ARE WORKING CONDITIONS FOR MUSICIANS IMPROVING IN SLOVAKIA?
A discussion on the current working conditions in music in Slovakia, hosted at the Park of Culture and Sighs.
Wednesday, 25 February 2026 at 17:00
Ján Koniarik Gallery, Trnava, Zelený kríčok 3
Moderation: Hana Řičicová
Discussion Guests: Martina Kotláriková, Daniel Vadas
Is it possible to make a living from creating music, managing bands, or even organizing concerts? What are the conditions for creating and performing? How many benefit gigs can be played in a year, and how many jobs can a freelancer realistically handle at once?
An open discussion on precarious situations and financial conditions in music, on the neglected institutionalization of an entire sector, where we can collectively share not only our frustrations about the non-existent status of an artist but also the joys of doing exactly what we love—without worrying about a mortgage.
Hana Řičicová is a cultural journalist and freelance moderator. She is co-author of the podcast Sirény, previously worked at Český rozhlas Radio Wave, and hosted the weekly Respekt podcast. As a PhD student at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, she focuses on exploitation and precariousness in Czech journalism. She co-founded the association Ženy v médiách (Women in Media) and is active in the initiative Nadšením nájom nezaplatíš (You Can’t Pay Rent with Enthusiasm), which advocates for improving the working conditions and visibility of cultural journalists.
Martina Kotláriková studied cultural studies at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava. She is a cultural manager and has worked as a freelancer in culture for 15 years. In recent years, she has focused primarily on music, collaborating with artists such as Fvck Kvlt, Vojtik, Viktor Ori, Edúv syn, among others. She leads an NGO focused on music management, booking, and organizing cultural events, and is the producer of the international Nu Dance Festfestival. Until March 2024, she also worked at Kunsthalle Bratislava.
Daniel Vadas is a cultural worker in partial professional exile. He co-founded and co-curated T3 – cultural platform(2017–2025) and occasionally writes critically about music and culture. In addition to his full-time exilic work, he currently works as a music co-curator at Nová Cvernovka, participates in the irregular T3 Revival event series, and is a member of the coordination team of the platform Open Culture!
The discussion is part of the Park of Culture and Sighs. The core of the park at the Ján Koniarik Gallery in Trnava is a shifting structure made of plastic crates filled with energy drinks, sustaining us in a state of constant productivity, fighting fatigue, and denying our own limits and needs. The program includes regular events—performances, discussions, support groups, and workshops—organized by members of the Cultural Departments based on an open call.
The series What Are the Conditions and Work …? aims to identify conditions and reflect on the situation in various fields of art and culture. Social and feminist movements have used so-called consciousness-raising groups as a tool for collective empowerment and potential political mobilization. Sharing personal experiences can be therapeutic, but we can also move toward discussing practical tools and planning strategies to improve the working and social conditions of cultural professionals.
Project partner: KON-RAD spol s.r.o.
