Open letter of students of Slovak art schools

Dear Minister Šimkovičová,

we, the students of art universities, express our disapproval of your actions, which undermine the integrity of cultural institutions and threaten the work of many people who have dedicated their lives to culture. Culture deserves support, not persecution.

Instead of managing the resort, uniting us and being our representative, you intimidate us and threaten the free creation of art. You stand on the threshold of the past by repeating procedures that copy the normalization practices of the 70s and Mečiar-like efforts to suppress a culture that you do not like ideologically. We reject such a return to the past. You can't beat the diverse Slovak culture!

Art should be free, not conditioned by political affiliation, encouraging change based on erudition. At a time when political power tries to silence the voices of creators, art is an important tool of resistance. Art is a color that cannot be covered even by a thick layer of censorship.

We are convinced that your actions are contrary to the values ​​that the ministry should represent. Therefore, we ask you to resign from the post of minister. If you continue with your destructive agenda, we will have to engage other democratic forms of resistance to protect cultural values ​​and people in this sector.

We, the student body of VŠMU, VŠVU, AU BB and FU TUKE, feel that entering the job market in the climate you have created will be extremely difficult. However, we are determined to stand together and fight for a fair and democratic administration of the department of culture. We stand behind everyone who contributes to the enrichment of our society with their work - our colleagues, our classmates, institutions and non-profit culture, our future professions. We cross the threshold and open the door.

We appeal to the public to join us in supporting the protection of our culture. The future of culture concerns us all.

Sincerely,

Students of

Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava

Academy of Performing Arts

Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica

Faculty of Arts, Technical University of Košice.