Moldovan Culture Ministry launches contest on financing theatre productions

Chisinau, 10 June /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova’s Culture Ministry today launched a contest on financing theatre productions for the first time ever.  

At a news conference, Culture Minister Sergiu Prodan said that he was quite happy to inform about a new line of financing of theatre, circus productions and music shows, a new line of plays in Moldova.   

”What we faced from the very beginning, since the moment when I took over this mandate, there was the lack of financing of theatre projects, of stagings. In the lack of investments, with every talent, with every goodwill, with every wish and enthusiasm of our artists, stage managers and actors, the final product, to a great extent, will be hit. What we have achieved is really a first ever event in these extremely difficult conditions, when our country and not only our country, but the entire world, the countries around us go through an extraordinary, incredible crisis, we now come up with a clear-cut offer, with a new line of financing of projects of plays, not diminishing the subsidies which are fixed in the state budget,’’ Sergiu Prodan stressed.          

According to the official, the initiative’s budget is 15 million lei (750,000 euros) in the first year, - money due to be provided based on a contest of projects. The project’s goal is to promote the intangible cultural heritage and the traditional forms, as well as the art ones with new, innovating, experimental cultural expressions.    

”The philosophy is one of promotion and encouraging, motivating the artistic excellence. It is about an investment in the repertoire; we do not talk about a single concert. We talk about a product which remains in the theatre’s repertoire and is further used in the favour of the theatre, in the favour of the audience. These winning projects will be obliged to prove sustainability. This is a non-refundable financing, but it will be conditioned. It is about the artistic value, of plays which are to bring image to the institution, the country’s culture, attractiveness in the world. This is a pilot project. We will start a paradigm of plays from Moldova. In the long run, we would like to get a new financing system in the culture sector from Moldova. Following the results, the theatres will receive a certain number of points and at the next session of contest for projects of plays, this number of points will be taken into account. Those who will succeed will have more; those who will lag behind, will lag behind. What is the limit of a draft budget which can be requested? There is no limit. There is only obligation to produce surplus value. The art is an elite, expensive product and it must be sold,’’ the culture minister also said.        

The projects will be assessed by a commission, which will give points of reliability. Each institution can submit no more than two projects till next autumn.

Sixteen theatre and concert institutions work in Moldova.