Dear artists and representatives of cultural institutions, organisations and creative industry enterprises,
On the decision of the chief medical officer, a nationwide ban on the organisation of cultural events came into effect on 10 March 2020. On 13 March 2020, this was extended to the closure of all leisure facilities until further notice. The anti-pandemic measures thus affected cultural institutes and the creative industries before the other sectors of the Slovak economy.
Self-employed artists, as well as cinemas, galleries, theatres, cultural centres and other visitor-orientated entities in the cultural sector and creative industries, are the group most vulnerable to the economic impact of anti-pandemic measures.
Bratislava, capital of the Slovak Republic, responds to emergency measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19 that do not allow for the organisation of public cultural events.
The current situation touches all levels of our daily and working lives. We are aware of the seriousness of the situation and how much it has affected the field of culture. None of us yet knows the scale of the impact, but we can already see that without systematic measures beyond the competencies and territorial scope of the city, it will not be possible to offer adequate measures to alleviate them.
by Jan Jiřík
On Monday 30 March 2020, the Citizens’ Forum of Contemporary Art, Poland’s professional organisation of culture workers, submitted an open letter to the Polish Prime Minister, the Minister of Culture and National History and representatives of local government. In it, they react to insufficient consideration of the impact of the government’s measures to contain coronavirus on the field of culture.
by Mária Ady, Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute, Budapest
On the 11th of March, the Government of Hungary announces state of emergency with many restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus disease. Theatres close down and suspend their performances for an undefined time to protect their audience, workers and the society.
Theatre workers are among those directly and immediately affected by the economical consequences of the epidemy. The Government orders tax relief for employers and employees in the cultural sphere to protect jobs and incomes during the crisis, but the situation is still serious for many, as most theatre workers, including artists, technicians and administrative professionals, do not have permanent contract but work as self-employed.
The Slovak Institute is mapping the impact of emergency measures in the field of theatre
In response to the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Slovak Theatre Institute has created a short survey to map to impact of the emergency measures on the independent arts sector. Respondents are asked to estimate the number of performances and events they have had to cancel due to the quarantine now in place and to describe the impact they expect the emergency measures to have on their theatre or organisation during and after the quarantine period. The survey also askes whether the state should compensate arts organisations, in whole, or in part, for losses sustained due to the pandemic. Finally, the survey asks for information on any initiatives begun to support artists during this period. The Slovak Theatre Institute is also planning a number of further support measures, including focus groups and panel discussions, that will go ahead once the situation has stabilised.
Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MLSA) have issued measures to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic.
– The state will exempt all self-employed people of payments for compulsory social security insurance retroactively since March 2020. The self-employed will not have to pay required prepayments from March to August, thus the total amount of insurance in the yearly statement will be lower in the amount corresponding with minimum prepayments for social security insurance per six months. Self-employed people will be released from the amount.
Mapping Losses and Set of Measure to Save the Culture
Extraordinary measures connected with the SARS-CoV-19 have been introduced on 11 March 2020 by the Czech Government. The Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague has been mapping their impact on cultural sector since 12 March 2020. First data was collected from organisations and individuals that work in the independent arts scene (check for details here). Subsequently a methodology for mapping losses in the cultural sector was developed by the University of Economics, Academy of Performing Arts, and the Arts and Theatre Institute that aims to calculate the economic impact on selected cultural sectors. First results will be available after 5 May 2020. Besides the measures to mitigate the economic impacts issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Czech Government has passed Minister Zaorálek’s set of measures to save the culture on 9 April. The total amount assigned to this program is 1.07 billion CZK.
The Hackcrisis Tech for Good hackathon from Poland invited everyone to collaborate on the execution of anticrisis ideas to help people handle the pandemic aftermath. The authors defined three main areas that might be challenging: isolation, facts & data and education. Users could join existing projects or join the hackathon and contact with others via Slack to create a team. HackCrisis hackathon took place from 17 to 22 March.