Interview with Dr. EVELIN HUST, director of the Goethe Institute in Bucharest.
Spending four years at the Goethe-Institute headquarters in Munich before coming to Romania and before that, other six years in India, the new director of the Goethe-Institut in Bucharest (since June), Evelin Hust said she chose to come in Romania for the country’s ‘very middle European flare.”
Germany marks 25 years since the unification. What does unity mean these days with so many challenges ahead Germany, ahead European Union in general? (see the refugees crisis, etc)
It’s a tough question. I think unity means that one has to create an understanding for sharing the main values, and for sharing the pleasant aspects as well as the difficult ones of that unity – actually quite similar to a married couple. We all know that creating unity is a process that takes time. Like, the political reunification of the two Germanys 25 years ago took quite some time to become a mental and social reality, even considering that we are a common people with a common language, yet with fundamentally different political experiences in the decades before. E.g., I am from West Germany, I was 19 when the wall came down, so I’ve been fully socialized in Western Germany. When I meet friends from Eastern Germany you realize that for our generation, nearly half of our life we lived with the wall. And the first two decades of ones lifetime are very formative ones, so the two Germanys have been an important determinant of our social development. But now we have a new generation who was born in the time without the wall. For them, Germany has always been unified so it is like a natural state, not to be questioned.
The European Union is still in the process of developing a shared understanding of major aspects, and even more so an understanding, that one has to share the good things of that Union as well as the burdens. However, I am hopeful, that there will be a generation not so far away, that will have grown up in a unified Europe and for whom it will be very natural as well that everyone has to contribute to the shared vision.
When it comes to the integration of the refugees into the European Union I do feel that the German reunification gives reason for hope. Obviously, many argue that it is not comparable at all, since we are the same people with the same language etc. Yet, without a strong political will and also economic resources dedicated to it, it would also not have naturally happened. In this respect, the integration of the refugees will need even more political will and economic resources – yet, I do not see an alternative to it, since we cannot wish the people seeking help and shelter in Europe away.
If you had to sum up some of the most important cultural events of the Institute, what would be the highlights and what was their feedback? And what upcoming events do you have in store?
We’ve just had “Clujotronic-Games edition” in Cluj in September 17-20. The project is developed under the artistic leadership of Thorsten Wiedemann, founder of A_MAZE Berlin independent game salon, comprising some workshops and sessions of computer games revealing hybrid forms of art and technology, their potential and other related issues. The interactive exhibition “Source Code” signed by Etienne Mineur is enabling a general perspective on the historical evolution of technology in the computer games field. The project represented a partnership within Elysee program between the French Institute, Goethe Institute Bucharest and the German Cultural Center in Cluj-Napoca.
We also had the ninth edition of “Cetate IX” workshop for interpreters running during September 21-24 in Portul Cultural Cetate. The translators coming from Romania, Republic of Moldova and other Eastern European countries focused this year on the new dramaturgy of German language, having writer Katja Brunner as guest.
In October we’ll have the Night of European Literature, where Goethe- Institut together with the Theatre Lab is presenting an amusing reading performance from “Sternenklar” novel by Ulrich Woelk. The event is scheduled on October 9, from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Astronomic Observer in Carol Park, Bucharest.
Afterwards, DE.KOLECTIV return to Bucharest on October 10, for the fourth edition of this special event dedicated to the German electronic music. DE.KOLECTIV is relocated this year at FORM, a new location opened in an art deco villa and will propose an eclectic experience ranging from experimental acts and reinterpretations of African beats to the Berliner dark techno.
What is also upcoming in October are the German Film Days already booked up for 16-22 October and we are proud that this is the 10th edition, so we have an anniversary. The event, developed in partnership with the Filmmakers Union in Romania, is presenting a selection of new important films, artistic movies and documentaries. “Victoria” directed by Sebastian Schipper will be screened in the opening. The highly awarded movie is following four young men through their nightly escapade in Berlin, which is ending badly.
Another major project will take place in November at the Radio Hall. The Richard Strauss’s famous work, ‘Der Rosenkavalier’, will be accompanied by Robert Wiene’s homonymous silent movie. The work will be performed by the Romanian Radio National Orchestra, conducted by Stefan Geiger. I would like to emphasize that this project represents a collaboration with Arcub (The Cultural Center of the City of Bucharest), the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation and the European FilmPhilharmonic Institute, Berlin.
We try to be present in various cultural fields and, on one hand we work with professionals, artists, and on the other hand, we work for the general public.
For next year we also have big plans for activities in the public space. I also want to introduce a stronger focus on German literature and also on how a certain part of Romanian literature is perceived in Germany, as there is a special interest now on that. For instance, Mircea Cartarescu won the Leipzig award for European Understanding, and also other Romanian writers are becoming more popular now.
Unfortunately we don’t have an own hall to host our cultural programs,. However, swe have five very well equipped classrooms with smartboards where we offer language courses every day from eight o’clock in the morning till nine thirty in the evening. We also opened the new library in December last year, which can be visited during the week and we have introduced the Saturday opening lately. You can check out books, but you can also leisurely sit and browse the books with a coffee in situ. In addition we also provide an online library, so everyone can get German literature online from home.
