From shado
Spaces of free expression are becoming all the more precious as the country veers closer towards illiberalism
There is a phrase that has reverberated for decades in the discourse of many Slovaks: islands of positive deviation. It’s a clunky term that stuck some time around the Velvet Revolution 36 years ago, initially used to describe pockets of nonconformity and resistance to the communist regime.
Something about its abstract imagery caught my attention on an afternoon back in January when my friend, Tatiana Lehocka, ruminated on the worrying trajectory of politics back home in Slovakia. For her and her colleagues at SHARPE, the festival they run in the capital Bratislava, the phrase had become a symbol of hope, somewhere to anchor amid a moving tide towards authoritarianism under populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The renewed spirit of positive deviation captivated me, but also highlighted a knowledge gap. In the UK we hear a lot about the rise of the far-right in Europe, and even of the populist, illiberal tendencies of Hungary and, until recently, Poland. But in this pair’s smaller neighbour, a similar story is underway which threatens to slash grassroots culture and free expression.
So, at the end of April I travelled to Bratislava to go to SHARPE, speaking to several cultural stakeholders: the festival’s Creative Director Michal Berezňák; Adam Dragun, a young theatrician and singer in the band Berlin Manson; and Andrej Gregorčok, a representative from Otvorená Kultúra!, a non-partisan group formed to call for Šimkovičová’s resignation while rallying a unified, cross-cultural network. With their help, I hoped to use the festival as an entry point to examine the wider socio-political backdrop of Slovakia today.
“Slovak and no other”
It’s a Saturday evening in the northern outskirts of Bratislava and local band Berlin Manson has taken to the stage. There is a vibe in the air that flirts between menacing and joyous as the trio play serrated post-punk with thumping, industrial drums and brooding guitars, while frontman Adam Dragun jumps into the crowd to spit lyrics about making love in a housing crisis (“Kde Budeme Bývať?”) and police who beat unhoused men to death (“Polámeme svoje ID?”)
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