See also chapter 1.3.1.
The Law on Cultural Institutions has been in effect since 1998. It defines the types of Latvian cultural institutions (state, local government, private), their legal status, commercial activities, and funding sources.
In 2004/2005, there was an ongoing major reform of the legal status of all state museums. In accordance with the Law on Public Agencies, museums were reorganised into state agencies to provide them with more financial and administrative independence.
In 2009, the government requested all the Ministries to decrease the number of state agencies by 50%, with the aim of reducing administrative expenditure. The Ministry of Culture had the largest number of state agencies under its supervision (including museums) – 17. As a result of the reform, several museums were consolidated; some state agencies previously operating at arm’s length lost their autonomy (e.g. National Film Centre, The State Authority on Museums are to be transformed into budget institutions or incorporated into the structure of the Ministry).
In 2014, the Ministry of Culture launched the consolidation process of the vocational culture education schools (in the framework of the general reform of the vocational schools in the country).
In 2019, 13 educational institutions, 2 libraries, 8 museums, and 1 public foundation were subordinated to the Ministry of Culture.
In 2005, the legal status of the six state-founded theatres, the Circus of Riga and three important state music institutions was changed into state capital companies. In 2019, the Ministry of Culture was the holder of capital shares in 15 institutions (capital companies).
NGOs, foundations and artist associations established in the 1990s,
have already initiated collaboration between organisations in certain
professional art sectors, e.g. visual arts, music, and theatre, resulting in combined funding
sources from public,
local government, and the private
sector.
In 2008, a private sponsor in collaboration with the Latvian National Museum of Art launched a prize in visual arts named after the famous Latvian painter Vilhelms Purvītis.
The management of cultural heritage sites often is carried out involving private owners.
The poorly developed public and private partnership, and the underdeveloped patronage traditions are two of the main weaknesses of the cultural sector identified in the Cultural Policy Guidelines 2014- 2020 Creative Latvia adopted in 2014. It is intended to develop them in the framework of the implementation of the guidelines defining the attraction of private capital as one of the fundamental preconditions for the development of the cultural sector (in terms of public private partnership, patronage and other solutions to raise private capital).
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