving a large cake made in the life-sized image of a Black Woman, starting at the clitoris.
Makode Aj Linde, the artist who created the installation and whose head is part of the cake cut by the minister, wrote about the “genital mutilation cake” on his Facebook page.
“Before cutting me up she whispered, ‘Your life will be better after this’ in my ear,” he wrote in a caption next to the partially eaten cake.”
The National Afro-Swedish Association is incensed and is demanding that the Minister resign.
Adelsohn Liljeroth was sympathetic but responded with, “I understand quite well that this is provocative and that it was a rather bizarre situation,” she said. “I was invited to speak at World Art Day about art’s freedom and the right to provoke. And then they wanted me to cut the cake.”
More at: thelocal.se
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