Creative work is indirectly supported in the field of film under the Programme of Support for the Film Industry (since 2010).
Support for individual artists and cultural workers is very limited compared with the support for cultural institutions –the Ministry of Culture’s grant/tender competitions are usually open only to individuals who have a trade licence in the field of culture, or support is given indirectly, for instance in the form of a grant to support the publishing of literary works, where the grant applicant is a publishing house and a fee is then passed to the author.
The only direct support for artists is in the form of awards and creative and study scholarships. The Ministry of Culture Awards are allocated for exceptional artistic creative or interpretative work or for long-term artistic merit in the field of the visual arts, architecture, theatre, music, product design, cinematography, and the audio-visual sector. Contributions for creative or study purposes or state scholarships have been provided since 2008 according to the Act on Some Kinds of Support. Creative scholarships can be provided for a period of 6 months to 2 years with the possibility of extending this to 1 year. The outcome must be the creation of an artwork in conformity with the Copyright Act. The study scholarship includes a study residence for at least one month at a significant art, science, or other specialised workplace. The study scholarship is offered to people up to the age of 35.
Two contributory organisations of the MC are offering competitive grants in support of so-called short-term mobility in the form of individual trips. One is NIPOS, which offers grants for amateur artists and amateur groups, and the other is the Arts and Theatre Institute (ATI), which offers grants for artists and cultural workers in every field of the arts (except the film industry) and for other experts in the arts such as curators, programme directors, etc. Support for the travel expenses of individuals in the sphere of literature is provided by the Czech Literary Centre. Both the ATI and the Czech Literary Centre support artists through arts residencies.
Arts residencies are a form of support that is generally used by private cultural institutions and foundations – available opportunities can be accessed, for example, here.
In 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a special programme was introduced to support individuals who are self-employed and work on the basis of a trade license in the culture with support in the form of a financial allowance/grant. Individual artists or technical professionals working in culture who were awarded this allowance/grant were given a one-time payment in the amount of 60 000 CZK (1 EUR = 26.223 CZK – 2 288 EUR). In total, this support could be used in three consecutive programmes.
In 2022, calls under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the Culture Component are gradually published, which are also aimed at strengthening the capacity of individual actors in the cultural and creative sectors. The bulk of the funding will be distributed over the next three years.
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