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Michał Merczyński: “Co-production is a risk but it is the most fruitful way to produce new pieces”

13 May 2016

In the run-up to the Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Budapest from 2-8 June 2016, all presenters who will participate in the Atelier to exchange with 45 young artistic festival directors from all over the world will be introduced. One of them is Michał Merczyński, Director Malta Festival Poznań. He previously participated in the Atelier IZMIR 2011, Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012, Atelier EDINBURGH 2014 Atelier POZNAN 2014.

Michał Merczyński is a culture promoter, producer and art manager with expertise in the performing art, musical and audiovisual field. He managed the Rozmaitości Theatre (TR Warszawa), Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society, Tzadik Poznań Festival, Festival of Dialogue of Four Cultures, the Polish Film Institute, Malta Festival Poznań and Nostalgia Festival Poznań. In 1991, he initiated the Malta Festival Poznań in Poland; he has been the festival’s General Director ever since. He also founded the Nostalgia Festival Poznań, with contemporary music as its programme core. Since 2005, he has been the Director of the National Audiovisual Institute, Poland (NInA), a public cultural institution established by the Ministry of Culture to record, digitise, archive, and facilitate the dissemination of the most valuable manifestations of Polish culture, including film, music, theatre and art.

Michał Merczyński was an expert within the European Union Culture Programme 2007-2013. In 2011, he was appointed Coordinator of the Cultural Programme of the Polish EU Presidency, as well as the European Culture Congress.

His admiration for new methods of presenting art forms meets the need for spreading and circulating ideas that have been proven as the best and most efficient ones. With his open attitude, he encourages the flow of communication across arts practitioners.

“Michal’s programmes differed to the other Atelier mentors in that he works with guest artistic programmers from different countries each year, with that country being a focus of the festival. This approach and many subsequent discussions during the Atelier centred around the use of a theme for a festival and whether this helped the festival communicate a programme more clearly to its audiences, or whether this limited a programme artistically,” said Summa Durie, participant Atelier EDINBURGH, 2014.)

Renowned mentors from all over the world will guide the participants throughout the seven days of the Atelier BUDAPEST 2016 under the coordination of Hugo De Greef (Atelier Coordinator, former EFA Secretary General, Director European Capital of Culture Bruges 2002, Co-Founder Kaaitheater Brussels - Belgium): Rania Elias (Director of the Yabous Cultural Centre and Jerusalem Festival, Palestine), Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, (President Lyon Biennial, former long-standing Director Avignon Festival, France), Rose Fenton, (Director Free Word, former Director LIFT London, UK), Agnes Havas, (Director Armel Opera Festival, Hungary), Nele Hertling, (Member of the strategy group ‘A Soul for Europe’, former vice-president Academy of Arts in Berlin, former Director Hebbel-Theatre Berlin, Germany), Jonathan Mills (Director of the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, former Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, UK.)

More information about the Atelier BUDAPEST 2016 can be found on the Atelier website.