Renata Nowakowska remains head of the PCKiN "Zamek"

After more than 20 years as director of the PCKiN "Zamek," R. Nowakowska was about to retire. She submitted her resignation, which was accepted by the city authorities.

On April 15th of this year, an order from Mayor Wojciech Bakun appeared on the city website, dismissing R. Nowakowska from her position as head of the PCKiN "Zamek" (Castle) as of July 25th of this year. R. Nowakowska made the decision to retire some time ago, resigning from her position. Since she was appointed to this position, she was also dismissed.

The city authorities announced a competition for the position. Initially, nine candidates applied. A total of six candidates advanced to the next phase, auditions before a three-person commission composed of city officials (City Secretary Daniel Stecura was the chairman, with Treasurer Monika Czuryk and Deputy Mayor Bartłomiej Barszczak as members). Among them were Maciej Wolański, Head of the Promotion and Culture Department at the Przemyśl City Hall; Krystyna Raba-Opacka, Przemyśl County Councilor; and Bogusław Bojczuk, Vice President of the "Two Riversides" Association and President of the Management Board of the "Alma-Art" Academic Office of Culture and Art. The director of the "All the Directions of the World" Puławy Music Festival.

On July 14th of this year, information about the competition results, initialed by D. Stecura, appeared on the city website. "(…) After conducting an interview with the candidates, which included: checking their knowledge of legal regulations, assessing the application process, the substantive value and quality of the prepared operational concept for the Przemyśl Cultural and Science Centre ZAMEK, as well as the presentation of the concept, and assessing the candidates on evaluation sheets, the committee did not select a candidate for the position of Director of the Przemyśl Cultural and Science Centre ZAMEK in Przemyśl. Therefore, the competition was not resolved (...)" – one can read, among other things.

It seemed that none of the candidates met the requirements. Until…

Until the city mayor W. Bakun posted – as is his custom – a post on his Facebook profile. Here's the full text: "As many of you know, the castle's long-time director, Renata Nowakowska, struggled with health problems some time ago. They were so serious that I left the decision on whether she could continue to run the institution to the director's sole discretion. After all, health is paramount. However, in our discussions, I assured her that if her health improved enough for her to continue running the PCKiN Zamek for some time, I would be immensely grateful. Frankly, I can't imagine the Castle without Director Renia! After many conversations, medical consultations, and mutual persuasions... the director expressed her willingness to continue running the Castle, emphasizing that the decision rested with the president and that if someone replaced her, they would, of course, understand... Truth be told, I'm most pleased that Renia is recovering, but I'm also happy that our queen will remain with us for some time. I believe I am expressing the opinion of the majority of those who associate PCKiN Zamek with Director Nowakowska!"

This rather dispels the earlier doubts. It was probably not about the candidates' failure to meet the requirements, but about R. Nowakowska's change of heart and recovery. Another post by Bakun, written about the upcoming Vincentiad, also suggested that "something" might be afoot. At that time, the mayor presented the team preparing the city's patron saint's celebration. R. Nowakowska was among them.