The new minister for Culture Martina Simkovicova wants tighter control of art funds that subsidize cultural expression. The state should have tools to control their management, she said at a press conference on Wednesday.
As an example of a questionable subsidy, she said the Milan Simecka Foundation received a total of €69,000 from two funds plus the ministry itself.
Her deputy minister, Tibor Bernatak, mentioned the subsidy for a series and a film about a mob boss Mikulas Cernak, which received €537,000 from the Audiovisual Fund; while a project about a personality of Slovak history, General Jan Golian of the National Uprising, received so little support it never got started.
Bernatak also criticised the manner in which decisions are communicated "These are often arrogantly vague clichés from which it's impossible to find out why this or that project didn't receive a subsidy."
They were joined by Roman Michelko, who is a member of parliament for the SNS party. According to him, the reform of public art funds should follow the path of the Czech model. "It can support diverse cultural and artistic groups to a much greater extent, without subsidizing a certain part."
(TASR)
