podcast

Is it possible to run a large municipal theatre, known for its high artistic aspirations in a sensitive, inclusive and humane way? Anna Rochowska, director of TR Warszawa, talks about her daily challenges in trying to mix fire and water.

Community culture centres are not what they seem. The Ochota Culture Centre OKO is certainly not. Alicja Brudło, director of OKO, talks about running a multi-generational public institution with grass-roots energy, combining art and animation of the diverse local community.

The Museum of Warsaw, together with its branches, is a group of 10 institutions with 260 employees. Its director, Karolina Ziębińska, talks about the challenges of managing an institution with such a complex structure, which is at the same time searching for its own identity at the intersection of the idea of a historical museum, a modern art gallery, and a place of remembrance and local activities.

Will the new model for a cultural institution be an outlet in a state of constant formation, uninterrupted transformation and repurposing? How do you manage a museum that is constantly migrating, under construction, shrinking and expanding its space? Joanna Mytkowska, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Warsaw talks about managing an elusive structure.

Today, culture is at a crossroads. On the one hand, old practices are still in use; on the other, new values supporting equality and diversity are being promoted. Cultural institutions are particular in that they are the sites of the struggle to change attitudes and ways of working. In a new series of WOK.casts entitled Being a Director, Olga Wysocka and Igor Stokfiszewski attempt to find out how the directors of Warsaw’s cultural institutions are handling change. What strategies do they use in the face of this challenge? What emotions does this provoke?

The British Brutalists, cultural activism and a theatre attacked by right-wing extremists - Paweł Łysak, director of Warsaw's Powszechny Theatre, talks about the behind-the-scenes work of running an institution in the midst of political tensions.

How can popular culture be presented in museums? Is the pursuit of pleasure and the intention to make people laugh ambitious enough for an institution? Can we tell a meme? Find out how Paweł Płoski, director of the Warsaw Caricature Museum, sees his role.

Will the new model for a cultural institution be an outlet in a state of constant formation, uninterrupted transformation and repurposing? How do you manage a museum that is constantly migrating, under construction, shrinking and expanding its space? Joanna Mytkowska, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Warsaw talks about managing an elusive structure.