00:00Olya Triashka Stefanović is a visual artist and photographer.
00:04Born in the former Yugoslavia, she emigrated to Slovakia in the 1990s.
00:08Memory is a major theme in her work, which often explores both her personal journey
00:12and the wider historical, political and cultural context of the former Yugoslavia and the Balkan Wars.
00:18Today, she says, artists in Slovakia like her are facing a different kind of struggle.
00:23Hundreds of artists and cultural workers in Slovakia say that after a change of government
00:28in 2023, artistic institutions in the country entered a period of uncertainty,
00:33one that is changing what is shown at the Slovak National Gallery.
00:37We are boycotting now the Slovak National Gallery because it's a totally destruction what is
00:42happening inside and how they are dealing with the culture and art heritage here.
00:47The Council of Art that was an independent institution from the Ministry of Culture
00:53that was supporting art, but whole art, not just the visual art. The boards were changed and there
01:00are people who are not willing to support artists who are talking about what is happening here,
01:07so it's a censorship, of course.
01:09When Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power for a fourth term in 2023, he made Martina
01:15Simcovikova, of the nationalist Slovak National Party, culture minister. Simcovikova, a former television
01:22presenter known for promoting controversial views online, quickly announced what she described as
01:27a shift in direction for the country's cultural institutions. For many artists, including Stefanović,
01:33that shift marked the start of a restriction of their artistic freedom and independence.
01:40It will have a very hard aftermath on a lot of regional and art centres across Slovakia,
01:46so the artists will have the hard time to produce art and to exhibit art. So that is
01:53what is affecting us. It's controlling us. They want to control the media, they want to control
01:58the artists, they want to control so many aspects of our life.
02:03After the work of some artists was removed from the walls of the Slovak National Gallery,
02:08many artists withdrew their work from state institutions in protest at developments. Now,
02:13their art is being exhibited just across the border in Czechia. The exhibition Free National Gallery
02:19Description of a Struggle, which is currently showing at Prague City Gallery, features works
02:24by artists previously on display in Bratislava. For the people behind the exhibition, the show is
02:29not just about art. It's also a statement of solidarity at a time when Slovak artists say
02:35institutional independence is under pressure.
02:38This exhibition is about collective projects. For example, first there is a logo of Slovakia Narona
02:45Galleria, SNG, created from employees standing together. And during one concrete movement,
02:54these people change it to SOS, like SOS culture. This is not important who is author of this action,
03:02but this is some collective activity and what is important for this show.
03:06The exhibition also traces key recent developments at the Slovak National Gallery, from changes in its
03:12leadership to institutional restructuring. It also documents the response of Slovakia's artistic
03:17community. One installation invites visitors to write messages on red pieces of paper. Together,
03:23the handwritten notes reflect not only solidarity with the artists and frustration at developments,
03:27but also concern for the future of cultural independence in Slovakia.
03:31This exhibition is important and I think it's important also to be shown in other countries.
03:38Art and culture should be free and not controlled by politicians, but talk about the politics, of course.
03:47For Stefanovic and other artists, this is no longer just about what happens at the Slovak National Gallery.
03:53It's also about who controls cultural memory and whether art can remain independent when power shifts.
04:00which is while the art can remain independent when power shifts.
04:01Let's see that.
04:02Let's see.
04:02Let's see.
04:03Let's see.
04:04Let's see.
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