General Director
Education:
- Electronics Department, Warsaw University of Technology – during that time he was awarded scholarships by The British Council, Goethe Institute and the U.S. Department of State;
- Executive Programme for Leaders in Development at Harvard University.
Achievements:
1. 1973-1978 – co-founder and Manager of the Riviera-Remont Club Center which gained popularity due to its novel culture projects and became soon the most important place for the young intelligentsia of the 70s in Warsaw. Its guests included Michelangelo Antonioni, Julio Cortázar, Nikita Mikhalkov, Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kieślowski and other outstanding artists.
2. 1982-1990 – Director of the Studio Art Centre in Warsaw which promoted leading artists of Polish theatre, music and art. Initiator of Studio's exhibition tradition. Producer of over 70 performances at the Studio Theatre, including a famous staging of Tamara, which was the first theatre performance in Warsaw financed from private funding. During that period, the Studio Theatre went on numerous tours and participated in the many important theatre festivals across the world. Creator - in co-operation with Yehudi Menuhin, the first principal guest conductor - of the well-known orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia.
3. 1990-1994 – Deputy Minister of Culture and the President of the Board of the Cinematography Committee in the first democratic Polish government. Organizer of the most spectacular reform of Polish cinematography.
4. 1996-2005 – Initiator and the Artistic Director of the Festival of Stars in Międzyzdroje – the renowned artistic annual summer event in Poland dedicated to films, drama, music and visual arts.
5. 1994-1998 – President of the Polish Agency for Foreign Investment (PAIZ), which was granted under his direction the European Investment Promotion Agency of the Year award by Coopers and Lybrand and Corporate Location Magazine at the 1997 Annual Convention of Investment Promotion Agencies held in Chicago.
6. 1995-present – President of the Zachęta Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts.
7. 1992-present – Honorary President of the Polish Golf Association, the first one , who restarted golf as the sport in Poland after the Second World War.
8. 1998-2002 – General Director of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera.
9. 2002-2005 – Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland.
- He was the initiator of the strategy for the development of Polish culture until 2020. His contribution to the new law on cinematography resulted in the establishment of the Polish Film Institute;
- In 2003 he established the Theatre Institute in Warsaw, the Audiovisual Institute in Warsaw and the Book Institute in Cracow with a mission to popularize the best Polish books and their writers, present Polish literature in other countries and organize study visits for translators;
- His efforts also led to the merger of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and the Fryderyk Chopin Society;
- 2004 – initiator of the CHOPIN 2010 Programme;
- He also initiated works which led to the inclusion of culture as a separate field of intervention in the European Regional Development Fund. In effect, the National Development Plan for 2007-2013 includes the culture sector in the operational programmes, both central and regional, in Poland and in other European countries. Thanks to this, the possibilities of financing culture projects within structural funds have expanded significantly and allowed to establish over 200 new investments in the cultural field.
10. January 2008 – he was nominated the Chairman of the Chopin Celebrations 2010 Committee by he Polish Goverment.
11. October 2008 – he was re-appointed General Director of the Polish National Opera for the second time.
Distinctions, Orders and Decorations:
They include amongst others:
- L’ordre de la Légion d’honneur and Commandeur des Arts et Lettres awarded by the French Government;
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire granted by Queen Elizabeth II;
- Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband given by the Federal Republic of Germany;
- The title Worthy Contributor to Warsaw awarded by the Warsaw City Council.
Other Achievements:
Director of the annual Amber Baltic International Music Festival;
Producer and co-producer of several films;
Producer of the Open Theatre Festivals;
Honorary citizen of the cities - Opole, Radzymin, Międzyzdroje and Pacanów.
Secretery's Office:
Monika Grzegdala
Tel. (22) 692 05 00
e-mail: dyrnacz@teatrwielki.pl
Photo: Juliusz Multarzyński
