DF JAMU joins the declaration of the Association of Professional Theatres and the Association of Independent Theatres. Members of our academic community have worked and continue to work in the grant committees of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, thus contributing to the formation of expert opinion and to the predictable assessment of grant applications. Stable support for the live arts is essential to sustaining cultural environments and cultural industries.
Full text of the declaration:
We strongly oppose the attacks by the Minister of Culture on grant commissions and the simplistic interpretation that makes culture a target.
Culture is not a “superstructure”, an appendage that can be shouted down, cut down according to the mood of the moment and then “deal with the consequences” with a straight face. Culture is both a public service and an interconnected ecosystem. It is not wise to unthinkingly upset its balance.
We find the attack on the expert committees, accompanied by a touching thank you to those who will obey, particularly unacceptable. The members of the commissions are not nominated by anonymous “friends from the industry”, but by professional associations, with the final selection made by the Ministry itself. The members of the commissions are publicly accountable for their decisions. If the Minister questions their legitimacy, he is in fact questioning the mechanism used by his own office.
We also remind you that subsidies are not a cultural fad. Public support works across society – in industry, agriculture, transport and the political system. In culture, there are established, independent and entrepreneurial organisations. Their activities complement each other. Culture has long relied on non-revenue grants for subsidies and the system must therefore be credible, transparent and predictable.
It is all the more absurd when the Minister publicly attacks the very tools of professional assessment, even though when he took office he spoke of a “stable environment”, “long-term and predictable funding” and that cultural institutions need “certainty, not a nervous environment of short-term grants”.
In other words, if the stated priority is stability, then the current mode of communication does the exact opposite. This is not how responsible cultural policy is made. Dialogue should precede budgetary decisions, not come after them.
From a minister who himself comes from an artistic background, we would expect an elementary understanding that culture is not based on suspicion, improvisation and media forays, but on trust, rules and a predictable framework. If the Minister has a different vision, it is high time to present it clearly. So far, instead of a vision, we are watching mainly a demonstration of power against a system that is supposed to be managed, not subverted.
In our country of 10 million, there are 83 million visitors to cultural events (last closed statistics in 2023). Our country is cultural and its citizens seek culture. The largest demonstration in 1989 on Letná was attended by 700 to 800 thousand people. Visitors to cultural events would fill Letná approximately 100 times. They demonstrate every day by visiting the culture.
We want real dialogue, not PR activities on social media!
Association of Professional Theatres of the Czech Republic
Association of Independent Theatres of the Czech Republic