When it comes to events we usually use the facilities of partners, as we don’t have a big space in our institute. I don’t think it’s necessarily a disadvantage, because it means we also need partners, which keeps us secure that there is a considerable interest on the Romanian side, so it’s not just a “German” splendid isolation activity.
How many students (children and adults) have joined this year to attend the Institute’s classes to learn German?
There are 2,000 students distributed over four semesters, with the majority of them being adults, 90 percent. It’s a mix of students who want to study in Germany, for we don’t have high study fees in Germany, which is very attractive, and we also have many corporate employees. We have courses for companies, and we usually send teachers at their headquarters. There are not necessarily German companies, but various companies dealing a lot with Germany. Basically, it’s a very young audience. And we’ve recently started courses for children.
Are Romanians good consumers of German language and culture? (as it seems to rank second after English now in a country so called francophone, at least until 25 years ago, the main foreign languages learnt in Romanian schools were English, French and Russian) What do you think the German and Romanian cultures have in common at this point and what are the reasons that attract Romanians to learn German?
At the end of the day we are Europeans. I think it’s a mix of cultural, economic and social factors. Moreover, the image of Germany changed worldwide, as Berlin became a cool, arty kind of city, and that attracts people to come to Germany. Many people have realized the opportunities they have not only by migrating to Germany, but also the opportunities on the local labour market if one speaks German.
And yes, Romanians are interested in the German language and culture, especially the younger generation is interested to know more about Germany today.
There are other five German Cultural centers in Romania, based in the main cities. What are the results so far?
I have already visited the centres in Kronstadt/Brasov, Hermannstadt/Sibiu and Klausenburg/Cluj – and I still plan to travel to Temeswar and Iasi. In all cities we have a very good response, be it for the language courses or for the cultural programs. Like the programme I visited just recently in Cluj was very well attended. Yet, I feel the cities where the German cultural centers are based are quite different, and thus they have to cater to a slightly different audience. Hence, we encourage that every cultural center develops its own program addressing particularly to the local community, as well as participating in tours that would touch all the cities.
What kind of art and cultural field is representing Germany more at this point?
I think the strength of the German cultural scene is that it is strong in most artistic fields. We have for example an excellent theatre system; every city has its own repertoire theatre, and in addition we have a very innovative independent scene, with collectives like Rimini Protokoll or She She Pop. We also have an extremely energetic and varied music scene. Very popular is the electronic music scene, which we want to bring here as well, see e.g. the DE.KOLECTIV coming soon. Also film has gained more and more quality and innovation in the last years. For quite a while, the German film industry had nothing much to boast about, but now we really have a lot of top young directors making interesting movies. Please come and check them out at the 10th Film Festival in October! Dance is also still very strong in Germany with choreographers like Sasha Waltz, and literature has consistently been strong as well. Hence, it is quite tough to give credit to all of this in our work here in Bucharest – but we try our best!
The Germany embassy, Goethe Institute and most of the embassies and cultural institutes in Romania and in the world have a very prolific activity on social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Linked in, etc) Do you consider it’s a new era for the art and culture? The e-art, the e-culture or there is still room for the traditional delivering ways?
I strongly believe they have to go hand in hand. We have the illusion that everything can just happen in cyberspace, and I strongly believe tthat culture must also go through people-to-people meetings. At the end of the day, a live performance or a personal meeting has a much stronger impact. Yet, within social media and websites, you can reach much wider audiences and it is a perfect tool for communication and exchange, as well as for interesting experiments. Hence, our philosophy is actually to integrate the „online“ with the „offline“, and try to design it in a way that they reinforce each other.
For example, for next year, when I said we want to focus more on German literature, we are discussing to publish more articles online, start a blog for more information and debates, but also to invite more writers to address the audience directly.
How do you find Romania, Bucharest, as you said it’s the first time you came here? Have you managed to travel outside Bucharest? Is there anything that you dislike?
What I find fascinating about Bucharest is that it sits somehow between the East and the West and has integrated both of them quite nicely. I personally like this eclectic style. I have been here during summer. I had some problems with the traffic, as I go by bike and I’d be very happy the city would manage better the cycling lanes. However, for a Capital, a metropolis, the city is quite green. I liked the parks, I used to walk a lot in Herastrau, Tineretului and Carol parks. Despite the probably less appealing “block of flats” the city is very urban and I like it.
When it comes to disliking something, I am here too shortly to have developed a dislike; I guess it takes a while to accommodate and to see the pros and cons.
I lived in India before, so comparing things, from this point of view the traffic here is quiet (laughing).
Even I did not have a big problem with the heat when a lot of people were complaining.
I also travelled a little bit throughout the country. Before coming here I’ve been to Iasi to take Romanian lessons for two weeks. I’ve already been in Moldavia, to the monasteries, and also to Maramures.
I was astonished, since it’s a very middle-European landscape, I really enjoyed travelling from Sibiu to Brasov, with Fagaras on the side and the surrounding meadows.
Romania is not spectacular as if you’d see something striking as Niagara fall for instance, but it’s very pleasant landscape, not different from the German one. And last but not least – I have met so many nice people, I feel already quite at home.