The Bremen Town Musicians — donkey, dog, cat, and rooster — stand in bronze in the heart of Bremen as a tribute to the popular fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm (1953, Gerhard Marcks).

The Musicians of Bremen Knew Something We Forgot

Ancient wisdom about the power artists find when they refuse to be silent together

The donkey was too old to work. The dog too slow to hunt. The cat too tired to catch mice. The rooster about to become soup. Society had rendered its verdict: worthless.

But they had one thing left: their voices. And they decided to use them.

You may remember this story. Four aging animals, each fleeing certain death, meet on the road to Bremen where they plan to become town musicians. They never make it to Bremen. Instead, they find a house full of robbers. By standing on each other’s backs and making their combined noise of braying, barking, meowing, and crowing, they terrify the thieves and claim the house as their own.

It’s a charming fairy tale. But for artists facing real threats to creative freedom, it’s something more: a survival manual.

Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose illustrates how difference can unite and create strength; photograph by Vlastja Simončič, Public Domain, source →

What the Animals Understood

They didn’t harmonize. The donkey didn’t learn to bark. The rooster didn’t soften his crow. The cat didn’t adjust her meow to blend with the dog’s howl. They each kept their distinct, “terrible” voice, and that cacophony became their power.

They refused the verdict of worthlessness. They believed their voices mattered. And they understood something we’ve forgotten: when you stand on each other’s backs, supporting one another, your combined voice becomes larger than any single cry.

The Thread That Connects

Artists don’t need to share a medium to share courage. Sculptors, cellists, poets, and choreographers may never collaborate on a single work. But they share a thread: they see what others don’t, name what others won’t, imagine what others can’t, and refuse to stop creating when the world says to quit.

A photographer next to Ron Mueck’s 2013 sculpture Couple Under an Umbrella. The piece captures intimacy and vulnerability, and the protective support artists seek when institutions fail, Public Domain Mark 1.0 Universal (CC0).

When Institutions Cower

Cultural organizations are retreating. Funding disappears. Programming is “reconsidered.” Leaders sideline controversial work under pressure. Boards advise caution. Directors avoid risk. Institutions that once protected creative freedom now protect themselves.

This is when the Musicians of Bremen matter most. When Bremen becomes unreachable, the animals didn’t stop. They made their own home. And you can too, across differences, across disciplines.

A ballerina balances en pointe on the extended arm of a male dancer during a 2024 performance by the Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe at the Sino-Hellenic International Theater Festival, symbolizing the strength and trust of artists lifting each other across disciplines.

The Power of Standing Together

The animals perched atop one another: donkey supporting dog supporting cat supporting rooster. Each held up the others. From that formation, they made their noise.

For artists today, the model is the same:

• The painter amplifies the dancer.
• The dancer supports the writer.
• The writer champions the musician.
• The musician defends the theater artist.

Not because they share the same arts discipline, but because they share courage. Threats to one are threats to all. Stand on each other’s backs, lift one another, make your combined voice impossible to ignore.

Franz Kafka’s last novel, The Castle, conveyed the struggle of pursuing elusive goals and the resilience required when institutions and recognition remain out of reach. This image of Kafka was created by Jaromír 99 (Jaromír Švejdík) for a 2013 tribute to the author.

They Never Reached Bremen

The animals never got institutional validation. Bremen remained a dream. But they found something better: a home they claimed for themselves, with voices they refused to silence.

Right now, institutions are failing artists. Official destinations may be unreachable. But you are not alone on that road. Other artists, across mediums, are fleeing the same verdict.

You share the essential thread: the courage to create when the world wants you to stop.

Find each other. Stand on each other’s backs. Make your distinct, “terrible,” beautiful noise together.

The robbers will flee. And you will claim the house.

Randall White
Abbetuck

Next in this series:

• What the Animals Understood: The Power of Difference in Creative Solidarity →
• When Institutions Cower: Why Artists Can’t Wait for Permission →
• Standing on Each Other’s Backs: How Artists Build Power Together →
• They Never Reached Bremen: Finding Home When the Institutions Fail →