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The theater presented a project for funding earlier this year. The funds are allocated by the Ministry of Culture after receiving the recommendations of the Council of Professional Performing Arts Institutions. They determined that the A.Areima Theater was left without financial support.
Under this competition for professional performing arts institutions, the state supported 14 institutions this year. 200 thousand were assigned to them. euros
He asked for 15 thousand. euros
“We have received state support before. Then we rented and installed a theater space in Baltupiai. We have been promised that we will be able to continue this work, that the funds will continue.” 15min A. Arima said, adding that such promises were informal.
The continuity and the knowledge that it will be possible to maintain it after the end of a year of financing was important for A. Areima when creating the theatrical space. This means not only the continuity of the theater, but also the fact that the invested funds will not run in the wind.
After renting the premises in Baltupiai with state support funds, the theater invested its own money in its adaptation.
“This year we are requesting 15,000 euros of support for the maintenance of the theater building. For us, it is a lot of money,” said A. Arima.
The theater space was established in 2019. There is a hall for shows and other public events, with a capacity for 150 spectators.
Aid Aimed At Theater Fans
Without funds, it was unclear how an independent theater could survive.
A.Areima’s plays were positively evaluated at art festivals in Scotland, France, Russia, South Korea, Germany, and the director received an invitation to reside in Belgium, Denmark, Italy, South Korea, and Berlin. According to Lithuanian and foreign theater critics, the director presents his works, recognizable by their artistic expression, in a clear and alternative form and direction, characterized by authentic theatrical language and exceptional analysis of the themes presented.
Since 2017, the founder of the theater, director A. Areima, has been included in the list of candidates for the “New Theater Reality” award from the European Theater Union.
According to A. Areima, the theater in Baltupiai is visited, and people come from abroad to see the performances: “And these are famous people who have their own great theaters and festivals. I think this is a phenomenon that we should not eradicate. “
A. Areima appealed to fans of the theater asking for financial support. The director says that it is important to maintain the theater space, because not only are there performances here, but a free international educational event “Screening” is also organized. During it, creative workshops are led by artists from other countries, and the appearance of this space in Baltupiai contributed to the “cultural value” of this district.
It is difficult to survive without the support of the state
“It is difficult to calculate how much money we would lose already invested in this building. But that would not only mean that. If we leave this building, we should leave it as we found it. Repaint the walls, dismantle everything, so that it does not look like a theatrical space. There would be additional funds to fix this, “said A. Arima.
Speaking about whether independent theaters can survive without general state support, A. Areima stated that only commercial and entertainment theaters can survive.
“But if there is an independent product that works and creates a product of high cultural and artistic value that meets world standards, traveling around the world is very difficult without state support.” Unless we are supported by foreign producers, but the question is, how much do we need for Lithuania? Not a single person has raised this issue, including Oskar Koršunov. This question is constantly asked: are we needed for a state that repeats the word “culture” all the time during elections, but somehow later is behind the line, “said A. Arima.
Financial guarantees: a time of year
Another problem is that financial guarantees are granted for one year, although many countries around the world sign, for example, five-year contracts with developers.
“We have all come to terms with the fact that support is provided every year. But other countries actually sign multi-year contracts, providing support not only for space, but also for construction, for product launches. This allows artists to plan activities, festivals ahead, although festivals are difficult to plan, they are not organized as quickly.
In addition, independent theaters make Lithuania more famous, tour more, and create more artistic value than state theaters. And critics have written about it. The question is: why is this the case? Said A. Arima.
21 requests from the organization were submitted.
The Ministry of Culture states that, in total, more applications were submitted for this competition than could be financed.
“Funding for professional performing arts institutions is allocated annually through a tender procedure, as provided by law. 21 applications from the organization were submitted to this year’s competition, 14 applications were funded.
The total financing needs provided by these organizations amounted to € 892,293. The financial resources available to the Ministry of Culture for this program amount to 200,000 euros. We would like to point out that all the organizations that have submitted applications, including the Artūras Areima Theater, have achieved very high results in their professional activities, but unfortunately limited resources have not allowed them to finance all the applications submitted.
After an expert evaluation carried out by the Council of Professional Performing Arts Institutions attached to the Ministry of Culture, it was decided to finance those applications that obtained a transition score. Sorry, but the Artūras Areima Theater did not cross this barrier, therefore, no funds were allocated for the theater, “it is written 15min in the response sent by the Ministry of Culture.
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