What is the purpose of cultural data
Economic and operation impacts on the cultural sector associated with the Covid-19 pandemic are enormous. The situation must be described and evaluated in detail so that the individual participants can make qualified decisions. The purpose of mapping the impact of the coronavirus on the cultural sector, which was prepared by the Department of Arts Management at DAMU and the Department of Arts Management at the University of Economics, is discussed in the first episode of the ATI podcast Suflér/The Prompter called What Is the Prompter of Cultural Data. The survey outputs are being updated at www.idu.cz/covid.
The new podcast The Prompter continues in the topics of the special newsletter. Jana Návratová, Veronika Černohous, and their guests contemplate the needs, visions, and strategies in culture and arts. The podcast is available on Spotify, you can also play the episodes here. Sound design was done by Versus Studio.
Special calls
The government has approved the second call in the COVID – Culture call
The second call COVID – Culture will distribute 750 million until the end of this year. The applications can be submitted through the information system at www.mpo.cz/kultura.
The new feature is that the subsidy can be also allocated to the professionals in arts and arts technology (the self-employed) and they will be able to receive a lump payment of 60 thousand CZK. Companies can be reimbursed up to 10 million CZK.
The program will provide the subsidy to recover the costs that were linked to the canceled or postponed events and continuous activities in culture. It concerns entities, such as theatres, music clubs, technical professionals, as well as non-governmental organizations that do professional business in culture. These are costs for postponed and canceled cultural events and continuous activities in a culture that was, due to the government’s extraordinary measures related to the coronavirus, substantially limited and has remained one of the most influenced areas. The entrepreneurs can claim to recover the costs in the period from 1 October 2019 to 20 November 2020. The subsidy may cover up to 50 % of allowable costs for postponed or canceled cultural events and up to 80 % of allowable costs for continuous activities in culture, i.e. regular overhead costs of the entrepreneurs. The aid concerns entities that organize or provide live art production with the primary aim to provide cultural services to the public, including the one-time subsidy for the performers and technology professionals.
The audiovisual industry is categorized in the special call of the Ministry of Culture. The Minister of Culture is going to submit the proposal to the government on Monday, 19 October 2020. The audiovisual industry may receive nearly 100 million CZK and the money will be distributed by the Czech Film Fund.
Source: Ministry of Culture, Czech Republic
Information about updated measures
Briefly: Current conditions for organizing events
The Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic on the emergency measures effective from 14 October 00:00 to 3 November 23:59 (the scheduled end of the state of emergency).
- rehearsals are possible if it is the performance of work for the identical employer, or if these are persons jointly performing business or any other similar activity
- the collective singing of more than 5 persons on the indoor premises of buildings is restricted, even if this involves the performance of work or business activities
- the obligatory 2meter social distance is not obligatory at work
- mass events can take place up to 6 persons (indoors and outdoors), but it is forbidden to organize concerts and other music, theatre, film, and other art performances, including circuses and variety shows
- it is possible to stream a concert or performance (without the audience) when maintaining the conditions above
- the exception in wearing the protective respiratory equipment when performing the artistic projects is still valid
All adopted measures in full can be found on the website of the Ministry of Health, Czech Republic.
Activities in professional associations
Technician and production manager in culture – endangered species?
The education project Art Gate took patronage over the panel discussion Technician and Production Manager in Culture – Endangered Species? that took place in the Archa Theatre on 5 October 2020. The venue hosted technical workers (sound and light designers, and others), production, and cultural managers from the non-governmental and business sector to discuss the emergency and uncertain prospects. It is the sector of economics, in which, due to the governmental measures against the spread of Covid-19, work stopped in March and, except for September, it has been not possible to continue working and doing business since. The meeting was inspired by the similar Art Gate event that took place this June.
Guests of the discussions were Dagmar Kantorková, manager, Art Gate; Jan Duben, sound designer, Duben Sound Company; Vladimír Foret, music dramaturg, Jazz Tibet Club Olomouc; Jana Heřmánková, director, T Servis; David Suslik, director, Shameless, and Klára Mišunová, production and cultural manager in the non-governmental sector. The host was Mario Kubaš.
