Cantemir Program: 2,200,000 lei for 24 cultural projects

Culture cannot exist without funding in the 21st century. Beyond the private actors who invest in this field, the state has the duty to support the cultural sector. Thus, 24 cultural projects, designated winners following the judging, will receive funding of 2,200,000 lei in 2024 from the Romanian Cultural Institute, through the Cantemir Program - co-financing program for cultural projects intended for the international environment - during the session of the year this of the contest. The projects will take place in 24 countries: Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, China, South Korea, Denmark, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Great Britain, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Spain , Slovakia, United States of America, Sweden, Turkey, Hungary and Ukraine. The President of the ICR, Liviu Jicman, stated: "As we promised last year, when the Cantemir Program resumed, we maintained the predictable calendar for launching the session at the beginning of each year, with known rules and criteria and independent evaluation commissions. The winning projects will take place for five months on four continents and aim to increase the visibility and accessibility of Romanian culture on the international cultural scene. The axis of cultural support in the ICR Strategy 2022-2026 encourages the partnership between Romanian and foreign cultural operators, on the one hand, and international cultural organizations, on the other." An increase in the interest of cultural operators in Romania for the program run by the ICR was recorded, in both sections: if in 2023, at the first edition, 94 applications were received (36 for Visual Arts and 58 for Performing Arts), in 2024 151 projects were registered (59 in the Visual Arts thematic area and 92 in the Performing Arts thematic area), with 60.6% more than in 2023. The 24 projects to be financed by ICR - 12 from the Visual Arts thematic area and 12 from the field of Performing Arts - were selected by the judging and appeals resolution commissions from the 78 qualified projects following the administrative stage, elimination stage. The total budget allocated to the financing of the projects declared winners in 2024 is 2,200,000 lei, divided equally between the two thematic areas. The maximum amount financed per cultural project is 100,000 lei.