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Michał Merczyński - Director Malta Festival Poznan and Nostalgia Festival Poznan – Poland

13 November 2017

22 young festival directors from all over the world are about to take part in the Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Merano, Italy. For them, it is the opportunity to exchange with experienced presenters. One of them is Michał Merczyński - Director Malta Festival Poznan and Nostalgia Festival Poznan.

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.

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

“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,”  Summa Durie, participant Atelier EDINBURGH, 2014.)

Renowned mentors from all over the world will guide the participants throughout the seven days of the Atelier Merano 2017 under the coordination of Hugo de Greef (Atelier Coordinator, former EFA Secretary General, Director European Capital of Culture Bruges 2002m Co-Founder Kaaitheater Brussels – Belgium), Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, (President Lyon Biennal -  France), Rose Fenton, (Co Founder and Director LIFT Festival 1980 - 2005; Director Free Word 2011 - 2016,  Co-Founder of The Festival Academy – UK),  Nele Hertling, (Member Strategy Group “A Soul for Europe”, Former Vice-President of the Academy of Arts Berlin, Former Director Hebbel-Theater Berlin – Germany), Marta Keil (Curator, dramaturg and researcher – Poland), Gundega Laivina, (Director New Theatre Institute of Latvia, Curator – Latvia), Michał Merczyński, (Director Malta Festival Poznan and Nostalgia Festival Poznan – Poland), Roberto Naccari, (General Manager Santarcangelo Festival – Italy).

More information about the Atelier Merano 2017 can be found on the Atelier website.

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