The outcomes of the discussions are available here. The video recording is available here.
Czech Music Community has officially commenced its activities
Early October 2020 saw the launch of the Czech Music Community (CMC). The founding members were FESTAS, Union of Authors and Performers (UAP), Association of Independent Music (AIM), Music Managers Forum CZ (MMF), Association of Dramaturgs in Audiovision (ADA). The affiliated member is T Servis. Representatives of the following organizations were present as well:
INTERGRAM, BACH (Brno Club Association), SoundCzech, Platform of Czech Independent Publishers of Sound Recordings. The establishment of the CMC was also endorsed by OSA.
Czech Music Community continues in the 6-month intensive work, which, since the onset of the pandemic and the associated measures, has protected the interest of the music sector across genres – from authors and performers, managers, professional technicians, clubs, and music stages to big festivals. The focus of CMC is to continue negotiating with the ministries about financial compensations, clear hygienic rules for organizing cultural events, and prospects for next year. It is also coordinated with the activities of We Make Events, ITI Association, and other entities. You can follow the CMC activities on the Facebook profile Za živou hudbu.
Conference about cooperation in culture: Culture Get-Together
In mid-September, the New Network prepared a streamed conference, where the representatives of independent performing arts (umbrella organizations for theatres, dance, and contemporary circus) met the representatives of towns, regions, and state administration to discuss the current state. The ATI was the partner to the event and was represented, among others, by director Pavla Petrová.
The recordings of both conference days and other information are available here.
The letter of the Czech ITI Centre to the Deputy Prime Minister as of the recommendation of the European Parliament regarding the support of the recovery of culture
On 17 September, the European Parliament approached the Commission and the Member States to raise at least 2 % for cultural and creative industries according to their specific needs to support recovery and resilience from the Next Generation EU plan. This recommendation is justified by the importance of cultural and creative industries for EU’s GDP and more than the double share of the self-employed in culture in EU-27 in 2019, compared with the economy as the whole. Cultural and creative industries represent 7.8 million jobs and 4 % of GDP in the EU, which is a similar volume like in information and communication technologies, or accommodation and gastronomic services.
Czech ITI Centre as the umbrella platform for Czech performing arts has approached the Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček, regarding this recommendation in the National Recovery Plan that the Ministry of Industry and Trade submits to the government. It concerns the amount and way of using money from the fund for the recovery of the cultural sector affected by the pandemic measures. More information and the complete text of the letter are available on the website of the Czech ITI Centre.
The letter has been signed by the Czech Association of Symphonic Orchestras and Choirs, Czech Association of Festivals, Czech Music Council, Czech Music Community, FESTAS – Festival Association, z.s., Association of Authors and Performers, Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers.
The Members of the ITI Advisory Board are Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts, Association of Professional Theatres, Association of Independent Theatres, Theatre Faculty of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts, Czech Association of Dance Artists, Vision of Dance, Cirqueon, Musical Theatre Society, ASSITEJ, SIBMAS, Association of Theatre Critics, ČOSDAT, UNIMA and individual members Marta Smolíková, Yvona Kreuzmannová, and Adriana Světlíková.
The call for Bands
Promo: Video call and the winners
In early October, SoundCzech in association with the Akropolis Palace finished the call Promo: Video that offers the production and financial support of the professional concert recording. The Dramaturgy Board selected 10 bands (the list is here). Recordings must be done by 19 December, yet, regarding the current state of affairs, they will be live sessions without audiences.
Culture online
Josef Svoboda - 100 let
The year 2020 is the anniversary of scenographer Josef Svoboda (1920-2002). The 100th anniversary of this outstanding figure is the opportunity to organize many activities remembering his legacy.
The ATI prepared the on-line exhibition in spring, which is now available until 2020. Czech Radio Vltava made a five-episode series, in which Josef Svoboda’s associates and relatives share their memories. A new book, Architecture of the Imaginary, has been launched; there are the printed lectures Josef Svoboda had in Milan in 1968. You can buy the book in our Prospero bookshop. The list of other projects associated with the 100th anniversary is being updated here.
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Take care,
Your ATI
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