Culturally, but the Halls are Empty! The Minister and the Rezekne Municipality Have Different Views on Culture

Photo: LETA

The Minister of Culture Agnese Lače believes that the representatives of the Rezekne municipality lack an understanding of the specifics of the work of cultural institutions.

As reported to the LETA agency by the minister's advisor Rita Plume, during a working visit to Rezekne on Wednesday, Minister Lače expressed concern about the situation surrounding the Latgale concert hall "Gors" and the municipality's approach to the activities of cultural institutions.

In Rezekne, the minister met with the city's mayor Alexander Bartashevich and representatives of the municipality to discuss the situation regarding the operation and management of the concert hall.

Lače noted that the representatives of the municipality lack an understanding of both the principles of cultural institutions' operations and that the quality of cultural events is measured not only by the number of visitors.

Lače pointed out that the state has still provided significant support for cultural life in Latgale, including investing several million euros in the construction of the concert hall "Gors", allocating funding from the State Cultural Capital Fund, and ensuring the operation of the Latgale Music and Art School. The minister emphasized that Latgale is an important region of Latvia and that there are no plans to reduce state support for culture there.

During the meeting, Lače requested the municipality to inform the Ministry of Culture about the results of the conducted audit and the conclusions of the working group, and once again urged the involvement of industry representatives and the ministry in further discussions about the management of the concert hall "Gors".

The conversation with representatives of the Rezekne municipality included the director of the municipalities department of the Ministry of Smart Governance and Regional Development Viesturs Razumovskis and the director of the competitiveness of entrepreneurship department of the Ministry of Economics Elina Petersone.

As reported, after the audit of the functions of SIA "Austrumlatvijas koncertzāle", the Rezekne council is considering the possibility of transforming "Gors" into an institution or choosing another form of management. Additionally, the head of the concert hall Diana Zirnina has been dismissed.