Katarzyna Wielga-Skolimowska – Artistic Director of the German Federal Cultural Foundation

After her dismissal, Katarzyna Wielga-Skolimowska spent a period of time working for the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung), before moving to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in 2020 to open a branch of the Goethe Institute there. As she said in an interview for the radio3 podcast, when asked about her memories from her time in the city: “The biggest challenge was to change my attitudes. To cast stereotypes aside. [...] It is a patriarchal society, although you can say that in essence, Poland is also a patriarchal society, one in which women are extremely strong”[8].

As well as her wide-ranging skills and extensive experience gained in Germany and the Middle East, a further factor in selecting her for the post of Artistic Director of the German Federal Cultural Foundation was her eastern European perspective. She herself emphasised that in Germany, there are many reasons to re-examine issues with which we have already been confronted in the past. In an interview with the Berlin newspaper “Tagesspiegel”, she said: “We need to return to the old topics and questions relating to eastern Europe once again. What does the East mean; what is eastern European history?”[9] She also referred to the fact that a lot has happened since the eastward expansion of the EU in 2004, but the sense of optimism that dominated at that time has now been replaced by fear.

Wielga-Skolimowska has clear views when it comes to the discussion surrounding the rise in right-wing populism and antisemitism in the culture scene: “Culture must be able to tackle political themes without there being immediate consequences. That is its independence. Culture must have a space without constraints and demands placed on the artists.”[10] Art must be free, she says. It can also provoke and generate strong emotions. “Its contribution to democracy must not be idealised. Art can counter antisemitism, but let’s be honest: it can also promote it.”[11]

Monika Stefanek, May 2024