SK8: Regional Culture at Risk from Changes in Arts Fund Support

Kosice/Bratislava, 9 October (TASR) – The Slovak Association of Self-Governing Regions (SK8) warned on Thursday that regional culture is seriously endangered by changes to the structure of support from the Arts Support Fund (FPU). The potential loss of funding for regional culture was discussed during Thursday’s meeting of regional governors in Kosice. According to SK8, the FPU Council has approved new programmes for 2026 that will significantly reduce support for regional cultural institutions. In 2024, self-governing regions received nearly €4 million from the FPU. SK8 already considers it a negative signal that, in September, regions were excluded at the last minute from eligibility for a special call for infrastructure projects, which had an allocation of €5 million. „Once again, we are warning that changes to the Arts Support Fund may paralyse regional culture and threaten the existence of many theatres, galleries, and libraries that have long been part of our regions’ cultural identity. Regional institutions are essentially the main and often the only guarantors of cultural life. If a significant source of funding is lost, it will negatively impact artistic freedom, as well as the availability and quality of culture for residents," said Jozef Viskupic, the chair of SK8 and Trnava governor. He added that the Culture Ministry should "leave alone the things that work and focus on those that don’t." mf