Where are We and Where are We Going? The consequences of the potential changes of the cultural model in the field of the performing arts

Round table organised by the Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists

The ideas about the change of the cultural model have been lingering in the air for a while, particularly the idea of dissolving permanent theatre ensembles, touted as the magic bullet for the entire performing arts field.

The current Slovenian institutional model is based on the German one, but is not as flexible, because the ensemble as a whole is employed permanently in the theatre and upon her or his arrival the new artistic director/theatre manager cannot freshen or change the team, while the entire independent scene has been functioning on the model of the free/fluctuating market for years, and thus has the actual experience of this "new" cultural model.

The redesign of the cultural model is a symptomatic question, which includes not only the question of which model we want, but above all, what kind of culture we want to create, what kind of creative conditions we provide for the artists and other collaborators in theatre, and finally, in what kind of a country and state we want to live.

Within this question, a fundamental question is hidden: Do we want to leave art to the market?

Round table moderator Katarina Stegnar, Mladinsko Theatre member, SADA member. Among participants are Iva Babić, actress, SNT Drama Ljubljana member; Marko Bratuš, artistic director of the SNT Nova Gorica; Neda Rusjan Bric, MA, actress, Mladinsko Theatre member, director with experience in theatre management, vice-president of the Association of Slovenian Theatre Directors; Nejc Cijan Garlatti, actor, self-employed; Leja Jurišić, dancer, choreographer, author, self-employed; Uroš Korenčan, president of the Slovenian Theatre Managing Directors' Collegium, director of the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre; Vinko Möderndorfer, director, writer, poet, playwright, member of the Slovene Writers' Association, president of the Prešeren Fund Award executive committee, self-employed; Dearbhal Murphy, Deputy Secretary General of the International Federation of Actors (FIA); Jure Novak, director, author, performer, chairman of the Association of Slovenian Theatre Directors, self-employed; Marko Simčič, a long-time SADA representative in the FIA.