[ad_1]
In the Causa Festspiele Erl: Five ex-artists complain in an open letter about the sexual abuse or abuses of the artistic director, Gustav Kuhn. They talk about Kuhn's "prolonged abuse of power and sexual assault" during their engagement. Kuhn rejected the allegations Wednesday on his lawyer.
13:50, 25 July 2018
It's For the first time, artists are turning to the public by their name. To date, there were only anonymous allegations. In terms of aggression, overseas musicians write: "Some of us were also exposed: unwanted kisses on the mouth or chest, trial and error under the sweater, caught between legs, etc., not to mention obscene verbal contact. Again and again, the limits of dignity and respect were exceeded and we were regularly exposed to the unrestrained aggression of the artistic director. "
" Massive psychological abuse in the form of intimidation, public exposure, humiliation and harassment "the agenda was" Those who did not abide by the rules of the gambling were punished with retaliation and exclusion: promised role assignments and contracts were withdrawn, previously leased performance was worthless or ridiculed, to name a few examples. "
artists are indignant that "despite the known facts, the necessary consequences remain to come, both by the presidency of the Festival and by the politicians." The inappropriate way in which the response to the conditions of the festival had prevented them from keeping the silence about their own experiences
The five artists worked at Erl between 1998 and 2017. They addressed their open letter with signature to the festival's president, Hans Peter Haselsteiner. Aliona Dargel, violinist from Belarus, German soprano Bettine Kampp, violinist Ninela Lamaj from Albania and Italy, mezzo-soprano Julia Oesch and soprano Mona Somm from Switzerland. With their public awareness activities, they also want to "ask other stakeholders to unite to act together," say the women.
Gustav Kuhn rejected the serious charges against him about his lawyer. His client will be able to defend himself against this "manhunt" with the means of the rule of law, said the lawyer and former Justice Minister Michael Krüger at the APA . The state of Tyrol, however, was "affected".
The "human hunt" had apparently been set in motion by artists at the instigation of blogger Markus Wilhelm, Krüger said. Some women have not played at Erl for many years, or their engagements have not been extended for artistic reasons. The platform "Art but fair", which sent the letter to the media, Kruger called "bad and unfair". Such serious attacks without any question and without knowledge of the circumstances to publish, just irresponsible. Krüger also referred to a list of signatures with nearly 150 artists' names from the Tyrolean Erl festival, in which they protest against "unproven allegations" and assure their loyalty to Artistic Director Kuhn
Beate Palfrader ( ÖVP) The allegations would make them "very concerned". Take them very seriously. Federal and state authorities are already in close contact with each other. "For us, transparency and education are as important and obvious as the prosecution was informed immediately, after their assessment must be made immediately. In addition, the Ombudsman (formerly Greens LR Christine Baur) was informed of the current allegations "said Palfrader.
The Tyrolean Greens, partners of the ÖVP coalition in the country, have requested the temporary suspension of artistic director Gustav Kuhn. "The responsible council must draw the consequences," said Deputy President of the Green Tyrol Club Georg Kaltschmid. This was necessary out of respect for the musicians who had the courage to go public, said Kaltschmid. In addition, it is in the interest of the Tyrolean Festival and the cultural land of Tyrol. Kuhn should remain suspended until the prosecution eliminates all allegations. The allegations are massive, they are concrete and they are quite credible, "that the Council can no longer be postponed to the agenda," said Kaltschmid, of the Ministry of Culture, Gernot Blümel (ÖVP). APA: "In consultation with the State of Tyrol, the Federal Chancellery has already asked the management to take immediately all necessary measures to ensure a fast and complete information." One of them stood "as before for full enlightenment and transparency".
Consequences demanded, however, the cultural chairman of the Tyrolean SPÖ, Benedikt Lentsch, and the national councilor Selma Yildirim. The allegations described as "shocking". "For the federal government and the state, Erl's mandate is clear: consequences must be drawn and subsidies must be removed," said the SPÖ
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office Innsbruck also intervened. We check for any initial suspicion, said spokesman Florian Oberhofer at the APA. The review was done ex officio, Oberhofer said. The musicians' letter and the reports on this subject were "rated".
Source link
