Support for Art
The Ministry provides institutional support for professional art and book culture by performing state administration of the arts in accordance with applicable legislation and international treaties and by participating in the creation of conditions for the development and the presentation of culture in all areas of professional art and book culture.
a) The Ministry currently has under its establishing competence a total of 12 contributory and budgetary organisations that operate in the area of professional art and book culture (theatres, music ensembles and information and documentation centres usually on the national level): BIBIANA – international house of art for children, the Slovak National Theatre, the Nová scéna Theatre, the Košice State Theatre, the State Opera in Banská Bystrica, the Slovak Philharmonic, the Slovak State Philharmonic, Košice, Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina, the Theatre Institute, the Literary Information Centre, Music Centre Slovakia, the Slovak Design Centre. Each of these institutions has its own specific professional mission and also provides cultural services to a wide range of stakeholders without regard for age, social status, political affiliation or religious belief, not excluding disadvantaged sections of the population (older people, children and young people, people with disabilities).
The grant system was established by internal management acts approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic (Ordinance of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic No MK-3026/2008-10/11619 of 26 August 2008 on the provision of grants in the Ministry’s area of competence); since 2011 the Ministry’s provision of grants has been regulated by Act No 434/2010 on the provision of grants in the Ministry’s area of competence, which regulates the purpose, scope, method and conditions for the provision of such grants. The act was amended by Act No 79/2013 and Act No 284/2014. Other changes were implemented through Ordinance of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic No MK-2580/2013-11
A measurable indicator of the effect of the measure can be seen in the numbers for the support provided to professional art. In 2012 the Art scheme supported 898 projects total grants of EUR 4,973,650; in 2013 it supported 947 projects with total grants of EUR 5,156,150; in 2014 it supported 1,077 with total grants of EUR 5,325,992; and in 2015 it supported 1,079 projects with total grants of EUR 5,475,400.
f) An important development was the preparation and approval of the Cultural Development Strategy of the Slovak Republic 2014–2020. The government of the Slovak Republic included this task in its manifesto for the years 2012–2016. The adoption of the material highlights the need to implement policies that recognize the social significance of culture and also provide it with stronger support. Even as the economy grows, the share of spending on culture has long been in decline. Slovakia is far below the average for EU Member States. On the other hand, financial support for culture must be in line with the state’s real economic opportunities and it must be able to satisfy the realistic objectives, priorities and expectations of the cultural community. In 2013, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic established a working party of experts to analyse the current strategies and policies in the field of culture and to select the main topics for the strategy. It elaborated a strategic vision, defined seven areas of strategy and proposed priorities. A website was set up where artists, professionals and the general public could follow the preparation of the draft texts of the strategy and comment on them. Five working meetings were held around Slovakia and a working conference was held in Bratislava in December 2013 where members of the working party of experts made public presentations on the strategic visions and areas and the proposed measures for fulfilling them and discussed them with the artistic community. The material was discussed in detail by the strategy committee of the Government Council for Culture and subsequent
Continuous care for the development of all the areas of professional art at the qualitative and quantitative levels was the challenge in introducing the measure.
The 20 to 90 years of existence of the institutions mentioned above continuously operating in the area of professional art and library culture is the measuring stick of the effectiveness of their operations.
The system of subsidies of the Ministry is one of the key means for promoting contemporary art for non-government and non-state organizations operating in various areas of professional art.
In its Art Subsidy Programme in terms of the production and dissemination of works of art and their reflections and educational programme in culture, the Ministry supports projects in the sphere of professional art aimed at the public presentation or publication of art reflections, the publishing of periodical and non-periodical publications, theatre and musical productions and presentations, the implementation and public presentation of works of visual art, the release of audio and visual recordings, the implementation of cultural events, festivals, competitions and similar activities of national significance and the payment of membership fees in international organizations for applicants conducting their activities in the area of culture, as well as for the internal development of individual areas of culture and education through culture and art. The Ministry provides subsidies for these purposes within the following sub-programmes: Theatre and dance (professional cultural activities), Music (professional cultural activities), Fine art, applied art, photography, design, architecture (professional cultural activities), Inter-sector professional cultural activities (events that are the summary of activities of several types of art) and Literature and book culture.
The subsidy system was introduced through the modification of internal managing acts approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic (Decree No. MK-3026/2008-10/11619 of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic
A measurable indicator of the effect of the measure can be seen in the numbers for the support provided to professional art. In 2012 the Art scheme supported 898 projects total grants of EUR 4,973,650; in 2013 it supported 947 projects with total grants of EUR 5,156,150; in 2014 it supported 1,077 with total grants of EUR 5,325,992; and in 2015 it supported 1,079 projects with total grants of EUR 5,475,400.