preložiť The cultural community is calling on Šimkovičová to disclose evidence of foreign influence. Actors say they write their own statements
The motivation of the protesters comes not from abroad, but from home. The actors reject Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová's claims that their statements after the performances were written abroad.
The actors of the Drama Theatre of the Slovak National Theatre deny Martina Šimkovičová's claims of foreign coordination in their statements after the performances. They openly ask the Minister of Culture to provide evidence for her accusations.
At a joint press conference, the actors stressed that the statement was not made abroad and was not written by any NGOs, but by the actors. This was reported by Denník N. The actors continue to read out protest statements at the end of the performances.
The actors of the Drama Theatre of the Slovak National Theatre Jana Kovalčíková, Ján Koleník, Milan Ondrík, Martin Šalacha and others, for example, declared after the performance of War and Peace that they continue to remain in the cultural strike. On Wednesday we wrote about it on the ta3 website.
Cuts in culture
The Slovak cultural scene has long protested against the actions of the Minister and her State Secretary Lukáš Machala.
According to representatives of the cultural community, their decisions threaten historical monuments, festivals, galleries, theatres, cultural centres and libraries, thus directly affecting the livelihoods of thousands of people working in the cultural sector.
"While the duo Šimkovičová & Machala are cutting money for monuments and sacking experts across Slovakia, more than 200 thousand euros went on the salaries of the two of them last year," reads the joint statement sent to our editorial office.
Actors' demands to be apolitical
Open Culture! and the Culture Strike Committee strongly reject the statements of the Minister, who also claims that the actors and actresses of the Slovak National Theatre are "harassing the audience with outbursts". They stress that their demands are not a political act, but a legitimate call to improve conditions in the culture sector and a concern for its future.
The Minister repeatedly claims that 'actors and actresses talk about the threat to culture without any facts'.
Yet, already in October, both initiatives published a detailed report on the Ministry's failures. The document contains concrete facts about the damage that has already led to the cancellation of important international collaborations, for example with the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) and the Slovak National Theatre (SND). The Ministry did not respond to this information.
Šimkovičová lies, says culture
Although she is not a member of the Culture Strike Committee and the Open Culture! platform, according to the Culture Strike Committee. the minister continually refers to the election results, her actions, according to critics, contradict the government's Programme Statement. Moreover, the SNS party, which nominated her, has long been below the electoral threshold. It won only 1.9% of the vote in the Euro elections.
The role of Lukáš Machala, who was never elected by the citizens, is also seen as particularly problematic. Nevertheless, he is trying to fundamentally reorganise cultural institutions, even though his role should be purely administrative.
"We call on Minister Šimkovičová to stop lying. If she has evidence that those working in culture are being managed from abroad, let her present it to the public," the culture representatives wrote.
In December, the Slovak National Theatre bought a concert by Russian singer Anna Netrebko at a high price.