The European Theatre Convention (ETC), the largest network of publicly funded theatres in Europe, expresses deep concern about the sudden dismissal of the General Manager of ETC Member Theatre Slovak National Theatre.
On 06 August 2024, Slovakia’s hard-right culture minister, Martina Šimkovičová, decided to fire Matej Drlička as General Manager of the Slovak National Theatre. In a statement, the Ministry states that they had “repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction” with the Mr Drlicka’s managerial practices and no longer had confidence in him. The statement also includes the comment: “Matej Drlička confused the position of general director of a national cultural institution with political activism and repeatedly brought politics into the activities of the SND.”
The dismissal came just days after Mr Drlička was awarded the Knight of the Order of Art and Literature (L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the French Minister of Culture. It also appears to be part of an alarming trend: in recent months, as detailed by The Observer, Šimkovičová has fired “the heads of the National Library and children’s museum Bibiana” and submitted a bill to “dissolve the public service broadcaster RTVS and replace it with a new entity under full control of the government.” Just a day after the dismissal of Mr Drlička, Šimkovičová also fired Alexandra Kusa, the head of the Slovak National Gallery.
As outlined in its Charter of Values, ETC stresses that theatres offer “public spaces to question and reflect on social developments.” ETC also believes that theatre “reinforces pluralism and helps transmit democratic values”, and that freedom of expression and the freedom of art “are unconditional values and basic human rights in our democratic societies.”
Based on the information from the theatre, ETC is of the belief that there are no grounds for the accusations that justified a dismissal of Mr Drlička. We express deep concern about how right-wing governments instrumentalise culture and education to convey their messages, limit freedom of expression, and undermine democratic public institutions and cultural venues. There is a clear strategy from the far-right across Europe to make more demands for ‘national’ or ‘traditional’ art, demand cuts to funding for culture, and make complaints against artists, creators and directors. As Mr Drlička put it to The Observer in his case: “The only reason [for my dismissal] is that her government doesn’t want culture to be free.”
It is encouraging to read the statement jointly signed by five former Culture Ministers in Slovakia, published on 12 August, that culture should be “a space of freedom, variety, tolerance and cooperation.” They reject the actions of the current Culture Minister, by which “she tries to normalise culture, humiliates its foreign policy importance, devastates continuity, degrades expertise, intimidates individuals, manipulates and falsely divides society into normal and abnormal.”
ETC recently joined other cultural networks in stressing the need for a Chair of the European Parliament’s Culture Committee that was adequately pro-European and committed to diversity and inclusion, following reports that the Committee would be led by a representative from the far-right parties in the Parliament. ETC also explored the theme at our most recent European Theatre Talks event, on 01 July 2024 at the Festival d’Avignon, with reflections on theatre’s role in democracy from renowned Hungarian director András Dömötör.
“Cultural institutions across Europe are increasingly being targeted as far-right movements gain influence”, commented Cláudia Belchior, ETC President and Executive General Coordinator at the Centro Cultural de Belém. “These institutions are crucial defenders of democratic values and promoters of a pluralistic society, making them key targets for those who oppose such ideals. To protect cultural freedom, it is essential to understand and document the strategies employed by these movements. This knowledge is vital for ensuring that theatres and other cultural spaces can continue to operate as open, democratic environments that resist intimidation and political interference.”
An estimated 18000 people protested against the actions of the culture ministry in Bratislava this week, in actions jointly organised by the grassroots organisation ‘Open Culture’. These protests result in the declaration of a series of demands, including the immediate dismissal of culture minister, Martina Šimkovičová, and asking the future management of the Ministry of Culture to start solving the “real problems” of the cultural sector in Slovakia, “which are mainly precarious working conditions of cultural workers, chronic financial under-dimensioning of the sector and accumulated investment debt.”
ETC calls on European policy makers to keep track of these developments and to take steps to protect freedom of expression in Slovakia, and the independence of open, democratic and cultural institutions across Europe.
Contact
ETC Communication Manager Christy Romer
