Courageous cultural leadership: Paul Gessl in an interview about challenges and visions

Courageous cultural leadership: Paul Gessl in an interview about challenges and visions

In the cultural world of Lower Austria, there is a strong man: Paul Gessl, managing director of the Lower Austria cultural economy, is known for making clear and courageous decisions. "We need a completely different courage!" He states frankly and draws a connection to his own career, which is characterized by a transverse entry into culture. Gesl, who found his way into the new industry in 1999, embodies a philosophy that is important for the cultural landscape. "Increasing fixed costs are crushed," warns GesL, while the Nöku, for its 25th anniversary, draws attention to itself with over 1.1 million visitors in 2023, but still faces major challenges with a total budget of 136 million euros in 2025, such as vienna.at reported.

The NÖKU is not only a umbrella organization for cultural workers, but also a symptom of the grown self -confidence in Lower Austria. Gesl, which has become a cultural manager from the engineer, emphasizes that the meaning of the Lower Austria is to organize central areas such as controlling and digital transformation. This structuring is essential to secure diversity and artistic freedom in the long term. The planned initiatives, such as the Tangentente Festival in St. Pölten, underline its ambitions, even if he critically deals with the success of past projects: "If we had acted with Schiele or Kokoschka in good time, we would have saved ourselves a lot of reputation and money." Gessl described the importance of a proactive attitude in the art scene, which also affects the current discussions about the financing and responsibility of cultural institutions in the region, such as The press Article addressed.

Gessl's time as a cultural manager will soon end, and at the age of 65 he plans his retreat. Before that, however, he would like to make significant decisions for the future of the NÖKU. "A strong culture needs a fundamental change in corporate cultures," he emphasizes and demands more courage to innovate and cooperate. His insights are important not only for the Lower Austrian, but for the entire cultural landscape, especially in times of economic uncertainties in which many artists and institutions fight for their existence. The coming months and the upcoming events, such as the symposium "How much utopia does art need?" on March 26, these challenges will focus on and could pave the way for transformative changes.