Hello, Anton.
This is my basic impression from you in 15 years. The exercise seems to me rather useful and I try to make it in whole honesty. As this is not pure impressionism, it follows your usual areas of self-critique.
PRO. Anton is since 10 years the CEO of Belgium festival, leading Belgian festival and one of the main European events in the performative art with yearly budget of 40 ml, 10 major projects each year and ultimate career buster for emerging artists. Particular about the program is big presence of design, fashion and environmental projects, attractive as tourist highlights and not only as cultural events. It is inspired in big deal from MIF but more snobbish, more intellectual, more imperial even. Anton earns 15k monthly, yearly bonus and full health coverage. Very tightly networked in professional milieu and in Belgium establishment.
He is head of partners' council of Will Hunting, mostly busy with strategic planning and personnel issues, he practices less and less. He holds the artistic director's at Mariinsky theatre with yearly coverage of 100 k + representative package and apartment in StPetersburg.
The trajectory. He started the Belgian festival and worked until 2030 its program and development director. After 2030 he was appointed the CEO as a logical step. He's been always part of directorate of the festival and main link b/w the board and the team. In this regard the festival has been always considered a 'his' festival, in programming and in structure. They made a perfect match wit Peter and when Peter left for further projects Anton continued. Festival very fast brought back Belgium to the level of one of European capitals, and together with Amsterdam and Antwerp + Swiss + cities like Strasburg became an alternative cultural pole to Vienna/Munich/Berlin. The festival's vibe of joining communities was politicised by European authorities as symbol of decentralisation of culture and cultural relevance. Anton's concern in these circumstances has been to engage high quality art (what he mostly succeeded) and cleverly communicate this - this communication with help of BASE was extremely effective, so that the festival became as important as Ruhr, more important than Holland festival.
Anton's appointment was generous as there was no doubts about his efficiency but also he was constantly sought after. He could have mostly asked whatever he wanted. Moreover, preparation of 2030 events in Belgium for which the Festival became one of the main providers made him very well connected to the political and business milieu and required much of his mediating capacities. They say he has personal relations with one of the top fortunes in Belgium.
Anton has received an invitation to head Mariinsky after Gergiev, it is said to come via his connections with Timchenko family. He accepted artistic directorship with Platonova as administrative director. He said that he would work to make out of Mariinsky a city theatre artistically and economically. His contract with the Ministry of Culture is published and discussed. Although it is a challenging assignment he manages to justify his tenure, both artistically and publicly. The artists value his involvement and trust him. He is rather present in the theatre although shares his life between St-Pet and Brussels.
PERSO. Anton lives in a house in Bruxelles and has a house in Marseille. He has 2 children (one is his own and one is adopted). He is with his partner since about 10 years. It may well be that the partner assumes the expenses of Anton's life although their relationships are not discussed and they do not live together, they assume that is because of the partner's position, they prefer to keep it secret.
This aspect of Anton is not very much open. He is rather relaxed as of his personal life, children are often present on the events but very little publicised. Their interactions are quite relaxed.
DISSER. Anton has defended his thesis although is not integrated in the academic milieux, takes it easy. He mostly collaborate in various researches relating to his field. He issues couple of articles each year and has published 2 books. As he envisage to end with art management, he transition softly to the writing and concentrate more and more on his theoretical interests. He tried recent years to develop relations with organisers and publishers to publish his works or eventually make multi-genre projects.
S-REALISATION. Anton claims to be confident energy-reader. He says he knows what it means. From outside it seems that he is always at ease with the surrounding and softly direct the development of the situation and interaction without forcing it. This seems to have real effect in his social life as he seems to be able to convince people without frustrating them and this makes people happy. He also has an unusual physical presence despite or because of his slim shape. He seems to be absolutely relaxed.
ART. No real break-throughs but he always has commissions in his field of recollection of future. He has had a couple of individual projects.
SOC. RESPONSIBILITY. His professional visibility assures him participation in various form of think tanks relating to cultural sector. He seems to be extremely devoted and advocating for denazification of Russian culture and may be quite explicit in this, no compromise with putin's regime protagonists. At the same time he plays the role of mediator for changes in the most extreme cases, he does not hide away of speaking with bad people.
How I might develop this picture in the trajectory. Easiest is his personal self-realisation which is definitely a consequence of his daily concentration practice. His physical condition is extreme and it comes from curiosity in various program of personal development. He says he practices all the time and no doubts he does, as in any condition he gives the impression of fully handle all the elements of what is going on, nothing surprises him and takes him out of himself.
