In Lithuania, several institutions provide financial support for artists and culture through funding programmes: the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Press, Radio, and Television Support Foundation, the Film Centre, and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.
The Ministry of Culture allocates the biggest share of state financing for culture through direct institutional funding. It also implements a range of special programmes designated to support the various fields of culture: the Reading Promotion Programme, the Lithuanian Capital of Culture Programme, Programme of Lithuanistics Traditions and Heritage, Funding Programme of Projects Implementing Initiatives to Preserve Historical Memory, several heritage protection programmes, Programme of Partial Compensation of the Cost of Dissemination (Venue Hire) of Professional Performing Arts Projects, Programme for the Partial Funding from the State Budget of Professional Performing Arts Institutions that Are not National, and the State or Municipal Theatre or Concert Institution (see chapter 3.3 for more about the last two programmes). The Ministry, in cooperation with the Lithuanian Film Centre and Lithuanian Culture Institute, also coordinates the participation of Lithuania in the EU funding programmes Creative Europe and Europe for Citizens.
Other institutions – the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Press, Radio, and Television Support Foundation, the Film Centre, and the Lithuanian Culture Institute – implement financing programmes and allocate funding through calls for tender. Their budgets consist of appropriations allocated by the Ministry of Culture.
The Lithuanian Culture Institute implements the Translation Grant Programme. The Translation Grant Programme encourages the translation of Lithuanian literature into foreign languages and it has been operating in Lithuania since 2001. The programme was first run by the public institution “Books from Lithuania”, but since 2010 the work has been continued by the Lithuanian Culture Institute. Over the 20 years since the establishment of the programme, it has supported the translation of 461 Lithuanian literary works into 38 languages. The Press, Radio and Television Support Foundation implements 6 funding programmes: 1) periodicals of culture and art; 2) national periodical press; 3) regional periodical press; 4) national radio and television broadcasting, 5) regional radio and television broadcasting; and 6) Internet media. The Lithuanian Film Centre allocates subsidies for the development, production and distribution of Lithuanian films and international co-productions.
The Lithuanian Council for Culture implements the greatest number of funding programmes and allocates the biggest share of programme financing. The Council implements two types of financing measures: funding of projects by cultural programmes or arts fields, and funding of individual grants for artists. Financing of arts fields includes projects of architecture, circus, design, visual arts, photography, literature, music, dance, interdisciplinary arts, and theatre. Projects funded by the arts fields programme are targeted at the following activities: 1) professional creation and its dissemination in Lithuania and abroad; 2) events; 3) accumulation of information (archiving, documentation) and its dissemination; 4) publishing; 5) professional criticism and analysis; 6) networking and mobility; 7) co-production; and 8) mastery development and education. Cultural programmes financed by the Council in 2021 were the following: Memory institutions: creation of innovative services; Memory institutions: dissemination of culture and art; Memory institutions: restoration and research of cultural properties; Memory institutions: projects for the acquisition of movable cultural property important for the history of Lithuania and its culture, Ethnic culture and immaterial heritage of culture; Memory institutions: acquisition projects of contemporary visual art or design by Lithuanian artists created after 1990; Culture and creative industries: networking; Culture and creative industries: cultural start-ups; Art for human wellbeing; Protection of copyright and related rights; Creative initiatives of communities; Cultural heritage projects; Education through culture: children’s and youth culture; Periodic amateur art events; Creative community initiatives: small Lithuanian capitals of culture; Events of national importance; Publishing of humanities literature; Strategic funding of artists’ organisations; Strategic funding of cultural organisations; Strategic funding of international events; and Funding of international music performance competitions organized in Lithuania.
Table 43: Budgets of the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Press, Radio, and Television Support Foundation, the Film Centre, and the Lithuanian Culture Institute in 2021
| Institution | Allocated amount, in EUR |
| Lithuanian Council for Culture | 24 868 650 |
| Film Centre | 7 240 509 |
| Press, Radio, and Television Support Foundation | 2 736 000 |
| Lithuanian Culture Institute | 1 158 471 |
Besides Lithuanian funding programmes, artists can also apply for funding to international programmes, e.g. Nordic-Baltic mobility programme for culture: support to artists’ residencies. The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture aims to strengthen artistic and cultural cooperation in the Nordic region and Baltic States. The programme focuses on increasing the exchange of knowledge, contacts, presence and interest in Nordic and Baltic art and culture. The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme comprises three forms of funding: mobility, network and funding for artist residencies.
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