Hejt wobec twórców i instytucji kultury: nowe oblicza przemocy w epoce cyfrowej – rozważania wstępne

The article offers a preliminary attempt to formulate a thesis that hate directed at artists and cultural institutions in Poland may be understood as one of the significant contemporary forms of symbolic and structural violence, whose mechanisms are further reinforced by the digital environment. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that incorporates Pierre Bourdieu’s and Loïc Wacquant’s concept of symbolic violence, Johan Galtung’s notion of structural violence, and Piotr Markiewicz’s concept of organizational violence, the paper provides an outline analysis of instances of systemic verbal and media aggression targeting the cultural sector. This initial study relies on discourse analysis, a review of the relevant literature, and an examination of selected cases: the production “The Curse” at the Powszechny Theatre, the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the public debate surrounding the draft act on social security for artists. The preliminary findings indicate that digital violence directed at the cultural field not only threatens artistic freedom and the psychological well-being of artists but may also influence the programmatic and organizational decisions of cultural institutions. The article highlights the insufficiency of effective protective mechanisms and signals the need for further research, as well as for incorporating the issue of symbolic violence into public policies and cultural development strategies.