Who’s afraid of art? The silencing of European artists

Who’s afraid of art? More and more far right politicians in Europe are trying to silence artists and institutions. The most recent example being Slovakia, where the directors of the Slovak National Theatre and the Slovak National Gallery suddenly were dismissed by the minister of culture. The director of SND, Matej Drlička will speak about the incident and the broader political culture in which this happened. Milo Rau, artistic director of the Wiener Festwochen, who started a petition in Drlička’s defense, will join him in the conversation.

On the 6th of August both Matej Drlička, director of SND, and Alexandra Kusá, director of the Slovak National Gallery were suddenly and for political reasons dismissed by the minister of culture Martina Šimkovičová. This flagrant attack on the freedom of artistic expression happened under the watch of populist prime minister Robert Fico. This is not a unique incident, but part of a broader European trend of far right politicians shutting down institutions, replacing executives in cultural and media organizations and silencing artists. During this evening, we analyze what happened in Slovakia and discuss what kind of opposition can be formed against these developments.
Speakers

About the speakers:
Matej Drlička was the director of the Slovak National Theatre. As a musician, he performed in prestigious European orchestras such as the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, the Paris Opera and the Orchestre National in Paris amongst many others. In 2005 he founded Viva Musica!, which is the largest and most visited summer classical musical festival in Slovakia. In 2019, he founded and led IXPO: the largest technology festival in Slovakia. This summer Drlička received a French Knighthood of the Order of Arts and Letters award from French Culture Minister Rachida Dati in recognition of his longstanding involvement with culture and the excellent work he’s done at the helm of the SND.

Milo Rau is artistic director of Wiener Festwochen and director, curator and artist in residence at NTGent. He created many acclaimed productions, including La Reprise, Lam Gods, Orestes in Mosul, The New Gospel, Antigone in the Amazon and Medea’s Children and initiated and curated the prestigious series Histoire(s) du Théâtre. Since 2002 he has published over 50 plays, films, books and actions. Rau’s theatre productions have been shown at all major international festivals, including the Berlin Theatertreffen, the Festival d’Avignon, the Venice Biennale, the Wiener Festwochen and the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, and have been touring in over 30 countries worldwide. Milo Rau has received many awards, including the European Theatre Prize for his work. In 2019 he was the first artist ever to be appointed Associated Artist of the European Association of Theatre and Performance – EASTAP.

Theresa Kuhn is Professor of modern European history and politics at the University of Amsterdam and Academic Director of the Amsterdam Center for European Studies. Her research focuses on key challenges in European politics, such as euroscepticism, nationalism and increasing polarisation, particularly in light of recent crises such as the eurozone crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine. Currently, she leads a 5-year research project on European identity formation funded by the Dutch Research Council. Professor Kuhn has received several prestigious awards, including the UACES Best Book Prize for her book Experiencing European Integration. Transnational Lives and European Identity (Oxford University Press 2015) and the CES Carolina de Miguel Moyer Young Scholar Award 2022 for the most significant contribution to the interdisciplinary study of Europe for a scholar under the age of 40. Originally from Innsbruck, Austria, she lived in several European countries and now lives in Amsterdam with her husband and two children.