The Prague Post Online: News: New committee seeks to fund artists

http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2

July 25th, 2008

Endowment Fund Book of Lists ONLINE Reservations Classifieds Subscriptions

Real Estate Prague Prague Rentals Prague Apartments Prague Art & Antiques

New committee seeks to fund artists

Some theaters stay afloat through private donations while awaiting city grants

January 16th, 2008 issue

By Kim Hiss

STAFF WRITER

Photo by TomÁŠ VodŇanskÝ

Archa Theater (shown, a recent production of Ultima Vez) has handled its money shortage in part by applying for a city loan. enlarge

For many arts organizations, the first part of the year can typically be a slow period. But considering recent changes to the city’s cultural funding system, the early months of 2008 are particularly rough, as cash-strapped theaters wait for much-needed grants to be approved.

“Activities are limited and reduced,” says Yvona Kreuzmannová, founder and former director of Tanec Praha and now an independent expert and adviser to the culture minister. “Some groups are trying to continue, borrow money and hope to survive.”

Prague’s arts funding system has historically been criticized for issues such as nontransparency. Despite a 2006 revision, the program still drew complaints, largely from private theater owners. Such concerns came to a head last August, when the co-owner of a commercial theater sued City Hall for disruption of economic competition. City Hall responded by suspending all grants until the situation could be handled.

What emerged was a revised funding system, and a new committee to administer it.

The system itself was announced last November, and split the allocation of grant money into four groups: 25 percent would be distributed according to ticket sales, 25 percent would go to “artistic activities,” 20 percent would go to students and young artists, and 30 percent would go to long-term grants.

With this new system in place, the grant application process was reopened, and members of the upcoming committee were nominated.

Meanwhile, theaters who had grants expiring at the end of 2007 wondered where next year’s funding would come from.

Cash flow

The new 12-member Committee of the Prague Council for Culture was appointed in mid-December by the Prague City Hall Council. The group of arts experts was given a 2008 budget of approximately 200 million Kč ($11.3 million), and has received 700 applications, according to committee chairman Ondřej Pecha.

“Our goal,” he says, “is to propose the distribution of the financial funds to the cultural institutions based on the proposed and approved principles and criteria.”

The committee is also charged with suggesting improvements to the overall system.

“The committee itself proposes … corrections or system changes in the whole process,” Pecha says. “We can do so based on our own experience from evaluating the actual applications sent to us.”

According to Kreuzmannová, who also sits on the committee, such corrections are certainly called for.

“The system doesn’t work and needs change,” she says, adding that issues like limited funds and a lack of clarity in the system’s allocation of money top the list of problems. Specifically, the committee is concerned about the way in which funds are to be split between the four groups of recipients.

“[The system] needs to be based on more deep analysis and statistics,” Kreuzmannová says, adding that, regarding long-term grant funding, for example, “Somebody did not count before proposing how to split the whole amount of money.”

Kreuzmannová says the committee would like to put some reform suggestions to the general assembly but is reluctant to lose time in doing so.

Despite these concerns, she has a positive impression of the committee itself.

“There are some really good experts from different fields of the arts,” she says. “That’s good progress.”

The committee has so far met four times, and plans to have public hearings Jan. 16 and 17, followed by two days of discussion at the end of the month.

“We work hard and intensively,” Kreuzmannová says of her colleagues. “Everybody reads more than 100 applications in detail, and can do more depending on his time and interest.”

Behind the scenes

Because grant applications from arts organizations are currently under review, many theaters are unable to comment on the committee.

But directors such as Ondřej Hrab of Archa Theater feel it’s important to talk about the situation in general.

“The arts community should continue to fight for a suitable cultural policy,” he says. “This discussion, however, should not only concern artists and politicians, but should also involve sociologists, urban planners, demographics experts, political scientists and other professionals dealing with quality of living in the city.”

Archa handled its money shortage, in part, by applying to the city for a loan, which they are still hoping will be approved. The theater, which has dedicated a section of its Web site to the funding situation, is fortunate to have devoted patrons, who are able to help with operating expenses.

“We have received a loan from two private individuals to cover January’s salaries,” Hrab says. “These people are helping us from their own private family savings, and this is an unbelievably generous gesture.” However, he adds, “this is not something we can expect to happen again next month and it, of course, only goes a small way toward covering what we need to survive.”

Semafor Theater has resorted to a similar fall-back plan, depending on the private funds of co-founder and owner Jiří Suchý to pull through.

“Still, Mr. Suchý keeps financing us,” says theater manager Vladimír Hrabánek. “And we are waiting for the grant.”

The committee hopes to finish the review process by the end of February, but there are few guarantees.

“Considering that we have to go through the historically highest number of applications,” Pecha says, “it can easily happen that the final approval will be given at the March meeting of the City Assembly.”

— Naďa Černá and Hela Balínová contributed to this report.

Kim Hiss can be reached at khiss@praguepost.com

Be the first to add a comment!

Most e-mailed articles
Price to play U.S. passport theft increases Supply lines

Related articles
Rebooting the Hulk

Most visited in Book of Lists

The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.