Interview by Nataša Benčič with Agata Tomšič, “Obala Plus”, September 2026

“I feel completely at home nowhere.” Agata Tomšič – native of Isola, new artistic director of Mittelfest in Cividale, “Obala Plus”, September 2026

HOME IS WHERE YOU CAN PAUSE FOR A MOMENT

“I don’t have a home. Or rather: nowhere do I feel I truly have roots,” she replies when asked where she feels at home. Her permanent residence is currently in the historic center [of Ravenna], where her books are and where she can retreat and rest. Yet even Ravenna is primarily a practical anchor. Since leaving Isola at nineteen, her life has been in constant motion. She has no partner, children, or other ties keeping her in one place. This means great freedom, but sometimes also a loneliness that is unusual for someone almost constantly surrounded by people: “In those rare moments when I am alone with myself and have time to think,” she says, she feels that solitude. But she doesn’t reject it; she gets used to it, she learns from it. Perhaps that is why Cividale is more than just a new job for her. She has known it for over a decade. Before heading to Isola in the summer, she likes to stop for a few days at Mittelfest: “For the scents, the languages, the flavors, and the people who belong to the same borderland space as I do. This year, before taking on the role, I spent two weeks there, got to know the technical and organizational team, visited the venues, and talked with the audience. I am happy to bring about this change in a place and on a border where I have always felt at home.”

[…] Now she will channel her energy into the festival, which she aims to develop together with the region she is entering. There will be extensive collaboration with local residents, artists, and entrepreneurs, as well as the active involvement of the public in the artistic and organizational processes. Her programming formula is simple yet demanding: “avant-garde theater for everyone.” She will not enclose Mittelfest within the art world; she seeks a meeting point between demanding artistic expressions and the public, a bridge between tradition and innovation, the popular and the experimental. In this regard, the festival’s multidisciplinary nature is close to her heart.