Swedish Minister of Culture Lena Lijeroth eating a cake made in image of an African woman

[pampango]

11. Apparently part of an exhibit by an Afro-Swedish artist on "degrading stereotypes of black people

through history"

On Sunday, Culture Minister Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth participated in an event at the museum that involved several cakes designed by artists, including one in the shape of the naked torso of a black woman.

The black cake, part of an exhibition on World Art Day, was intended as part of Afro-Swedish artist Makode Linde's project illustrating degrading stereotypes of black people through history.

However, a Swedish organization promoting the rights of people of African origin called the cake exhibit racist and said that Liljeroth should resign for participating in a "tasteless, racist spectacle."

"According to Moderna Museet, the cake eating party was intended to highlight the problem of female circumcision, but how this is supposed to be done with a cake depicting a racist caricature of a black woman ... is unclear," said Kitimbwa Sabuni, head of the African Swedish National Association.

Liljeroth, whose photograph cutting a piece of the cake was widely shown in Swedish media, said she understood why people would be offended by the incident.

"I was invited to speak at World Art Day about the freedom of art and its right to provoke," she 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."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/swedish-museum-evacuated_n_1434278.html

Sounds to me like this minister is destined to resign. Whether she had bad intentions or not, whether she believes that art has a right to provoke or not, whether she is sorry or not are not as important here as her poor judgment.[i/]