For the next 4 years, the Musical Theater in Poznań will be co-led by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Poznań, which will allow for the construction of its new seat and further development of the institution. The agreement was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Prof. Piotr Gliński and the Mayor of Poznań, Jacek Jaśkowiak.

During the ceremonial signing of the agreement, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage said that institutions co-operated under state protection receive support for their functioning and also additional funds for important investments in culture.

“We have a long list of organizations waiting for further co-leads. In the case of Poznań, local authorities, MPs from the Wielkopolska region, for years strove for the Musical Theater to be co-run by the Ministry of Culture. One of the basic criteria for making this decision was the artistic level and cultural importance of this institution. We had no doubts that it stands out from the rest and deserves support”, emphasized Minister Gliński.

An additional argument was the premise’s difficulties. The current seat of the theater with an audience of only 400 seats is the decaying building of the Józef Piłsudski Soldier’s House. A cramped and unadapted building makes the work of artists much more difficult.

“At the moment, we are planning as a joint investment with the City of Poznań, which runs the theater, to build a hall with an auditorium for 1,200 seats, with the option of increasing it by 400 additional seats. It will provide completely different working conditions”, assessed Prof. Glinski.

According to the agreement, the ministry will allocate PLN 110 million for the construction of the new seat of the theater. The remaining money will be allocated from the budget of Poznań. In addition, the ministry will support the theater with subsidies for current operations in the amount of PLN 1.5 million per year for the next four years.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński