Kunsthalle Bratislava (source: TASR)
Questions have been raised over the independence of the Culture Ministry after it stopped financing for a prominent cultural institution known for hosting LGBT+-related events.
On Tuesday evening, Kunsthalle Bratislava director Jen Kratochvil resigned after the Culture Ministry refused to finance its artistic and educational programme for 2024.
A post on the organisation's social media accounts said: "We stand at a point where experienced, respected, professionals, scholars, artists, pedagogues, curators and cultural workers are facing accusations of propagating values that are 'putting the future of children in Slovakia in jeopardy'. We are disturbed by the current steps the Culture Ministry has taken, and we have strong reasons to worry about the independence and freedom of this national institution."
Kunsthalle Bratislava has held several LGBT+ community related events and exhibitions, and was part of the Slovenská Tepláreň festival initiated in response to the terrorist attack on Zámocká Street in Bratislava in 2022 in which two LGBT+ people were murdered.
Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (SNS nom.), and a star of pro-Russian TV Slovan with anti-immigration views, is repeatedly making homophobic comments, and once described LGBT+ people as "the most perverted of the perverse."
Last Friday, she announced that "LGBTI+ NGOs will not get a cent from the Culture Ministry", and specifically targeted Saplinq, a civic association based in Košice that offers counselling and support for members of the community.
Anti-LGBT+ poll
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a poll appeared on the Culture Ministry Facebook page, asking people whether it should support cultural heritage sites or LGBT+-related events where "underage children are taught how to present themselves during sexual shows, pride events, where half-naked people show up in squares".
A huge number of comments criticised the ministry for posting the poll on its official channel, accusing the ministry of inciting hatred against the LGBT+ minority.
"Some of the children you mention might want to take their own lives in the future because they find out that they belong to the LGBT+ community, which is apparently considered a kind of dangerous evil in our country. Maybe they will want to take their own lives because of you, minister," one of the comments reads.
The opposition party Progresívne Slovensko (PS) also slammed the minister for the poll and her comments, while more than 6,000 people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the minister in an online petition that demands her resignation.
"Whoever wants to manage this ministry must have the ability to understand culture in its broadest contexts, to know its various forms and actors, to deeply perceive its diversity, and their contribution to the whole society," said PS MP Zora Jaurová from the culture committee in the parliament.
National gallery takes over Kunsthalle
On Wednesday, the ministry announced that Kunsthalle Bratislava will be taken over by the Slovak National Gallery. According to the ministry, "Kunsthalle failed to make use of a historic chance in terms of its programme content, public expectations and financial efficiency".
Culture Ministry spokesperson Pavol Čorba said that Kratochvil had asked Šimkovičová to release him from his post as "he wants to devote himself more to curating and teaching activities".
