Opera Europa condemns ‘rightwing cultural vandalism’
OperaStatement by the organisation representing most European opera houses, relating to the political crisis in Slovakia:
Opera Europa is deeply shocked and gravely concerned by the abrupt decision on August 6th by Slovakia’s culture minister, Martina Šimkovičová, to dismiss Matej Drlička as General Manager of the Slovenské národné divadlo Slovak National Theatre.
Matej Drlička has been a prominent advocate for the arts in Slovakia, passionately promoting Slovak works to broad audiences while fostering and nurturing the next generation of artists and audiences and gaining international recognition for his work.
This decision, alongside the dismissal of other cultural leaders, signals a troubling threat to artistic freedom in Slovakia. Article 13 of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) states that “The arts and scientific research shall be free of constraint.” Furthermore, the Council of Europe’s Manifesto on the Freedom of Expression of Arts and Culture in the Digital Era highlights that “Arts and culture emphasise, express, communicate, and anticipate the human reaction to social changes… Creativity and diverse cultural expressions, enabled and stimulated by artistic freedom of expression, are catalysts for sustainable development planning and policies.” Minister Šimkovičová’s political decisions clearly violate the European Union’s charter.
The widespread public backlash against this right-wing attack on #ArtisticFreedom, alongside the broader criticism of the Slovak government’s efforts to stifle dissenting voices, demonstrates that the official reason for Matej Drlička’s dismissal—claiming he “confused the position of general director of a national cultural institution with political activism and repeatedly brought politics into the activities of the SND”—is rejected by many Slovakians, European cultural institutions, politicians, and the media.
At Opera Europa, we also firmly reject the stated rationale for Matej Drlička’s dismissal. We stand by him in his fight against this instance of extreme right-wing cultural vandalism and urge the European Union to closely monitor developments in Slovakia and safeguard the independence and #FreedomOfExpression of cultural institutions across Europe.
Karen Stone (pictured)
Director
Opera Europa
Get Leftists out of arts management. Soviet Union anyone?
It is only about freedom of speech, if that was allowed to the conservatives. It seems it wasn`t – as the liberal Guardian inadvertently reveals…
“The 59-year-old politician made his first public appearance last month since surviving an assassination attempt on 15 May, giving a speech in which he criticised the supposed expansion of progressive ideologies and the west’s stance towards Russia.
One of his most divisive appointees has been the SNS culture minister Šimkovičová, 52, a former TV presenter whose media career was ended over anti-refugee posts on social media and who was nominated for “homophobe of the year” by the Slovak human rights institute Inštitút ľudských práv in 2018.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/10/slovakia-purges-heads-of-national-theatre-and-gallery-in-arts-crackdown
I would say democracy seems to work – both ways, dear liberals.
Somebody got fired. Why is this “extreme right-wing cultural vandalism”?
Oh, what crap. This is the first I’m hearing of this. I have no idea about the issues, but that poisonous tone of Wokeness is incapable of being disguised. That is because Wokeness is unique in combining sanctimony, idiocy, and an ache to impose totalitarianism. It clomps its unmistakable, miserable way through the world, ruining everything it touches.
The right wing hates the arts. They always have, unless they can limit it and control it.
Art is about opening the heart and mind to new possibilities, new perspectives, new ways of living. The exact opposite of what the right wing want; you must live and think as the ‘right-minded’ majority do or go to the wall.
And the left wing are are all tolerant arts lovers and supporters? Like Stalin?
All political extremists try to bend the arts to their own purposes. They suppress freedom of artistic expression and politicise everything.
Put another way, when you depart from the centre and start moving either to the left or the right, you eventually reach the same destination – totalitarianism, oppression, intolerance and dictatorship.
I wasn’t talking about extremists, otherwise I would have said the far right. Yes from the extreme left, to the extreme right, to the religious fundamentalist extremists of all ilks, yes they all hate the arts.
But the centre right hates the arts too. In the UK, they have decimated music education and designated the study of arts and humanities as a waste of time, as it doesn’t make money, immediately. Come on Fatima, take off those ballet shoes and discard all those years of training, there’s more money in Cyber.
https://www.bustle.com/life/government-fatima-cyber-advert-is-part-of-2019-campaign
Up and down the UK under a centre-right administration, universities are closing their arts and humanities faculties. Many no longer even offer English Literature undergraduate degrees. A nation that doesn’t think its own language is worth studying has very much lost its way.
It’s not the left in the USA who are banning feminist literature from schools and libraries, banning books about race theory etc, taking a carving knife to the curriculum.
Or do you consider the Republican party to now be a far-right extremist party?
Pretty much the case in Australia too.
I am certainly aware of the right wing populist attacks on the arts – but on what planet is Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, a right winger? Everyone who keeps up with the news knows that he is a raging left wing populist…
“Woke” is anything I don’t like or don’t agree with. LOL
Like endoscopies?
You don’t want to be “woke” for that or a colonoscopy!