Frankfurt's Internal Review Exposes the Threat of Far-Right Cultural Erosion

Frankfurt’s Synnika gallery is hosting Internal Review, a new exhibition by Oliver Hardt. Located in the Bahnhofsviertel district, the show sits inside a self-managed housing project and explores the tension between democratic cultural work and right-wing political pressure.

The exhibition frames its themes in the future perfect tense, presenting a speculative look at how far-right policies might reshape cultural institutions over time. Internal Review centres on The Black Museum, a documentary about the creation of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Designed by architect David Adjaye, the museum opened in 2016 on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall. Its mission—chronicling Black history and the Civil Rights Movement—contrasts sharply with the exhibition’s warnings about political interference.

Three video recordings of Barack Obama’s speeches are also featured. In them, the former president emphasises social unity and the legacy of civil rights, themes now under threat. The exhibition’s materials include black press folders filled with German case studies: far-right demands for new guidelines on public buildings, modelled after Trump-era policies.

One focus is Executive Order 14253, titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. Issued during Trump’s presidency, it forced institutions like the NMAAHC to present U.S. history in an exclusively positive light. The exhibition treats this order as a turning point—a moment when state intervention began eroding cultural freedom.

The show’s underlying question is clear: how fragile are museums, archives, and galleries when governments impose ideological control? By adopting a future perfect perspective, it suggests Trump’s order may one day be seen as a low point in right-wing cultural policy—one with lasting consequences. The exhibition runs in a space tied to grassroots housing activism, reinforcing its themes of resistance. Visitors leave with a stark view of how cultural institutions could face siege from reactionary politics. Internal Review does not predict the future but presents it as a warning—one already unfolding in policy documents and legislative attacks.