Un/gleich/zeitig: Europe on Fire – How Are Things in the Art and Culture Communities in the Different Countries in Europe?

Austerity programs and a political shift to the right in multiple countries in Europe are having a palpable effect on the cultural landscape. As happens so often, the independent performing arts community is being used as a plaything for a variety of (financial) political decisions as it is not anchored on a legal or structural basis. The community lives on the allocations that are negotiated and planned anew from year to year in the respective culture budgets – or not.

In some countries, the larger cultural institutions are also not escaping unscathed. Art and culture are intended to follow and support the new political program – and, as a result, institutional leadership has already been replaced in Slovakia and funding programs have been converted in Hungary. We have invited representatives from our European neighbor countries in order to have a shared discussion about this: how is the shift to the right specifically affecting art and culture? How can we expand and strengthen our solidarity amongst other? And what can we specifically learn from each other?

We will begin the discussion with an overview presentation by Thomas F. Eder, which will shed some light on the mechanisms of repression, especially as used against the independent performing arts community. Why are some artists being put under pressure so intensely at the moment – why are they so interesting right now to the new holders of power?

In English spoken language.

With Chiara Baudino (Cordinamento delle Realtà Scena Contemporanea – C. Re. S. Co. Italy), Stefan Prohorov (ACT association for independent theatre, Bulgaria), Milan Vračar (Association Kulturanova, Serbia), Dávid Paška (director, Slovakia) and Isa Köhler (internationale tanzmesse nrw, requested).

Moderation: Ulrike Kuner (General Manager, EAIPA – European Association of Independent Performing Arts)

Ulrike Kuner has been the managing director of IG Freie Theaterarbeit in Vienna sine 2017, in 2018 she became President of the European Association for the Independent Performing Arts (EAIPA) and has been General Manager of EAIPA since 2024. Her primary interests are cultural policy advocacy work, the changes to the framework conditions for artistic work and the transfer of knowledge in the field of art and culture

Conceived in cooperation with EAIPA – European Association of Independent Performing Arts.