Portugal/ 8. Support to creativity and participation  

8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

Support for production and creativity is given particular prominence in all fields of cultural activity (arts education in particular), both in government programmes and in legislation.

Since 1996, new bodies and institutions have arrived on the scene: the Institute of Contemporary Art (IAC), the Portuguese Photography Centre (CPF), and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC); the latter of which was set up through an agreement between the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Oporto and the Serralves Foundation. The IAC and the MAC will require fairly regular public financial support in order to build up their collections, but they may contribute to a structural effect on the sector, strengthening artistic creativity and creating a kind of public market for the visual arts.

In 2003, IAC was integrated in a larger structure, the IA (Arts Institute), sharing with the formerly IPAE the responsibilities in the sectors of Performing arts and Visual arts.

Over the last years, some support has been given particularly to professional activities in the field of music, to national and international distribution of printed music and editions of recordings, and to music programming and promotion (through subsidies to festivals and competitions). 

Norms and rules have also been published for aid to theatre and dance activities. In 2003 a new system of financial supports for professional activities in the domains of Performing Arts and Contemporary Art was established. However, the support for certain areas (namely the theatre) has met with growing demands and the need of a more precise definition of funding criteria.

As regards film, a new set of regulations were introduced in 1993 as revisions to the previous model of aid for national production. The additional tax on cinema ticket receipts was abolished and replaced by a tax on television advertising. Later, new agreements were set up between the formerly Film, Audio-visual and Multimedia Institute (ICAM) and the television channels, and between ICAM and distributors.

In 2007, the Ministry of Culture set up, through the Directorate-General of Arts and the Science Programme "Ciência Viva", a common research and work platform for artists and scientists, thus implementing the Residencies Network Programme: Art / Science Experimentation. This programme involves holding artistic residencies at various scientific host institutions. The objective is to enable artists and scientists to explore artistic and aesthetic fields using the tools from both domains. In the first edition of this programme (2007) 33 projects were submitted, of which 8 were selected. In 2009 a second edition of this programme was launched again.