SATURDAY Oct 12, 1:00 PM @ Hájovňa
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The Open Culture! Platform was established in early 2024 in response to the initial steps taken by the current leadership of the Ministry of Culture aimed at dismantling the cultural sector in Slovakia.
As a non-partisan civic initiative of the cultural community from across Slovakia, it brings together representatives of institutions established by cities, local governments, and state administration, as well as unestablished organizations and independently operating cultural workers. It connects actors from various fields, including audiovisual media, cultural heritage protection, visual arts, dance, music, theater, literature, architecture, design, folklore, and more. It fights against power interventions in culture that occur without discussions with cultural representatives. It represents a network that operates on the basis of solidarity, mutual support, sharing information, and specific skills.
An open call for the resignation of Minister of Culture Martina Šimkovičová in January 2024, which led to the formation of the OK! Platform, was signed by over 180,000 individuals within a few weeks. This made the platform, along with its horizontal internal hierarchy and shared nature of responsibility, duties, and strategy development among its members, an excellent example of peripheral osmosis in the current complex practice.
At JAMA 78, we are co-organizing a lecture by Robo Švarc on the history of revolutions and solidarity with the OK! Platform, and we will welcome a representative of OK! for a discussion on civic resistance here and now.
