Tiago Rodrigues is the first foreigner to take charge of the historic Festival D'Avignon, one of the most important theater festivals in Europe. In the interview, the Portuguese director makes a clear guarantee: while he is at the helm of the festival, this institution will not collaborate with the far-right.
Rodrigues justifies this position by stating that a cultural organization should not be neutral regarding fundamental democratic values. He argues that it is a mistake to imagine that it is possible to have a society project that does not also go through culture, thus underscoring the political and social role that cultural institutions should assume.
This interview comes in a context where questions about the political positioning of cultural institutions are gaining increasing relevance, especially in European countries where the far-right has been gaining political strength.
