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 is Slovakia, where the minister of culture suddenly dismissed the directors of the Slovak National Theatre and the Slovak National Gallery. 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 Drli��ka’s defence, will join him in the conversation.

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

Dates

Sun 15 Sep16:00 - 17:00

Location

De Balie

Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10

1017 RR Amsterdam

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Contact

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What happened?

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. This evening, we will analyze what happened in Slovakia and discuss what kind of opposition can be formed against these developments.