Economic self-sufficiency vs public interest

Gregor Kosi

The city authorities think that the economic revenue from the activities that will take place in Pekarna, such as hostel, bars, restaurant, events etc, will be so big that this money will finance the entire complex as well as the art production happening here. They believe this centre will be self-sufficient. This is a big struggle at the moment because with this model we would have to act completely in a profitable way, we would have to put on a programme that will draw large audiences and also audiences with more money. However, if this happens, it will be the end of Pekarna. The idea of Pekarna is not to be self-sufficient. The idea of Pekarna is that it is something in the public interest. We should earn as much money as is possible with the kind of production that is happening here but we should not change the content of the production. The economy is only a service, to support this content. It is not the content itself. The entire process of legalisation is at the moment oriented towards the generation of profit but we believe this approach can change because there are people working within the municipal Department of Culture who understand this as they worked in independent culture before.

Related fights

More fights by Gregor Kosi

Gregor Kosi

Gregor Kosi

Director of Pekarna Magdalenske mreže in Maribor, Slovenia

Full biography