On this final day of the Mutek Forum, PAN M 360 presents a report on the panel organized by FEMINAE NOX dedicated to the issue of artwashing in the electronic cultural industry. Around the table, we found Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, godmother of house music, Salome Asega, artist and director of NEW INC at the New Museum, and Rachel Weldon, founder of Debaser & Pique. Moderated by Mira Silvers, founder of Feminae Nox, the discussion explored the question of corporate funding and resistance strategies against the ultra-commercialization of underground and grassroots cultures by these same corporations.
Definition and Stakes of Artwashing
The discussion opened with the definition of artwashing. According to Rachel Weldon, it is the practice by which corporations or institutions fund artists, festivals, or cultural organizations in order to divert attention from their harmful practices or improve their public image. This instrumentalization exploits the social and cultural capital of creators, particularly in a gentrification context where artists unwittingly become agents of urban transformation, as Salome Asega adds.
The panelists emphasized the deeply problematic dimension of this dynamic. The economic precarity of artists becomes a lever of manipulation that corporations do not hesitate to use. This financial dependence harms free experimentation and creativity, transforming creators into communication tools serving corporate interests, in the same way as a public relations campaign.
The issues of dependence on private funding can be more significant in certain territories than others. We obviously think of our American neighbors. As Salome Asega reminds us, the absence of generalized public funding has long forced artistic organizations to negotiate with private funding. This reality requires them to clearly define their mission and the lines they refuse to cross to maintain their integrity.
The speakers distinguished two types of corporate funding: marketing-oriented and research and development-focused. R&D funding allows for more authentic partnerships with real added value for artists and projects, unlike marketing funding which further instrumentalizes creators as communication strategies.
How to Resist Artwashing?
In two words: support and get involved in grassroots initiatives and divest from corporations.
Concretely: resistance to artwashing involves clear institutional commitments and public stances. The panelists notably mentioned joining PACBI (Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel), a movement that encourages cultural institutions to boycott Israeli products and refuse partnerships with organizations complicit in the occupation. This collective approach allows organizations to move beyond individual actions to adopt a coherent and visible political stance.
Resistance also involves refusing systematic capitalist expansion. Rather than seeking growth at all costs, organizations can identify and cultivate an engaged audience. For her part, Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale favors authentic interactions with participants at her events and maintains direct and human communication based on word-of-mouth and personal conversations (by phone, not text, #millennial #GenZ).
Artwashing recently made headlines with the acquisition of Boiler Room (BR) by Superstruct Entertainment in January 2025, with Superstruct being owned by financial giant KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.). KKR invests in companies linked to the Israeli military, settlements, and the weapons industry and now uses Boiler Room’s cultural credibility to whitewash its image. The global artistic community reacted by boycotting Boiler Room events and forcing their cancellation. An example that shows that numbers make strength, that passion in the right place can move mountains, and that it is still possible to turn the tide on our scale.
