Piotr Gliński told lawmakers on Wednesday that government help for the creative arts community had come to around PLN 6 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.3 billion) since the pandemic hit Poland in early March last year.
He told MPs from a parliamentary committee that the government’s “multidimensional, all-round and holistic” support has been “targeted at all environments, institutions and areas of culture."
He estimated that "the budget for Polish culture has increased by over 40 percent” since the country’s ruling conservatives took power in 2015.
“This is an unprecedented increase," Gliński said.
The New York Times reported last month that Poland was among countries that took steps early on to buffer the strain of the pandemic on the arts and artists.
The paper said that the Polish government started working on measures to compensate the sector for losses quickly after a state of epidemic was declared in the country last March with restrictions on the operations of cultural institutions.
Almost a year ago, Poland’s president signed into effect a massive relief and stimulus plan aiming to shore up the economy and shield the nation from the impact of an intensifying coronavirus outbreak.
The “Anti-Crisis Shield” package carried PLN 20 million (EUR 4.4 million, USD 4.7 million) in funds to prop up cultural institutions and help individual artists weather the coronavirus storm, Gliński said at the time.
In April, that assistance was increased fourfold to fund the government’s “Culture on the Web” initiative aimed at subsidizing projects such as online book readings, virtual art shows and film and theatre performances that could be watched by viewers from the comfort of their homes, according to Gliński, who also serves as a deputy prime minister.
Amid restrictions imposed to stem the COVID-19 outbreak, Poles stopped flocking to cinemas, theatres, concerts and other cultural events, causing a loss of income for performing artists.
In an easing of curbs, museums and art galleries across the country were allowed to reopen earlier this month with health protocols in place.
Gliński last year asked the country’s showbiz community to lead by example and encourage responsible attitudes among the public at a time of coronavirus epidemic.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP