Stanovisko tímu Floating Arboretum na Benátskom bienále 2024

Stanovisko tímu Floating Arboretum na Benátskom bienále 2024

Náš projekt Floating Arboretum je venovaný ľuďom, ktorí sa postavili proti moci, aby chránili stromy a lesy pred ich zničením. V čase, keď sme toto kolektívne dielo pre Benátske bienále tvorili, sme na Slovensku boli konfrontovaní s krokmi smerujúcimi k oslabeniu demokratických inštitúcií a ich nezávislosti aktuálnou politickou mocou - v dôležitej miere v oblasti kultúry a životného prostredia.

Na Slovensku navrhované zákony o verejnoprávnej RTVS a o Fonde na podporu umenia by fakticky zlikvidovali nestrannosť a profesionalitu vo verejnoprávnom vysielaní a rozhodovaní o financovaní kultúry. Kunsthalle Bratislava bola v bleskovom procese zrušená. Riaditelia viacerých kultúrnych inštitúcií (ako Medzinárodný dom umenia pre deti Bibiana, Slovenská národná knižnica, Banské múzeum v Banskej Štiavnici) boli bez udania dôvodu náhle odvolaní a vymenení za ľudí s politickými a osobnými väzbami na moc a bez dostatočných odborných skúseností. 

Rovnaké stratégie sa uplatňujú aj v oblasti životného prostredia. Navrhované zákony o životnom prostredí výrazne obmedzia ochranu prírody v prospech developerských projektov a ťažby dreva. Odborníci na riadiacich pozíciách boli politickou mocou odvolaní a nahradení ľuďmi konajúcimi v rozpore s princípmi ochrany prírody.

Tvorivý tím Floating Arboretum protestuje proti týmto praktikám politickej moci.  

Medzinárodnú kultúrnu a umeleckú verejnosť vyzývame, aby pozorne sledovala tieto procesy na Slovensku.

V neposlednom rade by sme chceli podporiť tých, ktorí sa v iných krajinách nachádzajú v podobnej, a často horšej situácii - pretože, ako vždy - vďaka vzájomnej podpore sme silnejší. 

Statement of the Floating Arboretum creative team at the Venice Biennale, April 2024

Our project Floating Arboretum is dedicated to people who stood against power to protect trees and forests from destruction. While we were creating this collective work for Venice Biennale, we have been confronted in Slovakia with steps aiming to weaken democratic institutions and their independence by the current political power – and with particular harms in the areas of culture and environmental protection.

In Slovakia, proposed new laws on public broadcasting and on the Slovak Arts Council seek to effectively end political independence and professionalism in public broadcasting and in decision-making about arts funding. The directors of several cultural institutions - such as Bibiana (the International House of Art for Children), the Slovak National Library and the Mining Museum in Banská Štiavnica - were removed without providing reasons and replaced by people with political and personal ties to those in power and without relevant professional experience. Kunsthalle Bratislava has been shut down almost overnight.

The same strategies are being applied within the sphere of environmental protection. Proposed new environmental laws will significantly reduce the protection of nature in favour of private developers and logging. Directors and key experts working in public institutions have been fired and replaced by people acting contrary to principles of environmental protection. 

We, the creative team behind Floating Arboretum, protest against these practices.

We invite the international arts community to watch closely these developments in Slovakia.

We would also like to express our support to those in other countries who face similar and often much worse situations – because, as always – solidarity makes us stronger.

 

Further information:

https://enrsi.rtvs.sk/articles/Culture/358432/culture-minister-questionably-dismisses-two-directors

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23304978/culture-minister-appoints-her-kittsee-neighbour-as-childrens-art-gallery-head.html

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/slovakias-kunsthalle-bratislava-director-resigns-funding-revoked-1234693152/

https://aicainternational.news/agora/2024/2/1/statement-on-freedom-of-expression-in-republic-of-slovakia

https://rsf.org/en/slovakia-must-withdraw-public-broadcasting-bill-makes-mockery-european-requirements

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/23269249/bratislava-could-be-the-second-european-capital-with-a-national-park-but-not-for-now.html

https://www.tasr.sk/tasr-clanok/TASR:2024011100000269