The financial culture club
Andrzej Wróbel: There are over 170 institutional theaters in Poland, including 18 in Warsaw compared to just seven in Paris. All of them receive subsidies and frequently repeat their repertoire. Many theaters are saying that a reform of this system is critical. Do you share this opinion?
Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski: It is the local authorities who are responsible for the management of theaters in Poland. The Ministry is not competent to make any possible changes in their functioning since it only supervises and finances two national theaters, the National Theater in Warsaw and the national Old Theater in Kraków, and co-finances four other.
Could institutional stages that offer a commercial repertoire make their own living?
The matter of commercialization is hard to solve, because in contemporary culture the terms 'commercial', 'ambitious' and 'artistic' do not necessarily exclude each other. Apart from that, the artistic directors' independence concerning the choice of repertoire should not be questioned.
Does the Ministry plan to support independent theaters?
The Ministry gives subsidies within 11 operational programs, which allows it to co-finance independent institutions such as the Polonia Theater, the Wytwórnia Theater, the Cinema Theater and others. Having the right to obtain yearly operational subsidies is connected with applying for the status of an institution of culture, which means losing its independence. That process has recently taken place in the case of the Łaźnia Theater in Kraków's Nowa Huta, and Poznań's Eighth Day Theater. Apart from that, recently institutional and independent theaters took part in a contemporary play competition. The two main awards were given to independent theaters from Warsaw and Brzeg.
How does the Ministry support private patronage and sponsoring?
We emphasize the importance and promote the idea of private patronage. Every year we organize the Patron of Culture competition, which awards the biggest sponsors supporting culture. It is the widest reaching way of improving cooperation because business and the arts.
