The rapid rise of the European right and nationalist interference in politics and art demanded an activist response. In the struggle for core democratic values, our central goals are networking and solidarity, as well as wide-ranging communication. RESISTANCE NOW stands for political work and artistic positions, for protests and discussions.
RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER has its origins in the eponymous initiative of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna, questioning the role of art in a time of socio-political upheaval. Starting in August 2024, the Vienna Festival reacted to the new nationalism with the international RESISTANCE NOW! Tour of dialogue and networking, artistic actions and political work to defend democracy, diversity and artistic freedom. As Milo Rau explained in The Guardian, the destruction of cultural diversity is almost complete in Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia. It is about dismantling diverse societies, about shattering a civil society that has long since ceased being ‘national’. ‘What should we do?’, he asked.
An active international movement then grew out of the petition against the dismissal of Matej Drlička as Director General of the Slovak National Theatre in mid-August 2024. 13 RESISTANCE NOW events — from New York to Taipei, from Stockholm to Belgrade and Amsterdam to Prague — in 11 countries followed in 2024 alone. The aim was to promote international networking and solidarity. The response and attention was enormous: Media reports in 32 countries across the world, more than 300 published articles.
In parallel, the European Theatre Convention (ETC), the largest network of publicly-funded theatres in Europe, organised events at the Festival d’Avignon in France and statements by its 70+ member theatres on the importance of protecting artistic freedom. By November 2024, the initiatives joined forces and significantly expanded: Together with Matej Drlička and with the Prospero and Opera Europa networks, an appeal to the European Parliament to protect artistic freedom was created. ‘RESISTANCE NOW: FREE CULTURE’, was published and had been joined by over two hundred cultural institutions from all across Europe. Media reports about the Europe-wide appeal reached a hundred million readers in over fifty countries, and dialogue was established at the highest levels with European policymakers. (SEE OVERVIEW DOCUMENT)
WHO WE ARE
European Theatre Convention (ETC)
ETC is the largest network of publicly-funded theatres in Europe, with 69 members in 31 countries. Founded in 1988, the ETC promotes European theatre as a vital platform for dialogue, democracy and interaction that responds to, reflects and engages with today’s diverse audiences and changing societies. The ETC organises a wide range of activities to create brilliant new theatre, support and develop people working in theatre, and fight for the European theatre sector in a political context.
Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna
The Vienna Festival is one of the world’s most significant arts and cultural festivals. Every year in the early summer months of May and June, it brings groundbreaking works from the fields of theatre, music, dance and visual arts, building a bridge between Vienna and the rest of the world. Renowned artists show their highly anticipated work’s world premiere here in Vienna, ready to tour around the globe afterwards as ambassadors of Wiener Festwochen. Conversely, the Vienna Festival brings guest performances of international must-see productions to Vienna. The Vienna Festival was established in 1951.
