The cultural sector in Armenia is mainly financed from the state budget. This funding approach provides cultural institutions with relative stability and development. It corresponds to the “state as architect” model of cultural policy[1]. State funding is allocated to various branches of culture and education in accordance with the priority plan developed by the Ministry and approved by the Government. Thus, in 2021, the following priorities have been defined: a. support for the cinematography industry; cultural heritage; performing and creative arts; d. development of children’s artistic abilities; e. organization of cultural life in marzes; f. programme of modernization and preservation of state archives. All these priority areas would gradually receive increased funding during 2021-2023. The recent circumstances, such as the war (2020) and the pandemic (2020-2021) definitely affected the previous funding programmes and resulted in some relocations of the budget. For instance, in 2021, more money (2982.5 millions against of 2951.7 in 2020) was allocated to cultural heritage issues, which may be a direct consequence of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war endangering the Armenian cultural heritage.
In the last few years, certain changes in the financial policy planning and implementation can be observed, aimed at increasing non-state sources of cultural funding. More government programmes tend to be based on partnerships or public and private sectors. As a good example of such cooperation, the “Ararat” brandy factory and the “Beeline” mobile communication company, which sponsors various cultural events (concerts, exhibitions, festivals) can be mentioned. More local and international organizations and foundations openly express their interest in providing grants to cultural institutions and programmes. The private sector also tends to invest in the cultural sector, especially in relation to tourism development initiatives (eg sponsoring the arts, wine festivals, etc.), which are becoming regular. New funding mechanisms such as crowdfunding are also considered possible, like, for example, the cultural enterprise “301 publishing house” created by crowdfunding mechanisms.
Unfortunately, there seem to be no recent surveys on trends in private funding of culture in Armenia, perhaps due to the turbulent political situation and constant structural changes over the past three years.
[1] Chartrand H., McCaughey C., Who’s to Pay? for the Arts: The International Search for Models of Support, 1989,
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